It's a good day to remind ourselves of true heroism, of how real American patriots perform under fire. Tony Vaccaro is a remarkable leader who understands this better than most of us.
From Normandy invasion to Berlin victory, Pfc. Vaccaro served honorably as an infantryman during World War II. Through it all, and often against orders, he somehow found time to use his Argus C3 Rangefinder to document the vile rot of fascism and yes, the extraordinary sacrifices made by so many brave Americans. His "The Kiss of Liberation" image (below) shot in the main square of St. Briac, France on August 14, 1944 became an icon of wartime photography.
Those small, inexpensive C3s - nicknamed "the brick" - were manufactured in Ann Arbor, MI until 1966. They can still be seen at the University of Michigan's wonderful Argus Camera Museum.
My renewed interest in the 95-year-old Vaccaro was stimulated by a terrific Kiki Georgiou FT Weekend piece on his new "Shadow to Light" exhibit set to open at London's Getty Images Gallery. I expect to see the exhibit there in September. This prompted me to watch the 2016 documentary, "Under Fire: The Untold Story of Pfc. Tony Vaccaro" on YouTube.
Interestingly, Vaccaro so despised war that he has never again shot any form of violence. He has built a prodigious career shooting fashion, portraits, street life and much more with Life and Look magazines - and elsewhere.
Vaccaro brought a new level of truth to combat photography. Until World War II, and even then, too much imagery of war was staged and sanitized. Photographers often returned to battle sites with troops to recreate scenes, just for the camera. As has long been suspected, for example, that epic Robert Capa shot of the "Falling Soldier" during the Spanish Civil War is likely to have been staged.
Pfc. Vaccaro documented war's hideous reality because he so detested it and refused to glorify it. With that powerful and purposeful sense, he brought truth to power in combat photography.
From Normandy invasion to Berlin victory, Pfc. Vaccaro served honorably as an infantryman during World War II. Through it all, and often against orders, he somehow found time to use his Argus C3 Rangefinder to document the vile rot of fascism and yes, the extraordinary sacrifices made by so many brave Americans. His "The Kiss of Liberation" image (below) shot in the main square of St. Briac, France on August 14, 1944 became an icon of wartime photography.
Those small, inexpensive C3s - nicknamed "the brick" - were manufactured in Ann Arbor, MI until 1966. They can still be seen at the University of Michigan's wonderful Argus Camera Museum.
My renewed interest in the 95-year-old Vaccaro was stimulated by a terrific Kiki Georgiou FT Weekend piece on his new "Shadow to Light" exhibit set to open at London's Getty Images Gallery. I expect to see the exhibit there in September. This prompted me to watch the 2016 documentary, "Under Fire: The Untold Story of Pfc. Tony Vaccaro" on YouTube.
Interestingly, Vaccaro so despised war that he has never again shot any form of violence. He has built a prodigious career shooting fashion, portraits, street life and much more with Life and Look magazines - and elsewhere.
Vaccaro brought a new level of truth to combat photography. Until World War II, and even then, too much imagery of war was staged and sanitized. Photographers often returned to battle sites with troops to recreate scenes, just for the camera. As has long been suspected, for example, that epic Robert Capa shot of the "Falling Soldier" during the Spanish Civil War is likely to have been staged.
Pfc. Vaccaro documented war's hideous reality because he so detested it and refused to glorify it. With that powerful and purposeful sense, he brought truth to power in combat photography.
Image courtesy of Tony Vaccaro Studio.