Someone Won't Be Coming Home Tonight

http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/jumpstart.jhtml?recid=0bc05f7a67b1790e8aff0fe8a48e18e4df67c2cab028e2e2b4fa2e3abaa57cecd73bb6e8dea31d41&fmt=H

part of a full article about 3 photographers of war. This piece focuses on Carolyn Cole and what she has to say about war imagery and caputring in the heat of the moment during the Iraq invasion since 2003.

James Nachtwey Article

http://proquest.umi.com.libproxy.usc.edu/pqdweb?did=908295301&sid=18&Fmt=3&clientId=5239&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Above is an example of how close James really did get to the action...

For whatever reason...blogger isnt letting me post the link to the site but the url is right below the image so. Im sorry but this thing is pissing me off . anyways..

this article was very useful in getting into the mind of a war photographer. James Nachtway is in his 50's and is a professional war photographer. This article is an interview taken from Esquire magazine about what exactly it was like to photograph war.
There were a lot of great things said about being involved during combat and listening to bullets whiz by your head as you attempt to reload your film. He talked about how being fearful fueled him...not paralyzed him. It kept him alive. It kept him alert. In no way was the man invincible. He has shattered pieces of grenade lodged in his leg. He is half deaf now from all of the noise. But that was his choice. He could have used ear plugs but he didn't want to. He wanted to hear. He had to hear to make it more real for him. But then something very interesting was said. In reference to the first article i posted about "How can one take a picture of something that is happening in front of his eyes...like a man being shot" ...Nachtwey talks about how if given the oppurtunity...where he is the only one who can stop something bad from happening...he will suspend his journalistic job and save them. He talks about the times during lynch mobs that he has intervened and saved someone. Thats really cool to me. These photographers arent machines. They are real people trying to make a difference in the cultural aspect of it all...but at the same time make the right decisions in the process. There are a lot of great things said in this piece and ill continue to learn more about these photographers. So interesting

Short article on Robert Capa

http://proquest.umi.com.libproxy.usc.edu/pqdweb?did=340001321&sid=15&Fmt=3&clientId=5239&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Robert Capa is one of the most famous war photographers of the 20th Century. He was there for when the first allied wave of troops stormed the Beaches of Normandy among other crazy moments of war. He is touted as the Titan of War Photography. The article above gives a brief taste of who he was and how famous he quickly became. There is a movie that I will be watching this weekend titled simply "War Photography" that chronicles Capa's profession. Its funny, as famous as he was, he hated his job. A quote in the article that stood out to me was "A war photographers greatest wish is unemployment." But once they start, its hard to get out. They find the fuel to do what they do through the adrenaline attained of being right there in the action. He was fearless and strived for catching the most captivating images. The one above, is one of his most famous. It shows a Spanish Soldier being shot in the head and falling at the moment the bullet is exiting the skull. It is taken in Cordoba during the Spanish Civil War. This defines the brutality and reality of war. Looking at images of hippies placing flowers in soldiers guns has one affect. But this is an example of something that has been lost in recent memory as far as covering the war in Iraq among other examples. The government doesn't want to let these images get out anymore.

A spark is ignited

http://proquest.umi.com.libproxy.usc.edu/pqdweb?index=3&did=644508471&SrchMode=1&sid=10&Fmt=4&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1192072203&clientId=5239

This article touches on the work of Susan Sontag who, as we all know, is a very famous photographer and photography critic, especially when it comes to war photography. There is a lot of talk about her work but what really interested me in this article was the thought of the actual photographer of war. Everyone sees the images of war and is shocked or amazed. But can you imagine what its liek to be the one behind the camera? Can you imagine, for a second, taking an image of a mutilated corpse on the side of a road and then lower the camera only to throw up immediately after. This has got my brain thinking and i may have found something very interesting. Who are these people that choose to take the pictures? Why do they do it? And what is the falling action of these peoples lives post war picture taking...? ...to be continued

The Prompt

3. Images of war walk the line between calling upon the viewer to take action and rendering him a voyeur, an onlooker who takes pleasure in looking. Sontag has compelling things to say on this subject, asserting that the French theories of spectacle applied to war are “shockingly provincial.” Choose a series of war photographs that compelled us to look. Did the photos change the course of events? By what standard can a war image get our attention? Or have war photos lost their power to move us?

Lets get this going i guess...

After an incredible weekend back home in Philly I am finally ready to get crackin on this thing. I have skimmed over a lot of my classmates blogs and am surprised to see that not a lot of people are choosing the war imagery topic. Or maybe i didn't look close enough. Simona did a great job with hers and she pulled up some key images that I thought of the first time i read this prompt. This project is interesting because I am interested in the first prompt as well but i feel like the war photography one mixes both together in a way. Photography, especially war photography has always stirred up the viewers emotions and shifted public opinion on a lot of things. Im not exactly sure what I will eventually narrow my search down to but ill keep u posted.