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Posts on the topic of War & Militarism.

39 Posts
Notes Photo August 22, 2016

Omran and Alan: The Limits of the Photo of the Wounded Aleppo Boy

Ultimately, and in contrast to the Alan Kurdi wake-up call, the photograph of Omran, the wounded Syrian boy in the ambulance, is a rescue fantasy.

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Notes Photo March 23, 2016

The Brussels Attack: Between Two Cell Phone Photos of the Same Scene

What stood out from the terror attack in Brussels is how two slightly different cell phone photos became defining images of the event.

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Notes Photo February 25, 2016

World Press Photo Winners: Mary F. Calvert and Military Sexual Assault

I wanted to focus on the more political side of Mary F. Calvert’s award-winning photo project on women raped or sexually assaulted while serving in the U.S. military.

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Notes Photo November 12, 2015

War/No War. Reading Spencer Platt’s NY Veterans Day Parade Photos

These photos surface uncomfortable realities about an America (still) at war.

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Notes Photo September 20, 2015

News Photos as Military Promo: Prepping for the Next Good War?

This New York Times photo feature is less about military propaganda than it is about selling the next "good war."

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Notes Photo July 7, 2015

More Drama, Less Reality: The Case for Fake War Photography

The staying power of US war culture depends on a citizenry that keeps its distance from actual warfare.

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Notes Photo March 20, 2015

Meta of the Military Photography Awards: You’re Either Flying High or Laid Low

While these two photographs aren't the only ones recognized as award winners, their place at the top does offer some insight into a limited range of human experience.

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Notes Photo July 29, 2014

David Frum Accuses NYT and Reuters of Staging Gaza Hospital Photos (GRAPHIC)

Certainly, these organizations have better uses of their time right now -- including, keeping their photographers alive while adhering to ethical standards -- without having to contend with libelous charges being leveled on impulse.

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Notes Photo March 27, 2014

The Dysfunctional Guitar: More on the Reuters Syria Photo Controversy

In this atmosphere of doubt, it's worthwhile to consider these images involving the presence of this musical instrument in multiple images. What really convinced me to share them publicly, though, was the confusing and misdirected explanation I received from Reuters after having contacted them.

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Notes Photo March 25, 2014

Were the Reuters "Boy in a Syrian Bomb Factory" Photos Staged?

We hope that this post might contribute to a thoughtful, open and persistent examination about the truth behind this story as well as the issues surrounding how photos in conflict zones can be procured today.

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Notes Photo March 11, 2014

7 Reasons Why Donald Weber’s Kiev Molotov Cocktail Portraits are That Effective

At once dirty and pretty, an achievement here (in comparison to so much other war photography) is that these don't glamorize.

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Notes Photo September 18, 2013

Have You Ever Seen the Uncropped Version of the "Napalm Girl?"

So my question is: was this photo cropped entirely for effect? for simplicity sake? or, because the nonchalance of the soldiers would have been like a second napalm hit?

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Notes Photo May 20, 2013

Ruddy Roye from Iraqi Kurdistan: Among the Names of the Dead

We learn about the horrors of the day in Halabja from everybody, everywhere and every time. They are told in stories and memorials. Whenever we get together as a family, sometimes watching old footage, we would talk about that day.

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Notes Photo May 14, 2013

Hansen’s World Press Winning Photo Not Fake… Just Unbelievable

Based on detailed scientific analysis, it has finally been established that a photo doesn't have to be fake to be incredible on its face.

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Notes Photo April 16, 2013

War and Terror: What Shocks Me Most About the Bloody Marathon Bombing Pictures (GRAPHIC)

What takes me aback are how graphic the news photos are as compared to the almost total visual censorship of American war casualties over the past twelve years.

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Notes Photo November 19, 2012

Gaza and Israel Under Siege: Photo Comparisons Vs How the Brain Works

Viewers don't tend to hold circumstances separately in mind as much as draw comparisons in terms of degree.

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Notes Photo September 10, 2012

James Nachtwey’s 9/11: Eleven Years Later, Like Night and Day

9/11 in 2011 9/11 in 2001 Unfortunately, the Bush administration used the emotional power of the images of 9/11, including mine, to justify and gather support for an ill-conceived invasion of Iraq, a country that had absolutely no connection to the attack on 9/11. So things get manipulated in...

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Notes Photo September 12, 2011

Alan Chin on "the 9/11 Decade": Beyond Pushpins On A Calendar

"Though anniversaries may just be pushpins on a calendar, they are key markers of our individual and collective lives." Photographer Alan Chin on loss and change through the 9/11 decade, from New York to Afghanistan, Iraq to New Orleans, and back again.

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