Don McCullin (b. 1935) is a photojournalist whose work covers war and social issues. He is best known for his war images published in the Sunday Times magazine through the 60’s and 70’s. A film documentary by Jacqui Morris and David Morris (2012) covers his career during his time as war photographer.
His earliest work published in The Observer centred around his home in Finsbury Park and captured the gang scene and the downtrodden life of his neighbourhood (The Guvnors). The image on the left shows that McCullin could set up a shot and create images that conveyed the emblematic nature of gang warfare in London. One of his former editors described the image as being ‘beautiful in composition, but having sensitivity and empathy’.
This is in contrast to his war photography where he had to capture images on the move, as they happened. Always with his camera at the ready he was aware of his responsibility to the people and situations that he encountered.
On one occasion he witnessed a public execution and someone nearby said “That was great! Did you get it? Did you get it?”. In fact he did not ‘get it’ He didn’t tell anyone at the Sunday Times because they would think of him as a rank amateur. The question he had for himself was “Did I have the right to take that man’s murder?”.
One image taken in the Cyprus Civil War he captured a dog amongst fighters. Little things in a scene tell much more of a story than something obvious. It shows sensitivity and humanity.
He admits one occasion where he has manipulated a scene and that is an image of a Vietnamese fighter who had been killed and the soldiers had rifled through his belongings. The image he creates portrays a man with simple possessions, a wasted life.
He accepts that there is often criticism of war photographers being vouyeurs and not helping. He told stories of situations where he has helped but acknowledges that he does not have the power to intervene.
In an interview with The Guardian in 2015 [1] he said that ‘…the digital revolution meant viewers could no longer trust the truthfulness of images they see’. He added photography had been “hijacked” because “the digital cameras are extraordinary. I have a dark room and I still process film but digital photography can be a totally lying kind of experience, you can move anything you want … the whole thing can’t be trusted really.”
He has issues with photographers modifying colours to the extent that they are not true to nature. He also questions photography’s place in the art world by saying “I’ve always thought photography is not so much of an art form but a way of communicating and passing on information.” I understand his concern regarding photojournalism but I disagree that photography can’t be used instead of paints and brushes to convey messages and feelings.
- https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/nov/27/don-mccullin-war-photographer-digital-images (accessed 31/05/2017)
- McCullin, 2012, Jacqui Morris and David Morris.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-r0IjB44KY
Martyn Rainbird 