Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/05/12
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]So am I right in assuming that you don't have a problem with the Doisneau pic? It was, after all, commissioned by Life and used in the magazine as a piece of photojournalism. Setting shots up was common practice at the time, I gather, to every "insider's" knowledge. So why the controversy over the Capa pic? Is it because it's a war situation? There's a lot of debate in the UK at the moment over some pictures published by a tabloid newspaper purporting to show British soldiers abusing an Iraqi detainee, but which everyone (apart from the paper's editor) now seem to believe were set up much later. This is a different matter, as these pictures are being touted as proof of abuse. The Capa pic isn't supposed to be proof of anything - we all know that soldiers get shot in combat. It's power is symbolic. This is why it doesn't matter. The symbolism is still powerful. In fact I believe Capa himself said he didn't remember particularly taking the shot, which I can quite believe. He certainly didn't see it until after it was published. To his agency it was just a good shot, and no agency is going to be in the business of tracking down a photographer in a war zone to interrogate him about one pic before they sell it. P. At 8:57 am -0500, 12/5/04, Jeffery Smith wrote: >It if were faked photojournalism, then I have a problem. Other than that, I think he has some artistic freedom, much like an artist painting something that doesn't exist or a novelist writing about something that doesn't exist. I didn't always feel this way (it seemed like cheating). > >Jeffery >