War Photography

November 15, 2009 at 3:53 PM (Uncategorized)

In a time of war, photography is at its up most importance.  This was especially true when televisions were not in existence and people did not get daily news about the war.

War photographs imply more than just photographs of combat and soldiers who have died.  It can refer to military photographs in general, photographs of civilians caught in the middle of conflicts, or images of the home front.

In World War I, censorship of photography was heavy.  Photographers had limited access to the front of the line during the war and there were few actual photographers taking photographs of the actual war.

World War II changed the way photographers took photographs.  During this time, a photographer for the first time published photographs of the dead.  It appeared in Life magazine and showed three dead American corpses lying on the beach after a landing in the Pacific.

David Douglas Duncan, war photographer in Korea, showed photographs that displayed exhaustion in his photographs, instead of triumph during the Korean War.  This caused American discourse during a time of war and less support.

During the Vietnam War, the photographs were very graphic and displaying shocking images.  One of the most famous photograph during the Vietnam War was a young girl running down the road after the place she was located got napalmed.

In the current war America is facing, Iraqi War, photography coverage is very apparent but the government tries to censor it.  During the Persian Gulf War, the Pentagon put a stop to media coverage of coffins returning to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

Tami Silicio, Seattle Times photographer, published flag-draped coffins on the front page of Seattle Times.  Before the Pentagon could stop and censor the paper, the photographs were already published a distributed all around.  Silicio, her husband and co-worker David Landry were all fired because of the photographs and story that ran on the cover of the Seattle Times.

Photography is very important during a time of war.  It can help support the war or not support the war.  Either way, documentation of the war through photography is very important for history and up-to-date information about the wars.