Whilst searching for famous photo journalist who made a big impact on photography and showed the world to others in a different light, I came across Tony Vaccaro and I must say his shots are some of the most emotive I have ever looked at. He captures things in there rawest state, sometimes without having time to think about how he is shooting, but just being there to capture the moment. it just goes to show that not always the most technically brilliant photographs are the ones that stick in your memory.
He fought in World War II during 1944 and 1955 as a scout which left him some time to take photographs during the day. By the end of the war in Europe, Vaccaro had become an official photographer for the division's newspaper.
Sad Homecoming, 1st March 1946
"I wanted to collect evidence against the war, the futility, the destruction ... I said to myself, do not worry about how good the photo. When the eye sees it, do it ... The photos that I the front was, I developed night, in our helmets. The soldiers looked often and talked with me. Some died of the next day. "
Liberation of St Briac, 15th August 1944
"The camera has helped me to survive this war. I wanted to hold this hell, because I thought that believes us later, no one, how awful it was. So I ran many times faster, I tried even better from the bullets of the Germans to protect and yet at the same time to see everything. "
- quotes from Tony Vaccaro
The Price of War, 31st December 1943
This last picture is possibly one of the most disturbing I have ever seen from this time period. The hole torn in the soldiers eye is dramatic enough but it is the lasting expression on his face that captures the pure horror it must have been for our serving men and women during this time.
White Death — Requiem for a dead soldier. Bihain, Belgium. January 12, 1945
Vaccaro won an award for the above photo, here is a video here of him explaining the true story behind the image:
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