Shooting Under Fire: The World of the War Photographer

by Peter Howe

"Shooting Under Fire" is the candid testimony and stunning photographs of the men and women who go into battle armed only with a camera to show warfare as it is and where it is. In this volume, ten leading combat photographers relate incidents of horror, humor, bravery, and daring in locations from Vietnam to Haiti, Ramallah to Chechnya, El Salvador to Sarajevo, the World Trade Center to Afghanistan. Here, in their own words, are their stories of life in the combat zone, together with many of the powerful images they risked their lives to obtain. This historical and very human look at the pathos of war also reveals the moral and ethical issues that this elite corps of photographers face, and the decisions they must make in the chaos of conflict. In addition to the works of these talented photographers are iconic images, from the American Civil War to the devastation of the World Trade Center, that tell the story of the development of combat photography and the profound changes in warfare itself that have occurred in the last century and a half.

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction, War

224 pages, Hardcover

First published November 11, 2002

About the author

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There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name

Reviews

[Alialiarya · Rating 5 out of 5]

جنگ مثل کوهنوردی یا ورزش‌های پرخطر دیگر است؛ نوعی حس اوج گرفتن به انسان می‌دهد. مثل شکار حیوانات بزرگ است. اما پرهیجان‌ترین شکار‌. چون موضوع، شکار انسان است
کاترین لروی

ده عکاس جنگ و خاطرات حیرت‌انگیزشان از جنگ‌. جنگ این کثیف‌ترین رخداد بشری عکاسان شجاعی به خود دیده که تاریخ را به تصویر درآورده و برای همگان ضبط کرده‌اند. عکاسان جنگ در تمام جهان معمولا در سکوت می‌مانند و در سکوت می‌میرند. زمانی که خاطرات عکاسان جنگ ایرانی را می‌خواندم شباهت زیادی با همتایان جهانی‌شان دیدم. عکاسی جنگ نیاز به توانایی‌ای دارد که افراد بسیار کمی دارند. نمی‌دانم چطور باید به این کتاب نمره دهم. باید به دلم نگاه کنم و تاثیری که رویم گذاشت. برایم یادآوری هنر و انسان بود. خشونت و صلح. جنگ و جنگ و جنگ و جنگ. شاید خواندن هیچ کتابی را انقدر طول نداده بودم. بعضی وقت تنها یک عکسش برای یک نشست کافی بود
درود بر پیتر هاو

از غم‌انگیزترین و زیباترین کتاب‌های کتاب‌خانه‌ام که مطمئنم بسیار به آن بازخواهم گشت و هر بار خواهم گریست

[Mohammad Ali Shamekhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتاب سوای مقدمه اش، از ده بخش تشکیل شده است. در هر یک از این بخش ها یکی از عکاسان جنگ از تجربیات، اندیشه ها و عکس های خود سخن می گوید. عکس های مورد بحث نیز در خلال نوشته ها به صورت رنگی و با کیفیتی معقول چاپ شده اند. این فصول ده گانه به ترتیب نوشته ی این عکاسان هستند: پاتریک شاول، فیلیپ جونز گریفیث، ران هاویو، کاترین لروی، دان مک کالین، سوزان میسلاس، کریستوفر موریس، جیمز ناکتوی، مگی استبر، و در نهایت لوران وان در استاک

من با کتاب حال کردم چون هم عکس های جون داری داشت و هم روایت های جالبی درش ذکر شده بود. البته چاپ کتاب خالی از اشکال نبود مثلا تلفظ اسامی فرانسوی اشتباه ضبط شده بود و تصاویری دوصفحه ای به دلیل قرار گرفتن در عطف صفحات لطمه خورده بودند

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very intense look at war photography and those who chronicle the stories with their cameras.

[Zahra Basir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book and looking at its photos, took me to a trip to the fearful 20th century.
I wished i could be a useful person such as those brave photographers and journalist and do something to stop the world from what it is now.

My respects to all those brave photographers and journalist whom sacrificed their lives in order to change the world to a better place.

[Arlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't let yourself be put of by a slow-moving (and not that well-written) introduction! Howe takes the time to establish the history of combat photography, and it's information worth having. A bit of context only makes the reading of the book that much more worthwhile. Howe interviews and records 10 different combat photographers and there stories. It reads like a collection of journal entries - sometimes the photographers are remembering tense moments or challenges, times when they almost fell apart, at other points they explain the background of a photo. And each one talks about their motivation for continuing (or not continuing) in combat photography - looking at the ethics and morality of photographing people in pain, of recording stories for those who have no voice. It was a very rich collection - I loved the diversity of opinions expressed. Because there were so many photographers, the reader is unable to take one experience and say, "This is how a war photographer feels." (Which I have to admit, I probably would have done if it had just been one biography.) While there are certainly commonalities between all of the contributors, there is also a large amount of diversity. And the photographs are incredible - heartbreaking and anger-making. But largely leaving the reader with a feeling of almost sick helplessness. So why bother looking? Because somebody else had to live it.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably my favorite photography book, that I still go back to often. It shows the personal sacrifices individuals make to give us a sense of the suffering of others -- really the only way any good is done for the unfortunate around the world.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

HARD to read, but worth reading.

[Leah Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compelling and horrifying. A vivid tour through the pre-apocalypse world we live in~

[Steve Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stark photography and dramatic first person accounts of photographers. It's an amazing book.