Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/12/04
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 05:22 PM 03/12/97 +0000, you wrote: >George Huczek writes: > >> The famous Iwo Jima photo showing American soldiers raising the >flag >> was a >> reenactment of a flag raising that had occurred previously. [cut] > >I think you should check your facts before repeating this allegation. >I suggest you read the section in Harold Evans' book 'Pictures On A >Page' which deals with this (pages 145 to 148). > >There you will find a complete explanation of the myth that the >picture was 'posed' or 'reenacted'. Once you've completed this task, >I hope you will apologise for your unwarranted attack on the >reputation of a brave and talented photojournalist. > Thanks for the correction on this. I was misinformed. Based on a book by John Faber that I read, it was indicated that Rosenthal met Sgt. Louis Lowry, (Leatherneck Magazine) who was on his way down the hill. Lowry had made some photos of the marines on top of the hill, and Rosenthal decided to go up. Rosenthal and Bill Hipple (Newsweek) landed on the beach and joined two marine combat photographers, Pvt Bob Campbell and Sgt Bill Genaust. After rereading the information, Faber says, "The historic photo was unposed, live action." David Morton's quote from Evans' book further clears this up for me. I was mistaken about the photo being posed. Perhaps it might be legitimate to suggest though that it was a reenactment of an earlier flag raising made with a smaller flag. I don't know, and I certainly don't wish to stir up an unnecessary debate on this. Based on this interpretation of the events, there is really no need for me to apologize for an "unwarranted attack on the reputation of a brave and talented photojournalist". No such thing was intended. Terribly sorry if some took it this way. The example was used to illustrate how a reenactment of a newsworthy event can still be regarded as legitimate journalism, since the discussion had been about photographers who pushed the limits of journalistic integrity. I used an inappropriate example to illustrate the point, and several LUG members quickly pointed this out. - -GH