Re: Tim Page

[Claes Bjerner <claes.bjerner@pi.se>]

> Day before yesterday I met Tim Page at Sarajevo Airport.

>Claes,
>
>This was a great appetizer, but you will need to fill in some of the
>details on Tim for those of us who [rudely] have never heard of him.
>
>Alastair Firkin,

Well, for those of us who covered the war in Vietnam Tim Page will =
always remain a legend. He=B4s British and was one of the first =
backpacker photographers. A freelance mercenary photographer. The =
"Have Camera -Will Travel"-type. But he soon became one of the best =
combat photographers around. He also became notorious for referring =
to the war as "sexy". In Peter Knightley=B4s excellent book "The =
First Casualty" Tim Page is quoted as saying: "No one wants to admit =
it, but there=B4s a lot of sex appeal and a lot of fun in weapons". =
At that time I myself tended to agree with Tim. But I didn=B4t say so!

Even after Tim was seriously wounded with big pieces of shrapnel =
penetrating his head he expressed his unreserved love for the war. He =
then referred to war as "glamorous".

In the movie Apocalypse Now Dennis Hopper portrayed Tim Page as a =
completely spaced out photo journalist. As far as I know Tim never =
objected to that description of himself. He really was a wild one in =
those days. Together with Sean Flynn (Errol=B4s son) Tim traveled =
back and forth across the fronts not only in Vietnam, but also in =
Laos and Cambodia. Sean Flynn disappeared somewhere in Laos, or was =
it Cambodia? Anyway, he hasn=B4t been heard of since. 

Back to Tim Page! He definitely has matured as a man! After the war =
I=B4ve met him several times at various reunions in Vietnam, and =
today he=B4s in very good standing with the Vietnam authorities. =
He=B4s free to travel practically anywhere in that country - and has =
done so! He no longer glamorizes that war, or any other war. Tim Page =
has turned around and most of his assignments today are about =
environmental and ecological topics. 

If you want to no about Tim Page as the kind of photographer he was, =
please get a copy of his book "Page by Page". As I recall it has an =
excellent introduction by William Shawcross. And you will find =
several of Tim=B4s pictures in most photo books on the Vietnam War. =
In Jorge Lewinski=B4s book The Camera at War there is plenty about =
Tim Page. Nothing very flattering thou! I hope the writer will get a =
chance to meet the new softer Tim Page.

People who don=B4t know about Tim Page probably don=B4t know about =
Horst Faas either. I told you that Horst Faas had sold all his =
Leicas? Well, Horst is one of the world=B4=B4s most experienced =
combat photographers. His first war was the Congo war in the early =
60=B4s, a war I covered myself - as a soldier! If Horst hasn=B4t =
retired he=B4s probably still a senior picture editor at AP.

With this I hope to have enlightened some of our younger LUGers.

Claes Bjerner