[Leica] War Photographers

[johnbeal2 at gmail.com (John Beal)]

Thanks for sharing your insight and your life experiences, Ted.
Think I'll grab the M6, take some shots, and process your wisdom.


On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 2:47 PM, <tedgrant at shaw.ca> wrote:

> Being a "War Photographer!"
>
> WOW exciting can't wait to go!!!!!" Idiots who think like this will learn
> it isn't like the Hollywood movies and some of the "fun read while in safe
> areas!" Or may die?
> I  unfortunately fell inline thinking being a "War Photographer" was neat!
> :-( I swallowed the stories from WW2 about the few big names from there and
> a few later conflicts. I was a trained officer in the Canadian Reserve Army
> as a "Zipperhead." A reference of those in the Armored Corp, Tanks, Armored
> Cars etc. So I had some idea of the sounds and smells from weapons in
> action.  BUT NOT BEING SHOT AT!!!!!!
>
> My first war was 1967 Mid-East 6 Day War... Basically a no brainer
> compared to the absolutely killings of the past several years and today.
>
> If one is going to their first war...... "ONE SHOULD NEVER GO IF YOU
> HAVEN'T BEEN!" Oh I know there'll be challenges about that comment! "If one
> is determined to go they should go with the Israelis' ! It starts on Monday
> and over by Saturday and you're on a plane heading home on Sunday!"
>
> But if you haven't been to any and commenting only from reading the
> stories we've just seen and or read about the "Big Name Shooters" during
> the past 10 years, Iraq, Afghanistan etc. or before then? Don't tell me
> somebody has to do it! And you feel it's something you'd be just fine and
> can hardly wait to get wherever a war might be going on as it needs to be
> shown!
>
> Trust me the first few days, if yer lucky and you can time zone
> acclimatize for one thing before things are going bang bang... whizzz,
> whizzz all around you. Or something goes really loud bang and you don't
> hear anything much for the next three days.... then sounds begin to
> slightly return, only to slowly find out you're going deaf simply because
> you were taking pictures and not putting your fingers in your ears before
> the "BIG GUNS FIRED A SALVO RIGHT BESIDE YOU!" Like nobody said... "Hey
> cover your ears we're about to start firing!" OOPS!!! :-(
>
> Well 1967 wasn't bad, I believe only two photographers? I had befriended,
> Paul Shutzer of LIFE on the first day I was in Tel Aviv. But he was killed
> the first night of battle. Yeah the half track he was photographing from
> took a direct hit and all died. The reporter he was working with was in a
> different half track and survived. Paul's cameras were recovered I believe
> a week later? And the film was eventually developed and OK with his very
> last pictures..
>
> The second photographer, an Israeli, Ben Oyserman was shooting TV footage
> on contract for the Canadian CBCTV and stills for his local Tel Aviv
> newspaper. How close can one get to being killed? Mine?
>
> I was about to go with Ben in his car and follow Israeli soldiers toward
> El Arish to the south. However my reporter had another location to the
> north, so I went with him instead of Ben.
>
> Arriving back in Tel Aviv late that evening. Apparently, the Ben tour came
> across a road block, the soldiers began to move it as Ben was filming their
> actions and.... "BOOM!!!!!!!!" 7 DEAD SOLDIERS AND ONE DEAD PHOTOGRAPHER! I
> saw his Nikon that had been hanging around his neck.....it was riddled and
> ripped with shrapnel fragments into his chest and head! Me?
>
> I cried because we had become very good friends in a couple of days,
> buddies in arms so to speak. Then the other side came pouring in! "I HAD
> BEEN GETTING IN HIS CAR AND PROBABLY WOULD BE DEAD ALSO!" If not for the
> luck of the reporter taking me elsewhere! My wife would be a widow with
> four children to continue looking after!
>
> Got home like I'd just been away on some simple assignment.  Yep Ben's
> situation and nearly mine? Oh it comes back once in awhile. But even that
> didn't stop me from going to Viet Nam the next year, 1968....
> "HELL PHOTOGRAPHERS ARE SO STUPID AT TIMES THEY NEVER LEARN UNTIL THEY'RE
> DEAD!"
>
> I wasn't there very long before it became quite apparent "this was a place
> to get killed very quickly if you stayed around!" That was after one outing
> into a battle situation! The 6 Day War? Compared to there? 1967 was a piece
> of cake considering the amount of weapons firing encountered in 1968.
>
> A first time confession.......... "I ran away from it and came home!" :-(
> Never told that openly before! :-( :-( I was 41, a husband and 4 children
> all came pouring in! And "I ran away!" My guilt trip has always been and is
> to this day, I'm near sick telling this part of my career! "I ran away when
> so many who couldn't, died!"
>
> Being a war photographer?????????? NEVER!! No matter all the "good glory
> stories Hollywood produces" And whatever glory stories written about the so
> called "Exciting times !" It' all bullshit!
>
> This is the first time I have openly offered this side of my photo life
> other than to a few friends who had been there and understand. I realize we
> have many American folks on the LUG family who were there. And I know they
> will understand. NEVER AGAIN! :-(
>
> Dr. ted :-(
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>