"War is partly madness, mostly insanity and the rest is schizophrenia.”- Don McCullin. (BBC Imagine 2013 McCullin)
Capturing the decisive moments of these wars have not just created a genre of photography called war photography but also enhanced public awareness. Both Donald McCullin and Eddie Adams, being photojournalists recognized for their war photography, have produced some outstanding photographs and successfully portrayed the harsh reality of war. Even though their conceptual concerns were similar, there was a visible variation in terms of their styles, techniques, compositions and subjects. A further comparison between the two photographers for the above attributes has been done later. Apart from his coverage of 13 wars, …show more content…
He started with his photography career in his teenage as he started working for his high school magazine and later spread to wedding and portrait photography (Eddie Adams, Famous Photographers). He joined the US Marine Corps post his graduation and served as a battle photographer in the Korean War (Eddie Adams, Famous Photographers). Three years later after quitting the Marines he became a member of the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin staff and joined the Associated Press (AP). During this time he covered wars in Vietnam, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Cyprus, Portugal, Ireland, Lebanon and Kuwait (Eddie Adams, Famous Photographers). In the following time, around 10 years later, he quit Associated Press to join Time magazine and work as a freelancer but later returned to Associated press as a special correspondent, the only of its kind (Eddie Adams, Briscoe Center). One of his most famous pictures was the one he captured in Vietnam of the execution of a Vietcong prisoner by the police chief general, Saigon Execution Photo (Eddie Adams, Famous Photographers). It got published in newspapers all over the world and gave fuel to the anti-war fire that was ragging throughout the United States. It also won the Pulitzer Prize Spot News Photography and World Press Photo Award (Eddie Adams, Famous Photographers). He later captured portraits of famous important people like Pope John Paul II, Indira …show more content…
Donald McCullin’s first camera was a twin lens Rolleicord, with which he captured his first picture that got printed in The Observer (Danny Richardson, 2010). He later exchanged it for a single lens reflex Pentax and further on as he progressed, he purchased a Nikon F7, which not just helped him capture remarkable photographs but also saved his life in Cambodia by stopping a bullet (Danny Richardson, 2010). Where as Eddie Adams used a 35mm lens with a Leica M4 and captured his Pulitzer Prize winner, Saigon Execution with it (La Vida Leica, 2014). McCullin wasn’t just a talented photographer but also had magnificent darkroom skills. He used to plan exactly how much and from where to burn in or dodge the print to expose the areas of focus in the photographs (Danny Richardson, 2010). Most striking photographs clicked by both Eddie Adams and Don McCullin are mainly black and white with their interesting monochrome creating beautiful