Vietnam: The Real War by Associated Press photographers – Exhibition

30th April is the anniversary of the fall of Saigon,  The Associated Press is recognizing the significance of the Vietnam War with an extraordinary photo exhibit in London. “Vietnam: The Real War, A Photographic History by The Associated Press” will open April 8 at the Guardian News and Media’s gallery at its Kings Cross headquarters.

To cover the Vietnam War, AP gathered a group of superb photojournalists in its Saigon bureau, creating one of the greatest photographic legacies of the 20th century. From Malcolm Browne’s photograph of the burning monk to Nick Ut’s famous picture of a nine-year-old running from a Napalm attack, these photographs capture the experience and tragedy of people caught in a war of insurgency in which everyone was suspect.

AP won six Pulitzer Prizes for its war coverage, four of them for photography. Now, drawn from AP’s photo history of the conflict, “Vietnam: The Real War,” a selection of these images can be viewed at the exhibit; telling the human story behind the war.

“The Vietnam War left its mark on AP, taking the lives of four of our photographers, but we made an unprecedented commitment to report on it,” said Santiago Lyon, AP’s director of photography. “Thanks to an uncensored press the world saw more of this war than any other. This exhibit now allows an even wider audience access to the photographic record of the tragedy of it.”

The exhibit runs until the end of May 2015 and is open each day from 10.00 to 18.00, Guardian News & Media, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Admission is free.

The BBC seems to be upping it’s game in relation to photography, everyday there is a new article or feature and unlike most publications you rarely see a sunset or pictures of ducks. Today they have a series of pictures by Associated Press photographers from the Vietnam War, here is a link to the full article

Nearly 60,000 US soldiers died in Vietnam, with more than 300,000 injured. For the Vietnamese, though, the figures were far higher, with estimates of more than half a million killed and many millions wounded.

While in Saigon, Faas trained and mentored young Vietnamese photographers who made many of the war’s defining images. Their daily photos from Vietnam helped inform the world of the traumas faced by people caught in the cross-fire of conflict.

From a journalist’s perspective the war in Vietnam was unique. It was the first war in modern times without censorship, where reporters and photographers were allowed virtually unrestricted access to the battlefields.

Another was Nick Ut’s picture of nine-year-old Phan Thi Kim Phuc – a young girl, running naked and terrified down the road after a napalm attack – which became one of the iconic images of the entire conflict.

During the conflict, AP’s Saigon bureau won six Pulitzer Prizes for its war coverage, four of them for photography.

See the rest of these powerful images here

Here is more from AP  Explore The Real War

 

7 Photographs That Show Society’s Debt to Photography

Lightstalking is a good place to spend an hour or so when you need to recharge your photography batteries. Sure it has a number of tedious articles about how to do the basic stuff but at it’s best it opens up debates. This article by Rob, he started Lightstalking, is one of those that you should read and consider and then add to the debate with your examples of images that have changed things.

When we started Light Stalking, it was for no other reason than that we liked taking photographs and learning how to do that in a better way. While we always appreciated the role that photographers played in keeping a vibrant democracy informed, we weren’t really informed of the trials that photographers go through in undertaking that job, other than the occasional incident or anecdote. The growing popularity of Light Stalking has meant a greater exposure to those people who don’t really see photography as having a legitimate role in strengthening a society and some who are downright hostile to the idea.
Perhaps that’s an informed decision or perhaps it’s them reacting to specific cases. Either way, it got us thinking about the very real debt that free societies owe to photographers.
Photographers have traditionally had to put up with abuse from those who either didn’t want their photograph taken or didn’t want some other thing exposed to a wider audience. The cases of photographers being unjustly or illegally interfered with while going about their perfectly legal profession or hobby have grown exponentially in the last decade too. This article is for them.
In almost every photo in the following collection, the photographer has made somebody very uncomfortable and, in almost every case, provoked a hostile reaction from an individual, group or segment of society. And in every case, the photograph in question has had a positive and lasting effect on society.

Saigon Execution by Eddie Adams – The Photograph That Helped End a War

One of the photographs that helped sway public sentiment against the Vietnam War, this image was taken in 1968 at the beginning of the Tet Offensive. The image depicts the execution of a member of the Viet Cong by a member of the Republic of Vietnam National Police The image itself is so indelibly marked on the conscience of society that few people even realise that video of the event also exists. It is used in a massive amount of texts on the Vietnam War and is often cited as a demonstration of the injustices perpetrated by American allies in the south.

While it is undoubtedy Eddie Adams’ most famous photograph, Adams was not comfortable with it, once saying “The general killed the Viet Cong; I killed the general with my camera. Still photographs are the most powerful weapon in the world. People believe them; but photographs do lie, even without manipulation. They are only half-truths. … What the photograph didn’t say was, ‘What would you do if you were the general at that time and place on that hot day, and you caught the so-called bad guy after he blew away one, two or three American people?”

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Light Stalking

I’m Rob, the editor of Light Stalking. I try to keep this ship on course.

By Light Stalking on 4 Jun 2012 in Random[ 45 Comments ]

When we started Light Stalking, it was for no other reason than that we liked taking photographs and learning how to do that in a better way. While we always appreciated the role that photographers played in keeping a vibrant democracy informed, we weren’t really informed of the trials that photographers go through in undertaking that job, other than the occasional incident or anecdote. The growing popularity of Light Stalking has meant a greater exposure to those people who don’t really see photography as having a legitimate role in strengthening a society and some who are downright hostile to the idea.

Perhaps that’s an informed decision or perhaps it’s them reacting to specific cases. Either way, it got us thinking about the very real debt that free societies owe to photographers.

Photographers have traditionally had to put up with abuse from those who either didn’t want their photograph taken or didn’t want some other thing exposed to a wider audience. The cases of photographers being unjustly or illegally interfered with while going about their perfectly legal profession or hobby have grown exponentially in the last decade too. This article is for them.

In almost every photo in the following collection, the photographer has made somebody very uncomfortable and, in almost every case, provoked a hostile reaction from an individual, group or segment of society. And in every case, the photograph in question has had a positive and lasting effect on society.

Saigon Execution by Eddie Adams – The Photograph That Helped End a War

One of the photographs that helped sway public sentiment against the Vietnam War, this image was taken in 1968 at the beginning of the Tet Offensive. The image depicts Brigadier General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan of the Republic of Vietnam National Police executing Nguyễn Văn Lém of the Viet Cong.

The image itself is so indelibly marked on the conscience of society that few people even realise that video of the event also exists. It is used in a massive amount of texts on the Vietnam War and is often cited as a demonstration of the injustices perpetrated by American allies in the south.

While it is undoubtedy Eddie Adams’ most famous photograph, Adams was not comfortable with it, once saying “The general killed the Viet Cong; I killed the general with my camera. Still photographs are the most powerful weapon in the world. People believe them; but photographs do lie, even without manipulation. They are only half-truths. … What the photograph didn’t say was, ‘What would you do if you were the general at that time and place on that hot day, and you caught the so-called bad guy after he blew away one, two or three American people?”

Face Off at the Oka Crisis by Shaney Komulainen – The Photograph That Stopped a Land Grab

The rights of Canada’s first people were brought into the spotlight in 1990 when the Oka Crisis brought land developers and government into conflict with the local indigenous population of Oka in Quebec.

The local council and developers were attempting to expand a golf course onto land that had a long and involved history of conflict between the native peoples of Oka and the European inhabitants. The story made international news and highlighted many injustices faced by Canada’s first people including the fight for recognition of their rights to land that they traditionally used.

The defining image of the crisis was this one of a soldier and Mohawk warrior facing off which highlighted the lengths to which the native people were willing to go to stop encroachment – standing up to the military.

The event lead to various changes in the law and processes in Canada to help prevent such occurrences, as well as local and international support for the cause of Canada’s first people and some of the more obvious injustices that they faced.

1968 Mexico Olympics Black Power Salute by John Dominis – The Photograph That Brought the Civil Rights Movement to the World

Six months after the assassination of Martin Luther King, the 1968 Olympics in Mexico saw the most overtly political statement in modern Olympic history when African American athletes John Carlos and Tommie Smith made the raised fist sign on the medal podium with Australian athlete, Peter Norman wearing a Olympic Project for Human Rights badge in solidarity with the two Americans.

While all three athletes were later shunned by their athletic establishments as a reprimand, none ever recanted their actions which, with time, came to be seen as one of the most significant protests of 20th century race relations.

“If I win, I am American, not a black American. But if I did something bad, then they would say I am a Negro. We are black and we are proud of being black. Black America will understand what we did tonight,” said Tommie Smith.

The athletes have since become standard bearers of putting beliefs before personal interests and the photograph remains an iconic reminder of their stand.

See the rest of the list here
Why not add the images that have affected you

When the line blurs between sport photography and photojournalism

It is an often debated question, when should a photographer put down their camera and help. We have all seen pictures where it is assumed the photographer has chosen to continue photographing rather than doing the human thing and helping, what should we as photographers do?

Like Hillsborough before it, the Boston Marathon bombing has highlighted how sports stories can quickly turn into breaking news events. When this happens, photographers have to decide whether to help or keep on shooting The Photography Blog at The Guardian asks, read what they think here

 

Don’t shoot? … the second explosion at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Click on image to enlarge. Photograph: John Tlumacki/Boston Globe/AP

Perhaps one of the most iconic images that brings this question to mind was taken by Nick Ut during the Vietnam war

This picture Kim Phuc running away from her bombed village when she was just nine is now instantly recognisable and seen as a defining image of the Vietnam war

This article about Nick Ut in The Daily Mail tells some of his story about being a photographer in the Vietnam War

It is one of the most recognisable pictures ever taken and an image that not only defined a war, but defined the career of the man who took it.

Kim Phuc was just nine years old when she ran naked towards Associated Press photographer and Pulitzer prize winner Huynh Cong ‘Nick’ Ut screaming ‘Too hot! Too hot!’ as she headed away from her bombed Vietnamese village.

She will always be remembered for the blobs of sticky napalm that melted through her clothes and left her with layers of skin like jellied lava. Her story has been told many times over the last 40 years since the shot was taken.

But now, to mark four decades since Ut took the picture he has released more moving images that he took during the Vietnam war that chart the horrors of that fateful day in 1972.

The following picture is of the attack that preceded the event that led to his memorable image

Huynh Cong ‘Nick’ Ut took this picture just moments before capturing his iconic image. It shows bombs with a mixture of napalm and white phosphorus jelly and reveals that he moved closer to the village following the blasts

When compared with the first image it becomes apparent that Ut actually started heading towards the village following the napalm attack. The sign to the right of the picture appears larger while what looks like a speaker to the left of the road is no longer in shot.

As he headed towards the town and took the photo, which Kim Phuc has now found peace with after first wanting to escape the image, he would have been unaware the effect his picture would have on the outside world.

It communicated the horrors of the Vietnam War in a way words could never describe, helping to end one of the most divisive wars in American history.

He drove Phuc to a small hospital. There, he was told the child was too far gone to help. But he flashed his American press badge, demanded that doctors treat the girl and left assured that she would not be forgotten. 

‘I cried when I saw her running,’ said Ut, whose older brother was killed on assignment with the AP in the southern Mekong Delta. ‘If I don’t help her – if something happened and she died – I think I’d kill myself after that.’

Read the full story and see more of Ut’s pictures from that war here

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2154400/Napalm-Girl-photographer-Nick-Ut-releases-work-Vietnam-war.html#ixzz2TwdINL00

Horst Faas in Vietnam

Horst Faas, a Pulitzer Prize-winning combat photographer who became one of the world’s legendary photojournalists in nearly half a century with the AP, captured these images during the Vietnam War. Faas died Thursday, May 10, 2012 in Munich at age 79.

There is an obituary by Olivier Laurent on the BJP site here

We have decided to feature his work from the Vietnam War as collected together by the excellent Denver Post here

Hovering U.S. Army helicopters pour machine gun fire into tree line to cover the advance of Vietnamese ground troops in an attack on a Viet Cong camp 18 miles north of Tay Ninh on March 29, 1965, which is northwest of Saigon near the Cambodian border. Combined assault routed Viet Cong guerrilla force. (AP Photo/Horst Faas)

Vietnamese government troops are silhouetted against palm tree and jungle background as they cross a wooden bridge en route to the village of Ap Ba Nam, deep in southern Camau province on August 24, 1963, during a 5-day mission against Communists. The mission, which ended on August 20, was accomplished by about 4,000 government troops. The area south, east, and west of Camau province is a Viet Cong stronghold. (AP Photo/Horst Faas)

A U.S. crewman runs from a crashed CH-21 Shawnee troop helicopter near the village of Ca Mau in the southern tip of South Vietnam, Dec. 11, 1962. Two helicopters crashed without serious injuries during a government raid on the Viet Cong-infiltrated area. Both helicopters were destroyed to keep them out of enemy hands. (AP Photo/Horst Faas)

In this Aug. 1962 file photo, South Vietnamese government troops from the 2nd Battalion of the 36th Infantry sleep in a U.S. Navy troop carrier on their way back to the Provincial capital of Ca Mau, Vietnam. (AP Photo/Horst Faas)

As U.S. “Eagle Flight” helicopters hover overhead, South Vietnamese troops wade through a rice paddy in Long An province during operations against Viet Cong guerrillas in the Mekong Delta, December 1964. The “Eagle Flight” choppers were loaded with Vietnamese airborne troops who were dropped in to support ground forces at the first sign of enemy contact. (AP Photo/Horst Faas)

See more of these astonishing images here

Horst Fass

James Nachtwey

“I have been a witness, and these pictures are

my testimony. The events I have recorded should

not be forgotten and must not be repeated.“

–James Nachtwey–

James Nachtwey grew up in Massachusetts and graduated from Dartmouth College, where he studied Art History and Political Science (1966-70). Images from the Vietnam War and the American Civil Rights movement had a powerful effect on him and were instrumental in his decision to become a photographer. He has worked aboard ships in the Merchant Marine, and while teaching himself photography, he was an apprentice news film editor and a truck driver.

In 1976 he started work as a newspaper photographer in New Mexico, and in 1980, he moved to New York to begin a career as a freelance magazine photographer. His first foreign assignment was to cover civil strife in Northern Ireland in 1981 during the IRA hunger strike. Since then, Nachtwey has devoted himself to documenting wars, conflicts and critical social issues. He has worked on extensive photographic essays in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza, Israel, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, the Philippines, South Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Rwanda, South Africa, Russia, Bosnia, Chechnya, Kosovo, Romania, Brazil and the United States.

Nachtwey has been a contract photographer with Time Magazine since 1984. He was associated with Black Star from 1980 – 1985 and was a member of Magnum from 1986 until 2001. In 2001, he became one of the founding members of the photo agency, VII. He has been exhibited all over the world

(c) Antonin Kratochvil. All Rights Reserve

James Nachtwey TED Talks Lecture

James Nachtwey Time Photos September 11 2011

“When the attack first started, I was in my apartment in the South Street Sea Port, directly across Lower Manhattan. I heard a sound that was out of the ordinary. I’m far enough away so that it wasn’t alarming but it was definitely out of the ordinary. It came from the direction of the World Trade Center so I went to the window and saw the tower burning.”………..MORE                 Digital Journalist by Peter Howe

 

 

Afghanistan, 1996 – Mourning a brother killed by a Taliban rocket.

SeeJames Nachtwey’s astonishing images on his website here

Associated links : http://vsmeets.wordpress.com/2011/07/13/as-close-as-it-gets-james-nachtwey/

Associated links Empty Kingdom

Photojournalist James Nachtwey is considered by many to be the greatest war photographer of recent decades. He has covered conflicts and major social issues in more than 30 countries.

Why you should listen to him:

For the past three decades, James Nachtwey has devoted himself to documenting wars, conflicts and critical social issues, working in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza, Israel, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, the Philippines, South Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Rwanda, South Africa, Russia, Bosnia, Chechnya, Kosovo, Romania, Brazil and the United States.

Nachtwey has been a contract photographer with Time since 1984. However, when certain stories he wanted to cover — such as Romanian orphanages and famine in Somalia — garnered no interest from magazines, he self-financed trips there. He is known for getting up close to his subjects, or as he says, “in the same intimate space that the subjects inhabit,” and he passes that sense of closeness on to the viewer.

In putting himself in the middle of conflict, his intention is to record the truth, to document the struggles of humanity, and with this, to wake people up and stir them to action.

He is the winner of the 2007 TED Prize, awarding him $100,000 and one wish to change the world. This was his wish: “I’m working on a story that the world needs to know about. I wish for you to help me break it in a way that provides spectacular proof of the power of news photography in the digital age.”

On October 3, the story breaks … and we would like you to witness it.

“Reticent about discussing his own life beyond the basic facts, he’s clearly one of those rare characters who focus singularly on their work with a missionary-like sense of purpose.” — Salon.com

TED Prize about James

There is a job to be done…to record the truth. I want to wake people up! – James Nachtwey

I want my work to become part of our visual history, to enter our collective memory and our collective conscience. I hope it will serve to remind us that history’s deepest tragedies concern not the great protagonists who set events in motion but the countless ordinary people who are caught up in those events and torn apart by their remorseless fury. I have been a witness, and these pictures are my testimony. The events I have recorded should not be forgotten and must not be repeated. – James Nachtwey – International Center of Photography Press Release

I used to call myself a war photographer. Now I consider myself as an antiwar photographer. – James Nachtwey

I want to record history through the destiny of individuals who often belong to the least wealthy classes. I do not want to show war in general, nor history with a capital H, but rather the tragedy of a single man, of a family. – James Nachtwey

It is very hard to say where you’re going until you get there. That kind of thing is based very much on instinct. As a photographer, one of the most important lessons I have learnt is that you have to learn to listen to and trust your own instinct. It has helped to guide me – this far at least. – James Nachtwey – “World Press Photo 1996 Yearbook”

Unicef Photo of the Year 2010

The winners of this year’s Unicef Photo of the Year contest have been announced in Berlin. The prize is awarded to outstanding photos that best depict the personality and living conditions of children

First prize: Ed Kashi, Agency VII, US
Title: Vietnam: The legacy of war
The Vietnam war ended in 1975. The US withdrew their troops and north and south Vietnam were reunited. But for the Vietnamese people the legacy of American warfare continues. US forces used the herbicide Agent Orange to destroy foliage that the north Vietnamese were using as cover. Agent Orange contains dioxins that are known to cause cancer and damage genes. The effects of the toxic substance can be seen among Vietnamese people to this day, such as cancer, immune disorders and severe deformities. According to official estimates, 1.2 million children, including nine-year-old Nguyen Thi Ly, are disabled. In rural areas, the percentage of disabled children is significantly higher than in urban areas

Second prize: Majid Saeedi, Getty Images
Title: Afghanistan: The devastating consequences of civil wars
Approximately 4 million refugees have returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan and Iran and are now trying to settle down again in their home country. Among these refugees was the family of eight-year-old Akram. His family had looked for shelter in the Pakistani city of Peshawar and Akram tried to make money by collecting scraps on a rubbish dump in the city. While rummaging through the rubbish, he accidentally touched a non-insulated cable, which caused severe burns. Both his hands and arms had to be amputated. Akram’s family have now returned to Kabul and he received arm prostheses thanks to the help of the International Red Cross Photograph: Majid Saeedi/Getty Images/UNICEF

Photo of the Year 2010

Third prize: GMB Akash, Panos Pictures
Title: The oldest profession in the world destroys the lives of young girls
Bangladesh-based photographer GMB Akash shows the plight of child prostitutes in Bangladesh, some of whom are extremely young. Young girls in the brothels of the Faridpur region have to take a steroid daily to “plump up”, so they appear older and presumably more attractive. It is the same drug that is also used to fatten cattle. It was originally intended for use by people suffering from arthritis, asthma or allergies. Yasmin, 20, has a puffy face because of the steroid. She has lived in this brothel since she was a child – just like her mother, who worked here as a prostitute for 30 years Photograph: GMB Akash/Panos Pictures/UNICEF Photo of the Year 2010