Robert Capa's lost negatives from his days covering the Spanish War was recently recovered, reported the New York Times. The negatives, rolled neatly into 50 small compartments of a cardboard suitcase, was lost as Capa fled Europe. He had thought that they, along with the contents of his photo lab, were destroyed. The International Center of Photography, created by Capa's brother in New York City, currently has possession of the negatives. Photo archivists in Rochester, NY (a city made famous by George Eastman, founder of Kodak and the inventor of the transportable camera) have stated that the negatives are in surprisingly good condition.
I find this to be really exciting news. I have a fascination with war photography, and Capa happens to be the first, and probably for me, one the most notable war photographers of the modern world. He basically invented embedded photojournalism when his predecessors captured war images either from afar or after the battle had ended. Capa broke tradition by becoming a participating photographer rather than just the observing one. This requires patience and sometimes cunning. William Saroyan, an American writer from the 1940s, described Capa as “a poker player whose sideline was picture-taking”. To me, this quote embodies what photography should be - watch your subject, see the signs so that you can learn to anticipate a great shot coming.
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Do you feel that his method changed the face of how news agencies cover war stories? Ergo, do you think that he lead the way to how CNN covered Gulf War I in the early 90's which happened to be the very first heavily televised/covered war ever? Also, what do you feel the place of a photog should be in the battlefield?
I think you are on to some good stuff on this blog. Keep it up!
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