Tag:WWII

lee miller

Daring Beauty, Defiant Lens: Unmasking Lee Miller, the Photographer

Lee Miller (1907-1977) was more than just a photographer. She was an iconoclast, a surrealist, and a trailblazer in the male-dominated world of 20th-century photography. Her journey began as a model in the fashion capitals of New York and Paris, and later on, she did significant work as a war correspondent during World War II. Throughout her life, she demonstrated audacity, creativity, and an unyielding determination to challenge conventions. This post explores the multifaceted life of Lee Miller, who used her camera to express protest and truth.

Early Life 

Elizabeth Miller was born in 1907 in Poughkeepsie, New York. Her father, an amateur photographer, encouraged her to develop a keen eye for visual composition. However, her childhood was not without trauma. During a trip to Brooklyn, at age seven, she was sexually assaulted by a family acquaintance and contracted a sexually transmitted disease. 

Modelling Career

During her teenage years, her modelling career began with her father, an amateur stereoscopic photographer. He took several nude pictures of her, which have since been the subject of controversy. Some people argue that the images sexualised Miller and that some were taken when she was still a minor.

“He took pictures of her that to our eyes are very dubious,” fashion editor Marion Hume says in Capturing Lee Miller, a 2020 documentary by Teresa Griffiths. 

Artnews.com

At the age of 19, she left home for New York City with a goal to become a fashion model. Her striking beauty caught the attention of renowned photographers, such as Arnold Genthe, Nickolas Muray, and Edward Steichen. They captured her image for the covers of Vogue and Vanity Fair.

Surrealist Muse and Photographer

In 1926, Lee decided to concentrate on photography and went to Paris to study with Man Ray, the leading figure in the Surrealist movement at that time. She soon became both his muse and artistic collaborator. Under Man Ray’s guidance, she discovered the avant-garde world of Surrealism and experimented with various techniques like solarization and photograms. Although Man Ray often overshadowed her, Lee started creating her own captivating photographs and explored the interplay of light, shadow, and dreamlike compositions.

Eventually, their student/teacher relationship also developed into a romantic one. Miller was also instrumental in inventing Man Ray’s solarisation photographic technique, which reverses black-and-white hues, creating a halo-like effect. According to Miller, she happened upon the method accidentally when she inadvertently turned on the darkroom lights while developing a photograph.

Lee had a passionate relationship with Man Ray but desired artistic independence. In the late 1920s, she began exhibiting her work and gained recognition for her unique vision. Lee was known for photographing the Surrealist circle’s artists, writers, and intellectuals, capturing their personalities and creative spirit.

Fashion and War Photography

After leaving Man Ray, Lee returned to New York in 1932 and continued to work as a model while also establishing herself as a fashion photographer for Vogue. Her unique use of natural light and innovative compositions set her apart from her contemporaries. When World War II broke out, Lee volunteered as a war correspondent for Vogue.

In 1944, she covered the first use of napalm bombing at the Battle of St. Malo. She was also present at the London Blitz and the liberation of Paris. Notably, she was also present at the Battle of Alsace and the U.S. military’s entry into Nazi concentration camps at Buchenwald and Dachau. These events made her one of only a few photographers in the U.S. Army at the time to see combat. Her powerful and unflinching war photographs are a compelling reminder of the devastation caused by the war.

Dead SS officer floating in a canal, Dachau, Germany

Ironically, the most famous photograph involving Miller was not taken by her but of her by Scherman on April 30, 1945, just after the liberation of Dachau. Miller and Scherman were in Hitler’s Munich apartment, which U.S. soldiers had just raided, and they created their well-known bathtub picture. It was later published in Vogue. For Scherman, the scene captured in the photo represented “the last of the Hitler myth” – a soiled bathmat with Miller’s boots still covered in the dust from the camps and a propaganda portrait of the dictator on the tub’s edge. Coincidentally, and unknown to Miller, the image was taken on the same day Hitler committed suicide in his bunker.

Later Life and Legacy

Following the war’s end, Lee Miller married a British artist named Roland Penrose, settled in England and had her first child at 40. Sadly, however, Miller’s childhood trauma and wartime experiences resulted in bouts of depression and struggled with alcoholism. Though she continued to take photographs, she focused on her personal life and mental health. She struggled with depression and the lasting effects of her childhood trauma. However, Lee never lost her creative spirit, exploring cooking, writing, and sculpting. Miller died in 1977, leaving behind a rich legacy of photographs documenting the world around her and the complexities of her own life.

Upcoming film starring Kate Winslett
Lee Miller’s Impact

Lee Miller’s life is a story of perseverance, artistic curiosity, and a determination not to let her beauty or relationships with men define her. Through her photography, we are given a glimpse into the worlds of fashion, Surrealism, and the devastation of war. Lee Miller, the woman who stood behind the camera, remains a source of inspiration for countless female photographers who admire her unique perspective and her unwavering pursuit of creative freedom.

remembrance day 2023

The Australian War Memorial: A Tribute to Sacrifice and Remembrance

The Australian War Memorial (AWM) is a significant landmark in the heart of the Australian capital, Canberra. It serves as a shrine, museum, and archive, preserving the memory of the Australians who lost their lives in war or on active duty, as well as those who served during times of conflict. The Memorial’s core mission is to promote a better understanding of Australia’s wartime experience and to facilitate remembrance of the sacrifices made by the country’s brave servicemen and women.

The Great War

The loss of life in the First World War was catastrophic. From a population of fewer than five million, 60,000 Australians were killed, and 156,000 were wounded, gassed, or taken prisoner. The unimaginable scale of loss led to the creation of memorials across the country as a new way to express national grief. Shocked by the scale of death, historian and offical war correspondent Charles Bean proposed and advocated for a national memorial.

building the dome at the Australian War Memorial
During the construction of the dome
Charles Bean

Charles Bean was born in Bathurst, New South Wales on November 18, 1879. When he was ten, his family relocated to England, where he completed his education. Later, he returned to Australia and pursued a career in journalism. In 1914, the Journalists’ Association chose him as an official war correspondent.

charles bean
Bean working on the writing of the official history of the First World War, c.1935
Gallipoli

Bean arrived at Anzac Cove in Gallipoli at 10 a.m. on April 25, 1915, five and a half hours after the initial landing. Two weeks later, he joined two Australian brigades in a costly and failed attack at Cape Helles. For his assistance to the wounded soldiers under fire on the night of May 8, he was recommended for the Military Cross. However, as a civilian, he was not eligible for the award and was only mentioned in the dispatches. He was the only correspondent who stayed in Gallipoli from April to December.

dioarama at australian war memorial
dioarama at australian war memorial

On August 6, Bean was wounded in his right leg. Refusing to be taken off to a hospital ship, he hobbled to his dugout. Laying there and having the wound dressed daily until August 24, when he was well enough to again and observe the fighting. In 1916-18, Bean was in France to observe every engagement of the A.I.F. On his return to Australia he supervised the development of the 12-volume Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918. He also authored six volumes, finishing the final one in 1942.

A Legacy of Remembrance

On November 11, 1941, the Australian War Memorial was opened during World War II, on what is now known as Remembrance Day. This date holds immense importance as it marks the end of World War I, which significantly impacted Australia. Established to honour and preserve the memory of all Australians who have served in wars and conflicts, it acknowledges their sacrifices and ensures that their stories are remembered for generations to come.

lt colonel john treloara
Lt. Colonel John Treloar

John Treloar, who was from Melbourne, also landed on Gallipoli on April 25, 1915. Treloar was instrumental in making Bean’s vision a reality. In 1917, he became the head of the newly established Australian War Records Section (AWRS) in London. He was responsible for collecting records and relics for the future museum and assisting the official historian. Following the war, Treloar dedicated his life to the memorial, influencing almost every aspect of its development. He was appointed Director of the Memorial in 1920. Treloar held the position until his passing in 1952, except for a brief period during the Second World War when he was in charge of the Military History and Information Section (MHIS).

Men of the 53rd Battalion waiting to don their equipment for the attack at Fromelles. Only three of the men shown here came out of the action alive and those three were wounded
the Western Front

On July 19, 1916, the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) launched their first major attack on the Western Front in Fromelles, northern France. 7,000 Australian soldiers charged across open ground in broad daylight under heavy fire and direct observation from the German lines. By the next day, over 5,500 were wounded, and nearly 1,900 lay dead. These horrendous statistics made it the most devastating 24 hours in Australia’s history. In the following days, three Australian Divisions continued to attack German positions at Pozières. This resulted in an additional 23,000 casualties over six weeks.

Pozieres 1914
Pozieres 1914

‘The field of Pozières is more consecrated by Australian fighting and more hallowed by Australian blood than any field which has ever existed.

Charles Bean
Architectural marvel

The memorial’s design balanced the desire for an impressive monument to honour the fallen soldiers and a budget of only £250,000. In 1927, an architectural competition was held, but none of the designs submitted were satisfactory. However, two entrants, Emil Sodersteen and John Crust, were encouraged to combine their designs. Sodersteen’s vision for the building and Crust’s idea of cloisters to house the Roll of Honour with over 60,000 names were incorporated into the joint design. This was ultimately accepted, and the joint design serves as the foundation of the building we see today.

wall of remembrance at Australian War Memorial
The rolls of honour

In the middle of the memorial site is a Commemorative Area surrounded by arched cloisters. Bronze panels hold the Roll of Honour, listing the names of those who have lost their lives. Beyond the cloisters stands the impressive Hall of Memory at the edge of the Pool of Reflection. The interior wall and dome of the hall are covered in a mosaic of six million pieces. Stunning stained-glass windows also line the walls. Within the Hall of Memory lies the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier.

australian war memorial hall of rembrance
Hall of Remembrance – stained glass windows
Redevelopment

The Australian War Memorial received funding approval for a development project in 2018. The goal of the Memorial’s redevelopment is to acknowledge the service of our country’s veterans, both now and in the future. The project involves constructing a new southern entrance, a new Anzac Hall, and fitting out new galleries in the main building, which will create additional exhibition spaces. A new research center and reading room have been included in an extension to the CEW Bean Building. Parade Ground and landscaping works have also been carried out to accommodate increased attendance at events.

According to the Australian War Memorial’s website, the proposed development project is estimated to cost $498 million. However, the final cost of the project could be up to $527 million due to additional costs such as inflation, unforeseen circumstances, and additional work. The sandstone building’s iconic façade housing the Roll of Honour, Pool of Reflection, and Hall of Memory will remain unchanged.

Education and Commemoration

The AWM plays a crucial role in educating visitors about the country’s military history and the impact of war on humanity. This museum boasts an impressive collection of artifacts. Item such as weapons, uniforms, diaries, and photographs, offer valuable insights into Australian service personnel’s lives. Through its permanent and temporary exhibitions, the memorial delves into different aspects of Australia’s involvement in conflicts. These reveal the bravery, perseverance, and selflessness of those who served.

australian war memorial dome
australian war memorial dome

Significantly, the Australian War Memorial is also a historical landmark and a place for commemorative ceremonies. These ceremonies are held on important days such as Anzac Day and Remembrance Day. The Last Post ceremony is held every day at the memorial. The poignant tribute allows visitors to reflect on the personal stories of the fallen soldiers.

sculptural monument

The AWM houses a series called “As of Today” by Alex Seton. It is a sculptural tribute to Australian soldiers who were killed while serving in Afghanistan. The series particularly emphasizes the ceremonial folded flag that is draped over the casket during the military funeral and then presented to the fallen soldier’s family.

Each of the forty three flags are sculpted in Australian marble and represents a specific individual and a life lost. The name and details of the individual on a card in front of the flag.

As of today.... series by alex seton
As of Today, sculptural series by Alex Seton
Sacred Site

The Australian War Memorial is much more than a museum. It is a revered site representing remembrance of the sacrifices made by Australians during times of war. With its stunning architecture, educational initiatives, and commemorative events, it plays a crucial role in Australian society ensuring that past sacrifices are never forgotten. Additionally, it fosters a deeper understanding of the nation’s history and emphasises the importance of peace.

Damien Parer

Capturing History’s Pivotal Moments: The Iconic Films of Damien Parer

Born on August 1st, 1912, in Malvern, Melbourne, Damien Peter Parer was a war photographer and cameraman. He was the youngest of eight children from John Arthur Parer, a hotelkeeper from Spain, and his wife Teresa, who was born in Victoria. Parer grew up on King Island, where his father ran the King Island Hotel.

Early Years

In the mid-1930s, a chance meeting between his father and the pioneering Australian film-makers Charles and Elsa Chauvel led to a job with the crew of the feature film Heritage, and later, he was to work as a cameraman with them and Frank Hurley on their famous feature, Forty Thousand Horsemen.

While working as a studio photographer for various employers, Parer created home movies and documentaries during breaks from feature films.. Notably, he worked alongside Max Dupain, who was married to Olive Cotton at the time. Together, the trio established a close friendship and collaborative partnership.

In 1938, Parer was in charge of filming “This Place Australia,” a short film that showcased the poems of Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson in two parts. Parer’s camera work, heavily influenced by Tasman, Arthur Higgins, and Errol Hind, was most innovative when he adapted the styles of Australian still photographers to motion pictures. For example, he emulated Dupain’s cityscapes when portraying Sydney. He also drew inspiration from the pictorialists’ use of Australian light in landscape compositions when filming the Blue Mountains.

39th Australian Infantry Battalion, c1942, Damien Parer,
Kokoda Trail, 39th Australian Infantry Battalion, c1942, Damien Parer, 
WWII Middle East

In January of 1940, as a photographer with the Commonwealth Department of Information, Parer embarked on a journey to the Middle East alongside the Australian Imperial Force. While on board the gunboat H.M.S. Ladybird, he captured footage of the bombardment of Bardia, Libya, in January  1941. Together with Frank Hurley, he documented the Australian assault on Tobruk in January. Shortly after, he joined ‘C’ Company, 2nd/11th Battalion, as they attacked the Derna airfield, where he filmed his first motion picture of infantry advancing under fire.

Damien Parer and George Silk, photographers with the Department of Information at Tobruk Harbour, preparing to capture the next air raid.

During the Greek (April) and Syrian (June-July) campaigns, as well as the Tobruk siege (April-December), Parer primarily took motion pictures with a few stills. He even filmed an air raid while flying with the Australian crew of a Royal Air Force Blenheim bomber. His exceptional work was frequently featured in newsreels, and his name became widely recognised.

The man with the donkey, 1941 version. Pte. D.W. Jones (NX15179) of Carlton N.S.W. and "C" company the 2/33 battalion. One of the men responsible for running the donkey team supply column to the scattered units. ..Rights Info: No known copyright restrictions...This photograph is from the Australian War Memorial's collection
The Man with the Donkey, 1941 version. Pte. D.W. Jones (NX15179) of Carlton N.S.W. and “C” company, the 2/33 battalion. One of the men responsible for running the donkey team supply column to the scattered units. Image by Damien Parer Australian War Memorial’s collection
WWII – New Guinea

After Pearl Harbour, Damien was recalled from the Middle East to cover New Guinea. In 1942, against Department of Information orders, he went to the Kokoda Track with the first units of the Australian Infantry Forces. It was a bitter campaign fought under the harshest of conditions where the enemy melted into the jungle.

Damien Parer image that has become iconic of the New Guinea campaign during World War II.CREDIT:AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL
Damien Parer’s image of the New Guinea campaign during World War II has become iconic.CREDIT: AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL

Damien returned to Sydney with 800ft of film and hand-delivered the precious images to Ken Hall. “Kokoda Front Line!” brought the real nature of jungle warfare to the audiences back home. The film earned Damien and Cinesound Australia’s first Academy Award.

Parer’s footage became famous in 1943 when he was featured in Cinesound newsreels such as Men of Timor and The Bismarck Convoy Smashed. His most impressive work is Assault on Salamaua. However, he was unhappy with his salary and allowances. Additionally, he believed that the Department of Information had treated his colleagues, George Silk and Alan Anderson, unfairly. As a result, he resigned in August and joined Paramount News, where he covered American operations. He married Elizabeth Marie Cotter, a 22-year-old clerk, on March 23rd 1944, at St Mary’s Catholic Church in North Sydney.

Left to right: Sig Keith Richards; Corporal John Donovan; QX18071 Sergeant John Henry Sargent, of Glenn Innes, NSW. All belong to the 2/2nd Independent Company, which became known as Sparrow Force. Image by Damien Parer
Final Assignment

During the invasion of Peleliu Island in the Palau group in September of that year, Parer was capturing soldiers’ expressions as they went into action. Tragically, he was killed by a Japanese machine gunner while walking backwards behind a tank. He was buried in the Ambon War cemetery and was mentioned in dispatches. His wife, Elizbeth Cotter, survived him, and their son was born the following year.

Damien Parer was engaged to Elizabeth Marie Cotter on the 17th March 1944 in North Sydney, Australia. Six days later they were married—23 March 1944.
Damien Parer and Elizabeth Cotter 1944

Parer was more than just a combat cameraman and propagandist. His films told stories about the human condition, reflecting his extensive knowledge of cinema theory, particularly the ideas of John Grierson.

The photographs captured by Parer have become an integral part of the Anzac legend. These include a caped soldier crossing a stream and a Salvation Army officer lighting a cigarette for a wounded digger.

Damien Parer, official military photographer and cameraman with the Department of Information, putting a new film into his Speed Graphic camera...Rights Info: No known copyright restrictions..This photograph is from the Australian War Memorial's collection

Yet, despite his accomplishments, Damien Parer remained humble and deeply committed to his Catholic faith. Fellow war photographer and friend Osmar White fondly remembered his infectious laugh, which White described as a booming bass hoot. He also noted Parer’s distinctive physical features: a tall yet stooped figure with black hair and sallow skin.

An exhibition entitled Still Action, showcasing Parer’s work, was sponsored by the Orange Regional Art Gallery and the Australian War Memorial in Canberra and toured Australia between 1997 and 1999.

Robert Capa by Gerda Taro

Robert Capa – Master War Photographer

Robert Capa was born André Friedmann in 1913 to Jewish parents in Budapest, Hungary.  His images, particularly those he took as a war correspondent, made him one of the greatest photojournalists of the 20th century.  In 1938, when aged just 25 yrs old, the British magazine Picture Post termed him “the greatest war photographer in the world”, with a spread of 26 images taken by Capa during the Spanish Civil War.

The Early Years

Capa was accused of connections to communists and, in 1930, fled Hungary for Berlin.  There, he enrolled in journalism and political science at Berlin University and worked as a darkroom assistant at Dephot, a German picture agency.

Even as a lowly assistant, his eye for composition became clear to Dephot boss Simon Guttmann and he sent Friedmann to Copenhagen, where the exiled Leon Trotsky was due to speak. Guttmann sent Friedman equipped with a Leica II screw-mount rangefinder to record the event.

Robert Capa's (Friedmans) first Leica.
Robert Capa’s (Friedmans) first Leica.

Press photographers were banned at the Trotsky rally, but the Leica II was a true pocket camera. Hold one today, and it becomes obvious why it was such a game-changer for the photojournalist in potentially dangerous situations. Friedmann could shoot images covertly and return from Copenhagen with photos that affirmed his talent despite his inexperience. His surreptitious, low-angle shot of Trotsky orating at the podium, his hands locked like talons in front of his face to make a point, became iconic.

Leon Trotsky by Robert Capa
Leon Trotsky by Robert Capa
Capa and Taro

Following the rise to power of the Nazis, Jews were prohibited from colleges and universities.  Realising it wasn’t safe, as a jew, to remain in Germany, Capa moved to Paris in 1933.  In Paris, he met a fellow war photographer and Jewish refugee Gerda Pohorylle, who had left Germany for the same reason.   The pair dropped their German-Jewish names and assumed the names Robert Capa and Gerda Taro.  In Paris, they shared a darkroom with Henri Cartier-Bresson and Chim (David Seymour), with Capa regularly working as a photojournalist.

Gerda Taro Image: Fred Stein Archive/Getty)
Gerda Taro Image: Fred Stein Archive/Getty)
The Spanish Civil War

Between 1936 and 1939, Capa made multiple trips to Spain accompanied by Taro to document the Spanish Civil War. During this period, he achieved fame as a war correspondent, with his most famous image, Death of a Loyalist Soldier (1936), stemming from these trips.  The photos were lauded for their grim realism and gave rise to Capa’s most famous quote. 

If your pictures aren’t good enough, then you aren’t close enough.

~Robert Capa~
The Falling Soldier by Robert Capa Gilman Collection, Purchase, Alfred Stieglitz Society Gifts, 2005
The Falling Soldier by Robert Capa Gilman Collection, Purchase, Alfred Stieglitz Society Gifts, 2005
Doubts of Authenticity

Over three-quarters of a century later, Capa’s Falling Soldier is still regarded as one of the most famous images ever of combat.  The image is also one of the most debated, with many critics claiming it was staged, a practice not uncommon at the time. However, whether this particular image was staged is still unknown.

1939 -Group of Refugees Marching on Dirt Road by Robert Capa
FRANCE. Le Barcarès. March 1939.
Exiled Republicans being transferred from one part of a concentration camp for Spanish refugees to another. by Robert Capa

During a battle in Madrid, an out-of-control tank crashed into the car carrying Taro, mortally wounding her. She was 26 years old. Capa never got over her death, and he vowed never to marry. Nevertheless, in 1938 Capa went to Hankow (now known as Wuhan) to photograph the Chinese resistance against the Japanese invasion.

World War II

With World War II (WWII) outbreak, Capa again had to move to avoid Nazi persecution. This time, moving to America and as a freelance photographer for LIFE, Time, and other publications.  From 1941 to 1946, Capa worked as a war correspondent, travelling with the U.S. Army; he documented the heavy fighting and subsequent Allied victories in North Africa, Europe, and D-Day in Normandy.

Omaha Beach

Capa was the only photojournalist who landed with the allies at Omaha Beach, Normandy, on D-day. While he was only on the beach for ninety minutes, Capa’s images (taken on Contax Cameras) of the Allied landing became some of the most memorable photos of the war. Once back on the transport ship, he helped load stretchers and photographed the wounded until he collapsed. Capa later woke on a bunk with a piece of paper around his neck: “Exhaustion case. No dog tags.” 

Robert Capa, Omaha Beach, D-Day 6 June 1944, gelatin silver prints. Photo © Christie's
Robert Capa, Omaha Beach, D-Day 6 June 1944, gelatin silver prints. Photo © Christie’s

While under constant fire, Capa took 106 pictures that day. However, only 11 survived after a photo lab accident in London. Those images became known as the Magnificent Eleven.

Leipzig

Following D-day, he went to Leipzig, Germany and photographed the battle for a bridge. One of those images caught Raymond. J. Bowman just moments before being killed by sniper fire.  The pair of infantrymen had set up their 30 calibre Browning machine gun on an open balcony to provide cover for the American troops of the 2nd U.S. Infantry Division, advancing over a bridge. This balcony had an unobstructed view of the bridge. However, it also gave a clear view of snipers. The image was later published in Life magazine.

Minutes before his death, Raymond J. Bowman (seen left now) with fellow U.S. soldier Lehmann Riggs (on the right). (Credits: Robert Capa, International Center of Photography / Magnum Photos)
Minutes before his death, Raymond J. Bowman (seen left now) with fellow U.S. soldier Lehmann Riggs (on the right).
(Credits: Robert Capa, International Center of Photography / Magnum Photos)
Capa’s picture of the American soldier killed by a German sniper on 18 April 1945. Photograph: Robert Capa © International Center of Photography / Magnum Photos
Capa’s picture of the American soldier killed by a German sniper on 18 April 1945. Photograph: Robert Capa © International Center of Photography / Magnum Photos

In 2015, the City of Leipzig voted to name the street in which the apartment building is located “Bowmanstraße” in honour of Raymond J. Bowman. As a result, the apartment building is now called Capa House and contains a small memorial with Capa’s photographs and information about Bowman.

Liberation of Italy

In August 1943, he accompanied American troops to Sicily. While there, he documented the suffering of the Sicilians under the constant bombing by Germany. His photographs also depicted their happiness at the arrival of the American soldiers. Capa’s image of a Sicilian peasant indicating the direction in which German troops had gone became famous worldwide and a symbol of the liberation of Italy from the Nazis.

ITALY. Near Troina. August 4-5, 1943. Sicilian peasant telling an American officer which way the Germans had gone.  © Robert Capa © International Center of Photography | Magnum Photos
ITALY. Near Troina. August 4-5, 1943. Sicilian peasant telling an American officer which way the Germans had gone. 
© Robert Capa © International Center of Photography | Magnum Photos
WWII Aftermath
A Parisian harassing a captured German soldier. (Robert Capa/International Center of Photography/Magnum Photos)
A Parisian harassing a captured German soldier. (Robert Capa/International Center of Photography/Magnum Photos)

In 1947 Capa travelled to the Soviet Union with his writer friend John Steinbeck, and they collaborated on the book “A Russian Journal”. Capa took photos of war-torn Moscow, Kiev, Tbilisi, Batumi and the ruins of Stalingrad, with Steinbeck providing the text. President Dwight  D. Eisenhower awarded him the Congressional Medal of Freedom for his WWII and day images. Additionally, Hungary released a gold coin and a stamp of Capa in his honour. From 1948-1950, he photographed the turmoil following Israel’s declaration of independence.

Robert Capa, 1954, Tokyo. Jun Miki took the photograph just days before his death. courtesy Wikipedia Commons
Robert Capa, 1954, Tokyo. Jun Miki took the photograph just days before his death.
courtesy Wikipedia Commons
Untimely End

In 1954 he went to Hanoi to photograph the French war in Indochina for LIFE. Sadly, Capa was killed shortly after his arrival.  While accompanying a french unit, he got out of the jeep to get better photographs and stepped on a landmine. One camera was flung away by the force of the blast. Mortally wounded, with the other camera still in his hand, he was declared dead at the hospital. He became the first American war correspondent killed in the Vietnam conflict. Capa was just 40 yrs old. He had photographed five wars and the official founding of Israel.

Robert Capa’s Grave at Amawalk Hill Cemetery, Westchester county, New York, U.S.A

Robert Capa is considered the 20th-century’s best photojournalist/war photographer. The French army posthumously awarded him the Croix de Guerre with Palm.  In 1955 the Robert Capa Gold Medal Award was established to reward the “best published photographic reporting from abroad requiring exceptional courage and enterprise”.  The International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum inducted Capa in 1976.

Margaret Bourke-White was nicknamed ‘Indestructible Maggie’. Photo: N02/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Extraordinary Margaret Bourke-White

Margaret Bourke-White stands out as one of the most iconic photographers of the 20th century. Her work paved a path for women photographers who came after her.  Born in 1904, she died in 1971 after a protracted battle with Parkinson’s. Bourke-White was a woman of firsts.  She was the first Western photographer permitted to enter the Soviet Union and the first female photographer for Life Magazine. She was the first woman to make the cover and did it on their first issue. Additionally, she was the first female war correspondent credentialed to work in combat zones during World War II.

As an accredited photojournalist, she captured images of the Partition of India and Gandhi at his spinning wheel.  During her storied career, she was stranded on an Arctic island, her boat was torpedoed, and her helicopter caught fire.  When the germans bombed Moscow, she was there too. Yet, she survived it all, earning her the nickname ‘Indestructible Maggie’ from her Life colleagues.

The Early Years

Margaret Bourke-White was born in the Bronx on her parent’s wedding anniversary on June 14, 1904. Her father, Joseph, was an inventor and printing engineer from a Jewish Orthodox family. Her mother, Minnie, a Protestant, was the daughter of an Irish ship’s carpenter and an English cook. The family moved to Bound Book, N. J., when Bourke-White was very young, and she was homeschooled.

American Craftsman style, the New Jersey childhood home of Margaret Bourke-White Wikipedia Commons

Her mother stressed the value of courage, determination, and fear of nothing. Bourke-White took it to heart and constantly challenged herself. Her father, Joseph, was an avid photographer and naturalist who took her with him when photographing. His work improved the four-colour printing process that is used for books and magazines. Bourke-White helped her father develop his images in the family bathtub. However, she didn’t take up photography until after her father’s death in 1922.

Margaret Bourke-White, Self Portrait with Camera, ca. 1933; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of the collection of Susie Tompkins Buell
Margaret Bourke-White, Self Portrait with Camera, ca. 1933; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of the collection of Susie Tompkins Buell
University Studies

Bourke-White entered Columbia University in 1921 before transferring to the University of Michigan. There she met Everett Chapman, an electrical engineering graduate. They married on June 13, 1924. Next, the pair transferred to Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana, before transferring to Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Unfortunately, the marriage broke down after two years. Newly separated, Bourke-White moved to Ithaca, N.Y., to attend Cornell University for her senior year.

Photography

While at Cornell, Bourke-White began by selling pictures of the school buildings and grounds to the Cornell Alumni News and fellow students. After several architects praised her photographs, she travelled to New York City. She walked unannounced into an architect’s office to get an unbiased opinion of her portfolio. Impressed, the architect assured her she could find work with any architectural firm in the country.

“Saturate yourself with your subject, and the camera will all but take you by the hand and point the way.”

~Margaret Bourke-White~

In 1927 she graduated from Cornell and finalised her divorce. Bourke-White then legally reverted to her maiden name and added her mother’s maiden name with a hyphen. She then took a boat to Cleveland, wanting to photograph the steel mills and set up her studio.

In 1928 she opened a proper studio in Cleveland’s landmark TerminalNearfar from the tower, stretching to Lake Erie’s edge, was an industrial wasteland known as The Flats. To her, it was “a photographic paradise.”

“I did my processing in the kitchenette, the rinsing in the bathtub, and the living room served as reception room when the in-a-door bed was pushed out of the way.”

~Margaret Bourke-White~
The Steel Mills

The steel mills were off-limits to women. Undaunted, she worked hard to convince the company’s head Elroy Klaus to allow her access to the sites. Bourke-White received many objections from the night supervisor, who complained she was distracting the workers because she was “crawling all over the place […] and the men are stumbling around gawking up at her. Someone is going to get hurt, and besides, they’re not getting any work done”. However, she persevered and captured the gritty reality of what the steel mill was like creating beautiful images of the industrial machinery.

Ladle B, Otis Steel Mill, Cleveland © Estate of Margaret Bourke-White
Ladle B, Otis Steel Mill, Cleveland © Estate of Margaret Bourke-White

After months of experimenting and discovering a new printing paper, she produced impressive pictures of the steel-making process. Her photographs of the mills and those she took of the construction of the Fort Peck Dam brought her to the attention of Henry Luce from Life magazine. Luce consequently hired her as a photojournalist, making her the first woman photojournalist hired by the magazine. Her image of the Peck Dam also graced the first ever cover of Life magazine.

Fort Peck Dam, Montana, 1936. Bourke-White photographed the construction of the dam and the people working on it for LIFE’s first cover story. Margaret Bourke-White The LIFE Picture Collection
Fort Peck Dam, Montana, 1936. Bourke-White photographed the dam’s construction and the people working on it for LIFE’s first cover story. Margaret Bourke-White The LIFE Picture Collection
The Chrysler Building

In the winter of 1929-30, Bourke-White was given the job of photographing every phase in the construction process. The Chrysler building was reputed to be the tallest in the world. However, sceptics alleged the steel tower at its top was nothing more than an ornament designed to give it to record height. Bourke-White’s photographs proved that the tower was “integral to the architecture”.

Margaret Bourke-White, a photographer for LIFE magazine, makes a precarious photo from one of the eagles on the 61st floor of the Chrysler Building in New York City in 1934. Oscar Graubner / The LIFE Images Collection via Getty
Margaret Bourke-White, a photographer for LIFE magazine, took a precarious photo from one of the eagles on the 61st floor of the Chrysler Building in New York City in 1934. Oscar Graubner / The LIFE Images Collection via Getty

Working in freezing winds, she had to position herself on a swaying tower, eight hundred feet above street level, to get the desired shots. Bourke-White rose to the challenge.

“with three men holding the tripod so the camera would not fly into the street and endanger pedestrians … my camera cloth whipping and stinging my eyes as I focused … I tried to get the feel of the tower’s sway in my body so I could make exposures during that fleeting instant … when … the tower was at the quietest part of its sway”

~Margaret Bourke-White~
Louisville Floods

In 1937 the Ohio River flooded Louisville, Kentucky, in one of the United States’ greatest natural disasters. Today, it remains the greatest flood to hit Louisville, exceeding even Katrina. Seventy percent of Lousiville was submerged, forcing 170,000 residents to flee their homes. Life magazine despatched Bourke-White as a staff photographer, her plane landing minutes before the airport runways flooded. She then waded through the city and floated on rafts to get the shots she wanted.

The Great Ohio River Valley Flood- 37 Photo by Margaret Bourke-White.
The Great Ohio River Valley Flood- 37 Photo by Margaret Bourke-White.

The result was her now famous photograph of African-American flood victims waiting for rations and relief. Ironically they were queued up under a billboard that said: ‘World’s Highest Standard Of Living / There’s No Way Like The American Way. Her image highlighting the inequality of the time became famous. Bourke-White told stories in pictures, one shot at a time, with each image forming part of the bigger story. This technique became known as the photographic essay.

The famous image of African American flood victims lined up to get food and clothing from the Red Cross relief station. Life Magazine and Margaret Bourke-White
The Depression Years

During the mid-1930s, like Dorothea Lange, she photographed the drought victims of the dust bowl. While working at Life, Bourke-White began collaborating with Southern novelist Erskine Caldwell, the author of Tobacco Road. Together they worked on a book documenting the impact of the -Great Depression on the South. At the height of the Great Depression, Bourke-White and Caldwell travelled the back roads of the Deep South. They drove through Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Arkansas, and Tennessee, documenting sharecroppers’ living conditions. In their book: Have You See Their Faces, Caldwell wrote the text, and Bourke-White photographed the lives and living conditions of the country’s poorest citizens. Published in November 1937, the book achieved critical acclaim and tremendous success. However, it also attracted criticism for reinforcing stereotypes.

The PRE War Years
Nazi Storm Troopers’ training class
by Margaret Bourke-White. 1938

In 1938 Life magazine sent Bourke-White and Caldwell to Czechoslovakia and Hungary to document the rise of Hitler and Nazism. Bourke-White and Caldwell spent about six months on various assignments, collecting material for the book later published as North of the Danube.

Margaret Bourke-white / The Life Picture Collection / Getty
A crowd of 40,000 people give the Nazi salute in response to a speech given by Czech Nazi leader Konrad Henlein on May 1, 1938. Margaret Bourke-white / The Life Picture Collection / Getty

Bourke-White and Caldwell married in Silver City, Nevada, on February 27, 1939. Life sent Bourke-White to England to photograph the country’s preparations for war. She was then sent to Romania, Turkey, and the Middle East. Returning to the States, she and Caldwell embarked on a cross-country reunion trip, working together to document American life. They followed this up with a trip around the world. Bourke-White packed five cameras, twenty-two lenses, four portable developing tanks, and three thousand peanut flashbulbs. Her luggage weighed 600 pounds.

Margaret Bourke White, “Central Moscow With Antiaircraft Gunners,” 1941. Bourke White was one of the only foreign journalists in Moscow when war broke out between Germany and Russia in 1941.
Margaret Bourke White, “Central Moscow With Antiaircraft Gunners,” 1941. Bourke White was one of the only foreign journalists in Moscow when war broke out between Germany and Russia in 1941. © Lance Keimig Photographics
Moscow Bombing

They stopped in the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941. When Germany attacked Moscow, bombing the Kremlin, Bourke-White was the only Western photographer in the city. Initially, she photographed the bombing of Moscow from the roof of the American embassy because the blackout wardens forced everyone underground during the raids. When the embassy was hit, she moved to the balcony of her hotel room.

Russian iron worker, Stalingrad, 1930. Margaret Bourke-White The LIFE Picture Collection
Russian iron worker, Stalingrad, 1930.
Margaret Bourke-White The LIFE Picture Collection

As the balcony of her hotel room faced the Kremlin and Red Square, she set up multiple cameras on the balcony when the raids began, then rushed to the underground shelters. After the all-clear was given, she returned to close the shutters and develop the film in the bathroom. For twenty-two nights, Bourke-White risked her life while photographing the raids and scooping every other publication. During that time, she also photographed Josef Stalin.

The War Years

Back in the United States, in 1941, the U.S. entered the war.  Shortly after their return, Life sent Bourke-White back to England to photograph the American B-17 bombers headed for war. Caldwell asked for a divorce, which became final in 1942.

Bourke-White became the first female war correspondent accredited by the military. In 1942 LIFE Magazine negotiated with the Pentagon, which gave the magazine and the Air Force rights to any photographs she made. In another first, U.S. Air Force designed the first uniform for a female war correspondent for her. She was the first woman to accompany Air Force crews on bombing missions in 1942.

Twelfth U.S. Air Force in B-17 bombers fly over the African coast returning from a bombing mission near El Aouina airfield in 1943, during World War II. Margaret Bourke-White / The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty
Twelfth U.S. Air Force in B-17 bombers fly over the African coast returning from a bombing mission near El Aouina airfield in 1943, during World War II. Margaret Bourke-White / The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty

While crossing the Atlantic to North Africa, her transport ship, the SS Strathallan, was torpedoed and sunk. She escaped with others on a lifeboat, continuing to photograph her ordeal with her Rolleiflex, the one camera she managed to save. Rescued, she covered the Allied infantrymen during the Italian war’s end. While in Italy, she repeatedly came under fire. She then covered the siege of Moscow, and towards the war’s end, she crossed the Rhine River with General Patton’s Third Army.

Buchenwald
Emaciated male prisoners lay in bunks at the Buchenwald concentration camp during liberation by U.S. forces on April 28, 1945.
Margaret Bourke-white / Getty Images

Bourke-White photographed some of the most appalling scenes of the war. From Nazi officials and their families dead by suicide to a small Nazi work camp where the Jewish prisoners had been set on fire. She was with the army for the liberation of Buchenwald Concentration Camp two hours after the Nazi guards fled. Her photographs of the skeletal survivors and stacks of human bodies gave the world one of the first horrible views of what would come to be called the Holocaust. She distanced herself from the horrors she saw by concentrating on her photographs. Only later, developing her prints, did she acknowledge the horror she had observed. Her father was Jewish, a secret she kept from all but three or four close friends. After Germany’s surrender, she published Dear Fatherland, Rest Quietly: A Report Ovariousse Of Hitler’s Thousand Years. in 1946.

The Dear Fatherland book saturated with her anger, her hatred of Germany, her commitment to democratic ideas, and her despair over American indifference to the moral implications of the war”.

Vicky Goldberg, Margaret Bourke-White Biographer
India and Post War

In 1946, after World War II, she travelled to India. She became well known for her photographs of Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, father of the modern Buddhist Movement, and India’s leader, Mahatma Gandhi, at the spinning wheel. Bourke-White also chronicled the violence that erupted at the partition of India and Pakistan. That division of the Indian subcontinent into Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan resulted in a mass migration10 million people fleeing for their lives. Sixty-six of Bourke-White’s photographs of the partition violence were included in a 2006 reissue of Singh’s 1956 novel about the disruption, Train to Pakistan. On Margaret’s last day in India, she met with Gandhi. Just a few hours later, on his way to evening prayer, he was assassinated.

Gandhi and His Spinning Wheel: the Story Behind an Iconic Photo Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/
Gandhi and His Spinning Wheel: The Story Behind an Iconic Photo
Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/
Korean War

After two years in India, she went to Korea to photograph the American troops on the frontline. This would be one of her last major assignments for Life magazine. Bourke-White spent nine months in South Korea, travelling through the wilderness, surviving typhoons, gunfire, and ambushes, and photographing guerilla warfare. Finally, she returned home in January of 1953 with the powerful story of a Korean family she reunited with the son they had presumed dead for two years.

Margaret Bourke-White’s favourite self-portrait, made with the U.S. 8th Air Force in 1943. Margaret Bourke-White The LIFE Picture Collection
Margaret Bourke-White’s favourite self-portrait was made with the U.S. 8th Air Force in 1943.
Margaret Bourke-White The LIFE Picture Collection
Later Life

While reporting the Korean War, she noticed a dull ache in her left leg and arm. When she returned to the U.S, she consulted a neurologist. A diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease followed in 1954. By 1957, despite physical therapy, she was unable to continue working. Nevertheless, she kept her illness a secret for fear of not being given any more Life assignments. She fought Parkinson’s for almost 20 years, enduring arduous rehabilitation therapy and two risky brain operations to halt the disease’s progress. Finally, in the summer of 1971, she fell and was taken to hospital.

Margaret Bourke-White, 1964. McKeown—Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Margaret Bourke-White, 1964. McKeown—Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Bourke-White lost her battle against Parkinson’s disease on August 27, 1971, aged 67. Over her life, she published 11 books and pioneered quality photojournalism and photo essay. The International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum inducted her in 1990, followed by the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame in 2015.

THE WATCH TOWER AT DHURRINGILE PRISONER OF WAR CAMP, OCCUPIED BY GERMAN OFFICER PRISONERS OF WAR, UNDER THE COMMAND OF NO. 13 PRISONER OF WAR GROUP.

Graytown POW Camp

While WWII and the battlegrounds of Europe seemed a world away from Australian shores, for some regional Victorians, it was right on their doorstep. The Graytown POW camp was one of eight POW camps established in the Tatura district, holding between 4,000 to 8,000 prisoners of war. Camps 1 and 2 were located at Tatura, camps 3 and 4 at Rushworth, Dhurringile Mansion, camp 13 at Murchison, camp 5 at Myrtleford and camp 6 at Graytown. Camps 1 and 2 were for single males, mostly German and Italian. Camp 3 was for mostly German family groups

Camp 6 near Graytown and Camp 5 near Myrtleford housed enemy servicemen who had been captured from around the world and then transported to Australia. The remaining camps near Tatura held migrants deemed a security risk to Australia by virtue of their nationality.

Graytown POW Camp
a portion of boundary fence and one of the guard towers at Graytown camp
taken December 1stst, 1943
Graytown

The town was surveyed in 1869 and named ‘Moormbool’ before being renamed Graytown after Moses William Gray, a parliamentarian for the local Rodney electorate between 1860-1864. Graytown is a gold mining ghost town between Heathcote and Nagambie. At its peak in 1868, it had an estimated population of 20,000 Graytown and was known as Spring Creek when gold was discovered in September 1868. Over the next few months, over 30,000 people arrived, drawn by the lure of striking it rich.

The businesses and public houses followed. Tents and rough shanties made way for wooden buildings and by June 1869, there were two hundred and sixteen beer houses! The town also sported thirty-six butchers, fourteen bakeries, seventeen general stores, five banks, four chemists, six doctors, two newspapers, five soft drink manufacturers, ten drapers, eight restaurants, six tobacconists, ten boot makers, six timber yards, eighteen blacksmiths, two watchmakers, three ironmongers, two tin smiths and seventy-two unknown stores.

A Cobb & Co Station and nineteen Police Officers also serviced the town. Life was hard, and illegal mining was a problem, along with larrikinism. Families often had their children sleep on the floor to avoid stray revolver shots. However, the alluvial gold was soon exhausted; by 1870, the population had dropped to around 150. In 1870 a flood inundated the mines and destroyed several buildings. By the 1960s, most of the local population had moved on and the buildings relocated to other towns.

The Kormoran

The German merchant raider Kormoran held 393 officers and men. Of these, 315 officers and men and three of the four Chinese (taken captive when the Kormoran sank the Eurylochus 10 months earlier) were saved when the Kormoran was sunk. Unfortunately, approximately 20 of the crew were killed during the battle, with the remainder drowning when their overloaded raft capsized. The Aquitania picked some up on her way to Sydney; the Trocas recovered others on her way to Fremantle.

Graytown POW Camp
Kormoran survivors in a lifeboat

Once on the land, nineteen were hospitalised while the remainder were distributed between barracks. Following the interrogations, they were then transferred to Victoria’s internment camps. The officers came to Victoria on the liner Duntroon on December 13th, while the sailors were transported by train in two groups. Two prisoners deemed too ill to travel stayed behind in Fremantle. One of them, Erich Meyer, died three months later of lung cancer. He became the only crew member to die on Australian soil.

Dhurringile
Graytown POW Camp

Arriving in Melbourne, the prisoners were transferred to Murchison POW camp, where they were joined by those whom the Aquitania had rescued. The officers were then transferred to Dhurringile, a 65-room mansion about ten miles from the Murchison camp. The military had leased Dhurringile as accommodation for prisoners of war. One of the most successful POW escapes happened at Dhurringile in 1945 when 17 officers and three batmen tunnelled 14 feet down from a large crockery room and under a perimeter fence. The heritage-listed mansion is now a working dairy farm, minimum security prison, and part of Corrections Victoria.

Camp #6

The Graytown POW camp held captured sailors and was designated Camp 6. Approximately 250 Italian and German POWs were detained at Camp 6 Graytown POW Camp. The German POWs mainly were crew members from the German raider ship “Kormoran”, which had sunk the HMAS Sydney off the Western Australian coast. Additionally, some Finnish seamen were also held at Camp 6 Graytown.

Graytown POW Camp

Each compound was enclosed by a double row of wire fencing 2 metres high with coiled barbed wire in between. Guard towers stood at each corner, with the perimeter lit at night. Each of the timber-framed barracks held twenty men. Kitchens, mess huts, shower blocks, laundries and latrines were all located within each compound.

Graytown POW Camp

The surrounding forest had been cut for firewood since Graytowns settlement, and POWs were put to work cutting firewood in the forest. The area now forms Graytown State Forest, and timber cutting has been illegal since 2002.

Graytown POW Camp
 The Camp orchestra at Graytown, No. 6 Labour Detachment, No. 13 POW (prisoner of war) Group.
All the players are German POWs.
Repatriation

By 1943 the Kormoran men had been transferred from Murchison to Camp 6 (a timber felling camp) at Graytown. Others were transferred to Tatura. Finally, the prisoners returned to Europe on the Orontes in 1947.

Graytown POW Camp
All that is left of the camp is some boundary fencing and a couple of moss-covered concrete slabs
Graytown POW Camp
that’s the top step.. three are buried in dirt and moss, slowly being taken over by the forest
Graytown POW Camp
old boundary fence
Henri-Cartier-Bresson-in-1957.-Photograph-Jane-BownObserver-

Henri Cartier-Bresson – Master of Candid Photography

Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French photographer considered the founding father of photojournalism. He was also one of the first true street photographers using 35 mm film and pioneering the genre of street photography. He viewed photography as capturing a decisive moment.  The “decisive moment” refers to capturing a fleeting and spontaneous event, where the image represents the essence of the event itself.

I suddenly understood that a photograph could fix eternity in an instant.“

~Henri Cartier Bresson~
Henri Cartier-Bresson, Scanno, Italy, 1951
Henri Cartier-Bresson, Scanno, Italy, 1951 
The Early Years

Cartier-Bresson was born on August 22, 1908, at Chanteloup, near Paris.  His father was a respected and wealthy textile merchant, and he was given a strict Roman Catholic education.  Cartier-Bresson’s uncle was an accomplished painter, and under his influence, he studied in Paris with Cubist painter and sculptor Andre Lhote from 1927-28.  In 1929 Cartier-Bresson studied literature and painting at the University of Cambridge.  While, as a young boy, he had used a Box Brownie, it wasn’t until 1930, after seeing the work of Eugene Atget and Man Ray, that he took a serious interest in photography.

In 1931, during a year on the Ivory Coast, he began recording his experiences.  While on the Ivory Coast, he contracted blackwater fever (a form of malaria).  Fearing he was dying, he sent a letter home instructing his grandfather to bury him in Normandy while Debussy’s String Quartet was played. His uncle replied his grandfather “finds it expensive and prefers that you return home first”. Fortunately, Cartier-Bresson recovered.

Havana, Cuba, 1963 by Henri Cartier-Besson
Havana, Cuba, 1963 by Henri Cartier-Besson
The Unseen Photographer

In 1932 Cartier-Bresson purchased his first 35mm Leica.  The small size appealed to him, as he wished to remain silent and unseen when taking photographs. To become even more anonymous in the scene, he covered the bright silver parts of the camera with black tape to make it even less visible.  On occasion, he even hid the camera under a handkerchief. Throughout his life, Cartier-Bresson mainly stuck to three fixed lenses – 35mm, 50mm and 135mm.

The cyclist caught gliding down a cobbled hill. Henri Cartier-Bresson
The cyclist caught gliding down a cobbled hill. Henri ,Cartier-Bresson

Between 1932 and 1935, he travelled throughout Eastern Europe, Spain and Mexico. In 1932 Cartier-Bresson took two of his most famous images –  The cyclist caught gliding down a cobbled hill at the base of some stone steps in Hyères and The man jumping over a puddle behind the Gare Saint-Lazare.

Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare, 1932, H. Cartier-Bresson

His first photojournalism images were published in 1937 when, under assignment from the French weekly Regards, he covered the coronation of King George IV and Queen Elizabeth. However, Cartier-Bresson photographed the crowds and people, not taking a single image of the King and Queen. Also, that year, he married a Javanese dancer named Ratna Mohini.  They divorced 30 years later.

The War years

Cartier-Bresson joined the French Army’s photographic unit at the outbreak of WWII as a corporal.  His work, at this time, involved filming and photographing artillery fire, road bombardments and troop movements.  However, in 1940, he was taken prisoner by the Germans. After three attempts, he escaped in 1943 and returned to France with forged papers. 

Henri Matisse by Henri Cartier-Bresson, 1944.
Henri Matisse at his home, by Henri Cartier-Bresson, 1944. 

Before being captured, he had buried his beloved Leica on a farm in France near the Vosges mountains. So one of the first things he did after escaping was to return to the farm, dig up his camera, and return to Paris to join the resistance. Finally, after four years of occupation, on August 19, 1944, French Resistance forces and Allied troops began their liberation of Paris.  Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson and George Rodger (who would come to be three of the four founders of Magnum Photos) were all there recording the retreat.  They documented the historic scenes as the city transformed from a place of oppression to one of freedom.

Founding Magnum

In 1945, Cartier-Bresson and the U.S. photographer Robert Capa, David Seymour and Ernst Haas founded the photographers’ cooperative Magnum Photos.  The photographers owned the rights to their images, a novel concept at the time.  Under the umbrella of Magnum, Cartier-Bresson concentrated more than ever on photojournalism.  He travelled through India, China, Indonesia, and Egypt.

“Photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organisation of forms which give that event its proper expression.”

~Henri Cartier-Bresson~
Mahatma Gandhi in his final hour, Henri Cartier-Bresson
Mahatma Gandhi, in his final hour, Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Like Margaret Bourke-White, he was in India to photograph India’s independence from Britain. While there, he photographed Mahatma Gandhi barely 15 minutes before Gandhi was assassinated. The material from those years, plus Europe in the 1950s, became the subjects of several books published between 1952 and 1956. These publications cemented Cartier-Bresson’s reputation as a master of his craft.

Fame and Glory

In 1955, France honoured him when a retrospective exhibition of 400 of his photographs was held at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris.  The show then travelled through Europe, the United States, and Japan.  At the end of the exhibition, the photographs were consigned to the Bibliothèque Nationale (National Library) in Paris for posterity. He was also awarded the Overseas Press Club Award and Prix de la Societe Francaise de Photographie.

The Berlin wall. West Berlin, West Germany, 1962 © Henri Cartier-Bresson
The Berlin wall. West Berlin, West Germany, 1962 © Henri Cartier-Bresson

In 1963 he travelled to and photographed in Cuba, followed by Mexico in 1964 and India in 1965. Then, during the student revolt in Paris in May 1968, he was there with his 35-mm camera. In 1966, after being a photographer for 30 years, he left Magnum and gave up the camera. For the rest of his life, he concentrated on landscapes and portraiture, but with a pen and paintbrush.  In 1967 he married Magnum photographer Martine Franck, and the couple had one daughter, Melanie.

Henri Cartier-Bresson, Giant effigy of Lenin, Winter Palace, Leningrad, Russia, 1973
Henri Cartier-Bresson, Giant effigy of Lenin, Winter Palace, Leningrad, Russia, 1973

“I have always been passionate about painting,” writes Cartier-Bresson. “As a child, I painted on Thursdays and Sundays, and dreamed about it every other day.”

~Henri Cartier-Bresson~
Portrait of Henri Cartier-Bresson by Martine Franck FRANCE. Paris. 1992.
Portrait of Henri Cartier-Bresson by (wife) Martine Franck
FRANCE. Paris. 1992.

Cartier-Bresson died in Montjustin (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France) on August 3, 2004, aged 95. No cause of death was announced. His wife, Martine Cartier-Besson, passed away in 2012 from Leukemia.

Munich – The Fascinating Old Town

We headed for the ‘old town’ on our first morning in Munich.  Benedictine Monks settled the Old Town in the 700’s, and Munich (Munchen) means “by the monks”. Initially surrounded by medieval walls, it’s filled with historic beer halls, museums, medieval churches, and the royal Residenz. It was heavily bombed during WWII, but after the war, Munich elected to rebuild and restore the historic part of the town rather than create a new modern city on the spot (as happened in Berlin and Frankfurt)

Karlsplatz Square

While cars do enter in parts, it’s primarily pedestrian plazas. Everywhere you look, there is something historic to photograph or explore. We passed through Karlsplatz Square and then through the medieval city gates built in 1337.

Karlsplatz Square
Karlsplatz Square

Fountain Boy sits just inside the New House City Gate.  Initially, the fountain was built in the middle of Karlsplatz Square in 1895. However, it was moved to the pedestrian zone right before the 1972 Olympics.  It depicts a naked boy shielding his face as Satyr (a drunk Greek woodland God) spits water at him.  Legend has it that the Munich citizens were outraged that a leaf didn’t cover the boys’ privates, but it’s since become one of the favourite fountains.

statues are everywhere
Statues are everywhere
Citizens Hall

The first stop on our walk was the Citizen’s Hall (built in 1810).  It stands out among the neighbouring buildings with a bright pink facade, but the interior’s gold-accented altar truly dazzles.  The altar and painted frescoes were added in 1778 when Citizen’s Hall was converted into a church. Unfortunately, it was heavily damaged in WWII, and as a result of the careful rebuild, it looks the same now as it did in the 1700s.

Citizens Hall
Citizens Hall
St Michaels Church
Saint Michael's Church
Saint Michael’s Church

From the Citizens Hall, we visited Saint Michael’s Church. Constructed in 1588, the vast interior has a barrel-vaulted roof and claims it is the largest Renaissance church north of the Alps.  Saint Michael’s Church is so large it served as the head of the Catholic Church’s Counter-Reformation efforts in the 1500s. Unfortunately, because of damage from the war, Saint Michael’s Church wasn’t rebuilt with the same over-the-top stucco interior as many other churches in Munich have. But it’s well worth seeing.  The bronze sculpture of St Michael fighting a demon-like protestant stands over the building entrance.  Interestingly, it was the only part of the church’s facade that survived the bombing of WWII.

munich old town
more statues

The rows of re-created statues at the front of the church portray the Counter-Reformation, an anti-Protestant movement in the late 1500s in which Saint Michael’s Church was the centre.

Saint Michael's Church
Saint Michael's Church
Saint Michael’s Church
Bears in Bavaria

Walking further along, we came to the Hunting and Fishing museum with its Bronze Boar in front. We waited for ages to get an image of the boar. Everyone stopped to get their photo taken with it.  It seems hunting boar, and fishing is very popular in Germany.  Finally, we got our shots and moved on.

The museum also houses the last bear shot in the Bavarian forests, preserved by taxidermy.  One of the guides told us the woods used to be full of bears, but there had been no bears in the forest since 1836.  They didn’t know why. Finally, one solitary bear turned up (after 170 years) in 2006 and enjoyed swimming in the lakes, eating honey and killing the odd sheep for seven weeks. However, a group of hunters shot him dead as a ‘risk to humans.  And they wonder where the bears went. 

“It’s not that we don’t welcome bears in Bavaria. It’s just that this one wasn’t behaving properly,” Otmar Bernhard, an official with Bavaria’s environment ministry, said.

The Guardian News
PB014885
Town Hall

Facing the main square (Marienplatz), the massive ‘new’ town hall is stunning and impressive. This was built in order to accommodate the bureaucracy of the growing population of Munich. Taking over 40 years to build, construction started in 1867.  It has six courtyards and over 400 rooms.  Dominating the facade is a two-story, 280ft tall glockenspiel complete with 43 bells making it the largest in Germany.

the new town hall
the new town hall
the new town hall
the new town hall
new town hall

While the figures in the clock look small (due to the structure’s height), they are, in reality, life-sized.  The town hall was largely spared during the bombing in WWII, with only the roof burnt off and some statues damaged.  We took the elevator to the top of the tower you see above to see the view over the old town.

view from the top
View from the top
view from the top
you can see for miles
view from the top
View from the top
The Fish Fountain

Outside the new town hall, in the square, is the Fish Fountain.  The fountain has been there since the 1400s, was given a three-storey makeover in 1860 and was levelled by the bombings in WWII. However, three butcher boy statues from the 1860 makeover were recovered and reused in a new fish fountain built in 1954.

fish fountain
fish fountain
Munich Old Town
fish fountain

The huge Holy Ghost church was built as a chapel in 1392 in the Hospice of the Holy Ghost, a medieval order flourishing in the 1300s. In 1724 the church had a makeover when beautiful frescoes were added to the ceiling by the Asam brothers. When in 1885, the hospice was demolished, it also allowed the church to expand.  WWII bombings left only the original choir, buttresses, and North wall of the nave intact. 

Munich Old Town
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This was my favourite church and ceiling we saw. The stunning ceiling murals have been recreated, the columns are topped with pink moulding, and around the church are seven large paintings depicting the “Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.”

Munich Old Town
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The Church of Our Lady, with the twin onion domes, dominates the Munich skyline (there are many churches in Munich).  Within the Old Town, a building height restriction ensured the towers would be seen, which was extended throughout the entire city in 2004 as skyscrapers started to pop up.

Munich Old Town
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The church on the site was demolished in the 15th century, and the graveyard was removed to make way for a larger church.  All the tombstones were then incorporated into the outside walls of the building. 

Munich Old Town
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St Peters

This would have been the most ornate, over the top church I visited.  There was gold everywhere, and the 18th-century gilded altar was ostentatious beyond belief.  A service had just concluded when we entered, and the priest had a field day swinging the incense.

Munich Old Town
St Peters
Munich Old Town
the alter at St Peters
Munich Old Town
St Peters ceiling

Opera and Theatre were always ‘big’ in Munich (Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, Handel, Strauss, Wagner, anyone?), and Munich hosted theatre and opera performances since the early 1600s.  When the original hall burnt down in 1825, King Maximilian I built the current Greek columned opera house in 1825.  The 2100-seat opera house was the largest in Europe at its opening.  When mad king Ludwig II came to power, he expanded the opera house as he was obsessed with Wagner.  Like many buildings in the old town, it was reduced to rubble during the WWII bombings but was fully restored to its former glory.

Munich Old Town
Munich Old Town
yet more statues

Maps: we used an excellent free printable walking map Big Boy Travel

© Bevlea Ross