Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/07/27

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Capa was no coward!
From: tedgrant@islandnet.com (Ted Grant)
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 14:54:12 +0100

>At 03:39 PM 7/27/98 EDT, the anonymous Richard wrote:
>>I've read that Capa only stayed 90 minutes before fear took over and he went
>>back to the ships.  Imagine the poor GI's who didn't have that choice!

Marc wrote:
>Bunk, sir.  Capa was, if anything, of foolhardy courage, and his entire
>combat experience (Spanish Civil War, the Second World War, Korea, and
>French Indo-China) is sprinkled with examples of great bravery under fire.
>
>However, he WAS under severe pressure to get his film back to the UK
>posthaste, and had to return to the ship to ensure that his cameras were
>unloaded and the film sent back to England.  (And, of course, the 35mm film
>was improperly souped, though his Rolleiflex MF exposures of the approach
>were properly developed.)>>>>>

Hi Marc,

You beat me to it with your remark.

And..If he were cowardly, he wouldn't have done what he did in so many war
theatres... He may have been scared, he'd have lied if he said he wasn't.
I've (been there done that) and you are fearfull!! But that doesn't make
you run away it just means you try to become more invisible and make your
camera a bigger (Imagined) shield! They aren't and thee are guys not around
today who imagined the camera would protect them under fire.  Don't
happen!!

If anything you put Capa it in the right perspective:"if anything, of
foolhardy courage," which is very descriptive.

Ted Grant
This is Our Work. The Legacy of Sir William Osler.
http://www.islandnet.com/~tedgrant