Sunday 18/4/21 - Nick Ut, João Silva and Roger Fenton

Nick Ut

Nick Ut was the photographer for the famous photo from the Vietnam war of the 'Napalm Girl' Kim Phúc, the photo was appropriately titled 'The Terror of War'. Shortly after the photo was taken he actually helped rush her to a hospital and to this day he keeps in contact with her. The story behind the photo is that the South Vietnamese accidentally dropped Napalm on the village, making this a case of friendly fire, a subject not often seen by the public.

Born in Vietnam, Nick Ut joined the Associated Press not long after his older brother was unfortunately killed in combat. This happened at a pretty young age for Nick, around 1966. He covered the Vietnam war, often risking his life and getting wounded whilst trying to take photos of the war.

His photos very much undermine any ideas that war is something glorious, instead they often show the brutal reality especially with how the innocent civilians are affected. I like his work for this, the photos show some of the terrors and monstrosities of the Vietnam war.

João Silva

João Silva is a Portuguesse born South African war photographer who was apart of the group called the Bang-Bang Club, a group of 4 photographers who covered South Africa whilst it was transitioning away from the apartheid system of segregation to democracy. Silva co-authoured a book about the group and later a film was made about them. He has also covered the Balkans, Middle East, Central Asia and Russia in his line of work. Since 2017 he has been working for The New York Times in Africa.

I like these photos because it feels like photos showcasing events during the fall of apartheid are a rarer sight in terms of photo journalism and war photography. Whilst not all of the images below are from this, nearly all show the effect different conflicts have had on civilians.

Roger Fenton

Fenton is considered one of the first war photographers. Born 1819, he became very interested in the new technology of photography during 1851 and a few years later was commissioned to cover the events of the Crimean War. Due to the limited technology at the time he could only photograph stationary objects, this is because the photos required a long exposure. Often these photos were posed and he wanted to avoid taking photos of those who were dead or injured as this would offend those who commissioned him and was against their reasoning for these photos. Alongside this he took landscape photos of the area where the conflict was taking place.

His work, unlike most other war photographers, wasn't made with the intent to show the truth behind war and the horrors that take place. Instead they seemed very likely to be made in an attempt to counter the upopularity of the war and to reassure the public.

What I like about these photos is that it's very different to usual war photography, it shows only calm scenes and none of the actual conflict. They weren't made to show the horrors of war, only sway the public away from disliking the war. I find it interesting to see photos from a time where this technology was very new so seeing pictures taken near a conflict from this time is rare. It's a small glimpse into life back then, but definitely doesn't show the full story and context.