WW2 Photographers By Ellena Pfeffer
Table Of Content Introduction Robert Capa--------------1 W. Eugene Smith----------2 Yousuf Karsh----------3 Carl Mydans-----------4 Joe Rosenthal---------5
Introduction
WW2 impacted our world in both positive and negative ways; while over 60 million people were killed, significant gains were made in the fields of science, math, and technology as part of the mechanisms of warfare. Popular culture’s depiction of this war is often limited to battlefields, starving refugees abroad, etc. While this work is both important and necessary, I am also interested in how photography of that time period reflects the daily lives of civilians, especially in America. The birth of documentary photography, in a modern sense, had a great impact on how audiences viewed these political conflicts and even on the kinds of actions they demanded from their politicians. The purpose behind these photos was to document the lives lost, the lives lived, and the people in the heart the war. These photographers also showed the viewers what their new bombs could do to a whole city; they showed us the human cost of concentration camps. These photographs even showed us the ending of the war and how it impacted the lives of soldiers and civillians alike. In this essay, I will examine a few photographers whose work demonstrates the impactful combination of the horrific and the everyday that is inherent in war.
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Robert Capa, made so many photographs that have changed our culture. He was born in Hungry as Endre Feidmann. Years later he was working as a photographer in Germany, he had to leave for France because the Nazis were taking way jewish jobs. He had changed his name because the rise of the Nazis. His name Capa means Shark in Hungarian, which was
also Endre’s nickname. In WW2 on Omaha Beach (Normandy) Capa took 106 photographs of the landing. After the war Capa, took photos of the Soviets, and traveled through Russia and the Ukraine; with an American writer John Steinbeck. a couple years later he founded Magnum Photos, in France, where famous photographers came together to create group just for photographers. Capa told the world that he was done talking war photographs, but the he got an assignment to cover South East Asia, on May 28th 1954 Capa stepped on a land mine while photographing an “advance”. Soon after Robert Capa died while heading to a hospital. Robert Capa, was one of the most well known WW2 photographers. He has captured D-Day the Allied invasion of Normandy France. (Image 1) This is a photograph of the landing of Normandy, during which 24,000 Allied soldiers landed on the 50-mile beach. Robert Capa was placed (1)“nearly 100 yards from the beach during the first wave of the invasion.” Capa was the water “dodging heavy fire and carrying three cameras.” He managed to make it to land, and Capa shot a photograph of the troops landing on shore. Capa spent the day on the beach and “witnessed men shot, blown up and set on fire.” The man in the photograph is Huston Riley. Riley ended up getting shot in the shoulder a couple times, and one of the people who carried him to safety was Robert Capa. This image really shows the viewer of how hectic this war was. The motion and blurriness really emphasizes the fast pace of the troops’ efforts to get onto the beach. This photograph was used in so many articles, magazine covers, and even posters. I have always been impressed about how Capa could capture such a chaotic moment in history with a film camera.
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(4) Eugene Smith, liked to work with multiple images to cover a story, also known as a (Photo Essay). LIFE Magazine was one of the main magazines that would do big stories like war etc. and send the photographers out in the field. Smith was one of the masters of this type of work. He was
an American photographer, born in Kansas. One of the reasons why he was desired, was his ability to light places. His ways of using flash was different from other photographers. Most photographers back in the WW2 era put the flashes on there cameras, but Smith used the flash off camera and used the natural light as well to make a photograph really pop and stand out from the rest. When he got to Japan and started working, he noticed how bad and horrible the war was. He captured the lives and the hostile environments in his photographs and was wondering why we where at war at all. In 1945 Smith got hit by a shell, which ended up wounding him pretty seriously, and took him a few years to recover. Smith was able to be creative even when there was an confinements of photo journalism. I think that’s what makes him so unique. W. Eugene Smith covered the South Pacific during WW2. Smith said “The scene of demolition on Iwo Jima symbolizes the saga of battle that in years to come will take on the epic quality of Roncevaux, Agincourt and Gettysburg. Blown up into this column of smoke is a blockhouse and some stubborn Japs who would not leave their hiding place, although invited by the Marines to surrender quietly.” In (image 1) there are US militants in the foreground; they are blowing up a “Japanese Blockhouse in Iwo Jima,” (which is an island part of Japan). What I find intriguing is that photograph is so simple yet has a lot to it. The baron land and the explosion really makes this feel “dead”. Smith shows four soldiers in the front, but there the only ones that are “living”. Which really is one of the things that makes this photograph so strong; the meanings behind this photograph.
(5) Yusuf Karsh, He came to Canada at age 16 from Armenia. Armenia was fighting with the Turkish when he moved. Harsh first had the idea of being a physician but ended up being a photographer. Karsh moved to
Boston and was an apprentice to this Photographer for a few years. Before he photographed someone he would get to know them, get to know the subject favorite thing. For example Karsh was going to photograph Ernest Hemingway and he told Karsh his favorite drink was a Daiquiri; so Karsh had to try it before he photographed him. Which I think is really interesting to do. I have never heard of a photographer back in the WW2 era doing that before. Yousuf Karsh is a well-known Canadian portrait photographer. Back during WW2, Karsh took one of the most famous photographs of Winston Churchill (Image 3). This photograph was one of the cover photographs for LIFE Magazine, when the war ended. Karsh had set his equipment the night before. Churchill was in Ottawa, (Canada’s capital) to make a speech. Churchill seemed to not know he was getting his photo taken that day, but at the end of the day Winston Churchill approved and had Karsh take another happier photograph of him. It’s really impressive to see that Karsh used expressions as one of the main keys to his portrait photography. He was one of the photographers that photographed famous people around the world.
(6) Carl Mydans, was an American born photographer. He devoted himself in photography in college. He went to New York as a writer and then joined a group for photographers; he went to New England and America’s South, documenting the poorest of places. Mydans would take street photography on while on his lunch break. He was on assignment for LIFE Magazine to cover the War in Europe and Asia. In “ Military testing at Fort Totten”. (Image 4) Mydans was placed in France at the start of the war, and he moved around Europe, and Asia. At one point, he was mistaken as a German Spy, and taken in to custody in the Philippines. He was released 1943 and got right back to work. At the end of the war, he worked on book he co-wrote called The Violent Peace. This photograph, shows strength of the US army.
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Rosenthal, was an born American. He was born in Washington D.C where he shared a house with four brothers and his parents. Years later when he was much older Rosenthal moved to San Francisco, and worked as reporter-photographer. Later he joined the United States Maritime Service as a photographer. Rosenthal followed the troops all around Asia. Where he took his famous photograph “Rising the Flag�. [Which he won a Pulitzer Prize]. In his later years before he retired, Rosenthal worked as a photographer for the San Francisco Chronicle. At age 94 Rosenthal died. This image is probably one of the more recognized photos from WW2. Rosenthal made this photograph on Iwo Jima. Just like W. Eugene Smith, he was on the island to capture the ways of life on the island. The US
flag was placed on top of Mount Suribachi after the mountain was “captured”. The militants found a metal rod to use as a poll for the flag. When George G. Wells who carried the 140 by 71 flag to the site got there, they raised the flag, to represent victory. The US where trying to make a point to the Japanese. This photograph, is really powerful in how it shows defeat and “peace” When the public saw this photo, I feel it would be empowering, showing the nations how strong America was, during WW2. This is documentary photography at its best. These photos have been sent around the world as stories to share to the younger generations, and to generations to come. These photographs well always inspire viewers.
References
(1)/(2) "How The Iconic D-Day Photos Were Almost Lost Forever." Time. Time, n.d. Web. 12 Aug. 2016.
(3)/(4) "Magnum Photos Photographer Portfolio." Magnum Photos Photographer Portfolio. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Aug. 2016.
(5) "Magnum Photos." Magnum Photos. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Aug. 2016.
(6) "Photographers Gallery - Photographs by Carl Mydans." Photographers Gallery - Photographs by Carl Mydans. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Aug. 2016.
(7) Goldstein, Richard. "Joe Rosenthal, Photographer at Iwo Jima, Dies." The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 Aug. 2006. Web. 12 Aug. 2016.