Eddie Adams: The Ethics of War Photography

Street Execution of a Prisoner, 1968 by Eddie Adams

Images like this one make for uncomfortable viewing, however they have a hugely important role in history. This shocking photograph was taken in 1968 by the photo-journalist Eddie Adams. It captures the exact moment a bullet enters the head of a suspected Vietcong guerilla called Nguyen Van Lam. The man holding the gun was Colonel Nguyun Ngoc Loan, chief of the South Vietnamese Police.

Technically, the image is an incredible demonstration of the skill of still photography as a document of honest reportage; the courage needed to go into dangerous situations and calmly take a good picture is something that requires a huge degree of detachment and self-discipline. However, pictures like this one undoubtedly raise questions about the ethical implications of media coverage in war. Was the man executed because the media was present? Surely it was important that there were independent witnesses there? According to Adams after the incident the Colonel exclaimed, 'They kill many of my men and your people,' and then walked away. The reaction to this photograph was so profound that it fueled anti-war sentiments in the US, exposing the brutality and casual violence of the Vietnam War.

Tom's Hands

I took this photograph in 2001 whilst working on the archaeological illustration of a huge assemblage of artefacts excavated in South County Dublin. After drawing this beautifully worked Neolithic flint arrowhead I asked one of the archeologists to hold it in his hands for me. Tom, was over 70 at the time and had worked hard all his life. I imagined that the the person who crafted this seemingly fragile stone weapon thousands of years ago, may have had similar hands. I love the juxtaposition of the delicate artefact, which is capable of inflicting fatal harm when used correctly, with Tom's large and weathered hands.

Through The Eye Of A Needle: Pin-Hole Photography

Today, in the space of an hour I built my very own camera, took a photograph (see next previous post) and processed it in the dark room I set up at home. You can make a pin-hole camera out of just about anything, even a car. Just so long as it's completely sealed from any possible light source. Here are the 8 steps you need to follow to make your very own home-made camera.

Easy peasy.

Step 1
Get a container, it can be any shape, you just need to be able to make it light tight.

Step 2
Colour the inside of the container black. You can use spray paint, black card, even shoe polish. Just make sure it's completely black inside.

Step 3.
Punch a hole in the object.

Step 4

Cover the place where you made the hole with some aluminum foil, taping it on, making sure no light gets in.

Step 5
Using a pin make a hole in the foil in exactly the same spot where you punched the hole in the container. Now you have a very fine aperture opening.

Step 6
Now you need to make a light-tight lense cap. Simply cut a piece of card and place it over the pin hole, attaching it with some masking tape.

Step 7
Cut a piece of photographic paper to fit into your container, in a dark room, with no light pollution. You don't want to expose the paper before you insert it into the camera.

Step 8
Take your picture. Keeping in mind, because the opening is so small you'll need to take a long exposure. Put your container in a stationary position and remove the lense cap. I did a few tests and decided 20 seconds was long enough for my camera. There are ways to calculate it but I decided to figure it out myself through the forever successful method of trial and error.

Mimic Shot: Using a Homemade Pin-Hole Camera

This image of a window (top right) was taken in 1835 by Henry Fox Talbot with a camera obscura, the first form of camera, it is one of the earliest photographs in existence.

Today, I decided to try and replicate the image. Since I don't have a camera obscura I decided to reproduce the picture using my pin-hole camera, which works using the same principle. That is to project an image through a tiny opening onto light sensitive paper (today's photographic paper) in a light-tight container. By making a pin-hole and exposing the paper to the light that passes through it a physical reaction occurs. Which, after processing the paper through chemicals in the dark room, ultimately becomes the reflected image your object was pointing at.


Bear in mind the image will be in reverse and in negative. So, in order to make a positive photograph in reverse you simply place another piece of light sensitive paper against your image and expose them to light.


This is the result I came up with.
I must say I'm quite proud of myself.
Today, in the space of an hour or so I
built my very own camera, took a photograph and processed the image in the dark room I set up at home.

Tony Vaccaro: Capturing Conflict

'I wanted to collect evidence against the war, the futility, the destruction ... I said to myself, don't worry about how good the photo is. When the eye sees it, do it.'
Tony Vaccaro

In 1943 a young 22 year old Italian-Amercian called Tony Vaccaro was drafted into the US army, he would spend the following year traveling across Europe with his regiment. Vaccaro's passion for photography came with him to war. With a rifle on one arm and a camera around his neck he was always ready for any kind of action.

Official war photographers at the time, like Robert Capa, sometimes sensationalized the conflict almost romanticizing the drama. After all they were intended to sell newspapers. However, Vaccaro was a soldier first and a photographer second. He couldn't leave the conflict whenever he chose and return home. On one occasion when he came across the ruins of a camera shop in Germany, he took some chemicals and processed a roll of film on a moonless night in his helmet, hanging it to dry on a nearby tree.

His position in the front line, meant that he was exposed to the most brutal reality. He saw no romance in war rather he witnessed the futility of young men following orders that would eventually lead many of them to their death. His documentation of the Second World War finally led him to Berlin where he stayed to record post-war life. His images were published in 'Weekend' the Sunday supplement of the U.S Army magazine 'Stars and Stripes'. A few years later he returned to America where he became a renowned fashion and lifestyle photographer.

I wonder if the act of recording an experience like the Second World War from your very own eyes would help to the heal the trauma of such exposure, enabling you to stand back and see the whole picture, or photograph as the case may be.

I Heart Colour: Blue

Photographs by Alva

I Heart Colour: Pink

Photographs by Alva

I Heart Colour: Red

Photographs by Alva

I Heart Colour: Green

Photographs by Alva

I Heart Colour: Orange

Photographs by Alva

I Heart Colour: Yellow

Photographs by Alva

Henri Cartier-Bresson: Waiting for the Decisive Moment

'To take a photograph is to hold one's breath when all faculties converge in the face of fleeting reality. It is at that moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy'
Henri Cartier-Bresson

This picture, 'Behind the Gare Saint Lazare, 1936' (right) was taken by the father of modern photography, French photographer, Henri Cartier-Bresson. It is undoubtedly one of his most famous and sold at a Christie's auction in Paris last week for $590,455. The reason it reached such a price is because it captures what Bresson was all about, 'the decisive moment'. At a time of huge advances in photographic equipment, a fleeting moment could now be captured and Bresson grabbed it, again and again. This became his signature. Photographing moments in time that could be missed in the blink of an eye. He also was a keen observer of the human condition, he loved to photograph people, real people, unaware of his observant lens.

He is probably the most influential, admired and respected figure in the history of photography. He traveled extensively and took thousands of images, each one incredible. Not only was he technically a great photographer, but he also had a highly intuitive eye, his images will always be popular because he mastered the human portrait like no one else.