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“The brave ones were shooting the enemy.
The crazy ones were shooting film."
--Norman T. Hatch, U.S. Marine Corps- WWII (Combat Camera)

Combat Photography

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but the power invoked from combat photography is worth more than even a thousand words can express.  Capturing every imaginable range of emotions, these pictures can bring the viewer into another world, one filled with horror and devastation. Photographs of war run the gamut from death and destruction, to the hope seen in the faces of the innocent.  War photography takes the viewer to a place he or she does not want to be, but must know about. It is the duty of combat photographers to introduce people a world away to a side of humanity (or lack thereof) they never knew existed.  For some, the realities of war are too harsh; The photographs are too real, which is exactly their intent.

 

The importance of combat photography is best described below by Yosuke Yamahata, a photographer who documented WWII in Japan:

Human memory has a tendency to slip, and critical judgment to fade, with the years and with changes in lifestyle and circumstance.  But the camera, just as it seized the grim realities of that time, brings the stark facts…before our eyes without the need for the slightest embellishment.  Today, with the remarkable recovery made by both Nagasaki and Hiroshima, it may be difficult to recall the past, but these photographs will continue to provide us with an unwavering testimony to the realities of that time. (qtd. in McDougall)

Combat photographers are an elite group because they must do their job in a firefight using cameras -- not weapons (Combat Camera).  The photographers are not bystanders.  They aren’t invisible.  Their lives are at risk as much as those firing bullets instead of camera flashes.  Their job is to block out fear in order to capture the events around them accurately to get their message across.  Which can be difficult under such opposing circumstances. 

When faced with such an image of devastation, of human life at risk, or worse, people immediately react with awe and disbelief.  For the vast majority of people who haven’t experienced the horror of hand-to-hand combat, it is like getting a glimpse into another world.  A raw side of human nature.  Most ignore the fact that, yes, an actual person was holding that camera.  An actual person experienced that.  Looking at such images forces the viewer to understand the frailty of human life, and also what humans are capable of.  Displeasing?  Yes.  But nonetheless of great importance.  By exposing the worldwide media to these images, by forcing people worldwide to understand the depth of these acts, it will bring about awareness.  War is happening.  It’s not just a story on the front page, and these pictures are the proof.

Works Cited

International Combat Camera Association Inc. 2 January 2001. 7 March 2001. <http://www.combatcamera.org/>.

McDougall, Marina, Ed. Remembering Nagasaki. The Exploratorium. 6 March 2001.
<http://www.exploratorium.edu/nagasaki/journey/journey25.html/>

photos from:
600th Photo Squadron-www.store.yahoo.com/ihf/252.html
Soldiers-www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/publications/elsalvador2/
Map-www.rnw.nl/humanrights/html/el_salvador.html
Camera-www.minoltausa.com/