Book Review: Blood and Champagne, by Alex Kershaw
An Unauthorized Biography of Robert Capa
The author provides the background story to Capa's work and insight into the photographers' community from the 1930s to the 1950s. Reading Capa's story made me realize how much happened in the relatively…
An Unauthorized Biography of Robert Capa
INTRODUCTION
Having spent my childhood in the 60s through 80s of the last century in the southeast of the Netherlands near the German border, I remember playing in the demolished remnants of the bunkers of the Westwall (Siegried Line) and seeing the dragon's teeth anti-tank devices just over the border near Aachen, Germany.
And with parents and other family members who lived through the Second World War, that period in history always has had my interest—specifically concerning what happened in the so-called European Theather of Operations (ETO).
Combine this interest with my passion for photography, and it will not be a surprise that I loved reading this unauthorized biography of probably the most famous photographer of World War 2 and the decades immediately before and after that terrible period in history.
The author, Alex Kershaw (England, 1966), is a journalist, public speaker and the author of several best-selling books. His journalism includes investigative pieces, reportages, and interviews with a broad range of subjects. He also has led many battlefield tours of Europe.
Technical data:
Published: 2003 (first US edition)
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
ISBN: 0-312-31564-3
Size: 6 3/8” x 9 1/2” x 1”
The book has 23 chapters, each based on an important stage of Capa's life.
Furthermore, it contains:
a List of Illustrations;
Acknowledgements;
a foreword/introduction by the author
an Epilogue
Notes
Bibliography
Index
It also includes a section with 26 images: 18 are images of Capa, and 8 are images of his friends or acquaintances (the book does not have any pictures made by Capa).
REVIEW
Kershaw's narrative provides a unique insight into the life and background of the man André Friedman, who became the famous war photojournalist Robert Capa.
The author provides the background story to Capa's work and insight into the photographers' community from the 1930s to the 1950s. Reading Capa's story made me realize how much happened in the relatively short period of 3 decades that he was active: the Spanish Civil War, the Chinese-Japanese wars, World War 2, Korea, and Indo-China.
It, therefore, should not be a surprise that Capa's lifestyle and restlessness show symptoms of what we currently probably would associate with PTSD.
Capa was a photojournalist. But he was also a passionate photographer. One of the gems I found in the book was a quote from John Steinbeck ('Popular Photography' September 1954): "It does seem to me that Capa has proved beyond all doubt that the camera need not be a cold mechanical device. Like the pen, it is as good as the man who uses it. It can be the extension of mind and heart." [p. 1]
While he tried his hands at other trades, fortunately for the world Capa "decided to become a photographer, which was the nearest thing to journalism for anyone who found himself without a language." [p. 16]
Whether this was because his German - and later English - seemed not to have been the best or for other reasons, it shows that photography is a universal language.
As the author observes, "like nothing else, a still photography conjures up vivid memories." [p. 4]. Eva Besnyö, a friend of Capa and a great photographer in her own right, already realized that "Photographs could be a socially conscious artist's means of showing truth to the world, thereby helping to change it." [p. 14]
Capa embraced this notion, as Pierre Gassman noted: "He wanted to show people things they had never seen. He wanted to shock and surprise." [p. 24]
Capa achieved this with his unique style of getting as close as possible to his subjects, which he developed early in his career. Already during his first assignment, photographing Trotsky, "he had got within a few feet of his subject" [p. 19]
Capa later explained his "trademark intimacy and intensity." [p. 19] with his famous words, "If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough." [p. 164]
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
This book is an impressive biography of one of the great, if not the greatest, photojournalists of the 20th century.
It provides a unique, intimate insight into Robert Capa's life, the 'how' and 'when' of some of the most famous images of that era, and the photographer's community during the heydays of photojournalism.
A 'must read' for anyone interested in photojournalism, the era from the Spanis Civil War until the origins of the Vietnam War, or the photographers' community from the 1930s to the late 1950s.
Book Review: Shooter
David Hume Kennerly: War Photographer and Photographer Of Presidents
Although it contains several images by Kennerly, it is not a photobook. It is his story in his own words from how he became a photographer …
David Hume Kennerly: War Photographer and Photographer Of Presidents
Introduction
I was gifted this book by my daughter, who is a photography and art history student, and knows I am very interested in documentary photography.
David Hume Kennerly (born March 9, 1947) is an American photographer. He won the 1972 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography for his portfolio of photographs of the Vietnam War, Cambodia, East Pakistani refugees near Calcutta, and the Ali-Frazier fight in Madison Square Garden. He has photographed every American president since Lyndon B Johnson. He is the first Presidential Scholar at the University of Arizona.
source: Wikipedia
Although it contains several images by Kennerly, it is not a photobook. It is his story in his own words from how he became a photographer, his time as a war photographer, covering Gerald Ford’s presidency, and later his coverage of other important global events.
Published: 1979
Publisher: Newsweek Books
ISBN: 0-88225-265-8
Size: 7. 1/4” x 9. 1/4” x 7/8”
Review
The book has five main sections, grouped around Kennerly's most significant portfolios:
The time from him being a young rookie shooter up to the moment he won the Pulitzer Prize For Feature Photography for his Vietnam War coverage in 1971;
His photographic and other activities during the Asian wars in general;
His White House coverage, during the presidency of President Ford (2 sections);
And, finally, his coverage of critical global events and photographs of world leaders.
Kennerly's narrative provides an excellent insight into what it was to be a press photographer during the Vietnam War era and covering major world history events.
The five portfolio sections that divide the book contain impressive images. To name a few examples: President Richard Nixon in his last public appearance as Chief Executive, President Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in the Oval Office, Leonid Breshnev at the Helsinki Conference, and President Anwar Sadat in his home.
Conclusion and Recommendation
This book is an immensely impressive document by and about one of the great documentary photographers of the 20th century.
It provides a unique, intimate insight into the 'how' and 'when' of some of the most famous images of that era. And in the life and thoughts of the photographer who created them.
The curse of the shooter is that he is always an observer, never a participant.
For me, one of the most critical observations the author makes is, "The curse of the shooter is that he is always an observer, never a participant."
While Kennerly relates this to the fact that he felt that he was never able to see the stories he documented through to the end, it emphasizes that as a (social)documentary photographer, you need to record, not impact or change the events you are photographing.
This notion relates very much to my vision of straight photography, which I elaborated on in a previous blog post.
In conclusion, this is one of the best photography books I have read. Although written more than 40 years ago, it is still very current, and I recommend that every photographer get their hands on a copy to read.