McCullin
BBC Imagine: A Portrait of Don McCullin
Don McCullin is primarily know as a British War photographer, who whilst he worked at the Sunday times in the 60’ and 70’s brought images of the Vietnam war, the Conflicts in Cyprus and many more to the publics attention. However, for me he has always been something more than that and some times I wonder if the reason I own a camera is seeing his imagery as a child.
I write the blog post in the midst of assignment 3 of expressing your vision – an assignment on the decisive moment and I’m certainly in the camp that’s feels that you don’t have to replicate Cartier Bresson to have a decisive moment – just look at the work of Don McCullin.
McCullin seems to follow the old Robert Capa phrase “if your photo’s aren’t good enough, your not close enough”. This isn’t just closeness in a physical sense but knowing and caring about your subject and it is this part of McCullin that really comes across in this film.
McCullin has would you could describe as morals there are circumstances where he has walked away from a shot e.g. at executions or times where as well being an observer and photographer put his own life on the line to take humanitarian action. i.e. in Vietnam whilst imbed with US troops he often assisted with brig back wounded whilst under fire.
This closeness and moral behavior is what I feel really added to McCullin shots there is no feeling of voyeurism when I look through his work which I have done many times. His Portrait of a shell shocked Vietnam soldier to me sums up that whole conflict – young soldier, quite tough looking but seemingly lost in a moment not know where he is or why. I feel that this is just as valid a decisive moment as the Cartier Bresson’s Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare and much less encouraging of derivative work.
His work is shot black and white which was the norm for the day but it that that gives he work a timeless appeal, he has shots warts and all it is documentary work at it purest what stands it apart is moral of the man behind the camera.
Perhaps some of his best work is the coverage of Berlin at the time the wall was being built in 1961. He went on a whim not sent by a newspaper so was terribly unprepared using a camera he had bought whilst doing he National Service in the RAF it was the right instrument for the Job but my using combination of low angles, extreme upward tilts and other trick we produced and set of images that convey what was happening in those few short days when east and west were partitioned. The low angles make the action more imposing, more oppressing I feel when I look at the images like I am small child in Berlin helpless to do anything about what is happening and even a little scared of the tanks and soldiers.
In summary Don McCullin to me is documentary photography.
Bibliography
MORRIS, Jacqui. 2015. BBC Imagine 2013 McCullin. [online]. [Accessed 7 Sep 2015]. Available from World Wide Web: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV-RM-Th3Uk>
MCCULLIN, Don. unknown. [online]. [Accessed 7 Aug 2015]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://scalr-9465-us-east-1.s3.amazonaws.com/images/PHOTO_18267371.jpg>
MCCULLIN, Don. 2001. Don McCullin. Jonathon Cape.