What do you think?
Rate this book
Capa In Color
This beautiful book looks at Robert Capa's color photography, a little-known but important aspect of the great photographer's work, and includes many never-before-published images. Famed photojournalist and founder of Magnum Photos, Robert Capa was primarily known for his black-and-white images. But after World War II he turned increasingly to color, fulfilling assignments for a variety of popular magazines such as Life and Holiday. This volume reproduces Capa's color images in a wide variety of forms including prints, magazine spreads, book jackets, and other ephemera, revealing the photographer at a point in his career when his role as director of Magnum required that he keep up with current technology--both as a business decision and a way of capturing new assignments. This book also features a contextualizing essay by International Center of Photography curator Cynthia Young, travel writings by Capa and assignment collaborators John Steinbeck and Irwin Shaw, and brief essays providing background on various pieces of reportage.
- GenresPhotographyNonfiction
208 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2014
1 person is currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
Robert Capa
86 books55 followersRobert Capa (born Endre Ernő Friedmann) was a Hungarian–American war photographer and photojournalist. He is considered by some to be the greatest combat and adventure photographer in history.
Friedman had fled political repression in Hungary when he was a teenager, moving to Berlin, where he enrolled in college. He witnessed the rise of Hitler, which led him to move to Paris, where he met and began to work with his professional partner Gerda Taro, and they began to publish their work separately. Capa's deep friendship with David Seymour-Chim was captured in Martha Gellhorn's novella, Two by Two. He subsequently covered five wars: the Spanish Civil War, the Second Sino-Japanese War, World War II across Europe, the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and the First Indochina War, with his photos published in major magazines and newspapers.
During his career he risked his life numerous times, most dramatically as the only civilian photographer landing on Omaha Beach on D-Day. He documented the course of World War II in London, North Africa, Italy, and the liberation of Paris. His friends and colleagues included Ernest Hemingway, Irwin Shaw, John Steinbeck and director John Huston.
In 1947, for his work recording World War II in pictures, U.S. general Dwight D. Eisenhower awarded Capa the Medal of Freedom. That same year, Capa co-founded Magnum Photos in Paris. The organization was the first cooperative agency for worldwide freelance photographers. Hungary has issued a stamp and a gold coin in his honor.
He was killed when he stepped on a landmine in Vietnam.
Friedman had fled political repression in Hungary when he was a teenager, moving to Berlin, where he enrolled in college. He witnessed the rise of Hitler, which led him to move to Paris, where he met and began to work with his professional partner Gerda Taro, and they began to publish their work separately. Capa's deep friendship with David Seymour-Chim was captured in Martha Gellhorn's novella, Two by Two. He subsequently covered five wars: the Spanish Civil War, the Second Sino-Japanese War, World War II across Europe, the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and the First Indochina War, with his photos published in major magazines and newspapers.
During his career he risked his life numerous times, most dramatically as the only civilian photographer landing on Omaha Beach on D-Day. He documented the course of World War II in London, North Africa, Italy, and the liberation of Paris. His friends and colleagues included Ernest Hemingway, Irwin Shaw, John Steinbeck and director John Huston.
In 1947, for his work recording World War II in pictures, U.S. general Dwight D. Eisenhower awarded Capa the Medal of Freedom. That same year, Capa co-founded Magnum Photos in Paris. The organization was the first cooperative agency for worldwide freelance photographers. Hungary has issued a stamp and a gold coin in his honor.
He was killed when he stepped on a landmine in Vietnam.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 15, 2018
Capa in Color is purportedly a collection of the color photographs by Robert Capa. And it is that. But perhaps the title is a misnomer. This book is equally a collection of the writings of Capa as much as it is a picture book. Maybe it should be called, Capa the Writer. Most of Capa’s color work was done for travel magazines, particularly Holiday magazine where his legendary lose association with the truth proved to be no handicap at all. Capa was a wonderful writer, witty, observant, & funny. The volume includes pieces by the likes of John Steinbeck and Irwin Shaw; and in my opinion, Capa’s writing is by far the best. Even if you’re familiar with Slightly Out of Focus, this book will introduce you to another facet of “the world’s greatest war photographer.” Capa’s style is remarkably contemporary. It makes for great reading even in the absence of the pictures.
The text surrounding the original pieces is by Cynthia Young and it nicely fills in the biographical narrative. You can learn, for instance, that when Capa first went to China in 1938, he requested his Pix agency in New York to immediately send 12 rolls of Kodachrome. Capa’s brother Cornell sent three rolls and explained that was all they could afford. Young also details Capa’s post WW II efforts to transition from conflict photography to other markets and his push within Magnum to be a leader in color photography for magazines. If all you know of Capa is his war photography, then this book is a must-read.
The text surrounding the original pieces is by Cynthia Young and it nicely fills in the biographical narrative. You can learn, for instance, that when Capa first went to China in 1938, he requested his Pix agency in New York to immediately send 12 rolls of Kodachrome. Capa’s brother Cornell sent three rolls and explained that was all they could afford. Young also details Capa’s post WW II efforts to transition from conflict photography to other markets and his push within Magnum to be a leader in color photography for magazines. If all you know of Capa is his war photography, then this book is a must-read.
January 30, 2019
Imperdibile. Un Capa diverso ma non meno affascinante ed iconico.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews