Taro

It seems that I keep stumbling upon many great photographers unexpectedly. I was listening to an album by a band called Alt-J (they are wonderful). Their last track is entitled "Taro." Some lyrics are a bit difficult to understand because the singer is British, so I decided to look them up. The first word is Indochina- very relevant to my life because I just finished watching the film Indochine in French class. That was the first nice discovery! They then make a reference to Capa. I wasn't sure who this was referencing, but after looking at possible meanings of the song, I discovered that it is about the photographers Robert Capa and of course- Gerda Taro (the song is about his death and his reunion with Taro).  Just my luck! I was so incredibly happy to find this out. I then decided to find out more about them. 

Robert Capa was a Jewish-Hungarian combat photographer and photojournalist during five different wars: Spanish Civil War, Second Sino-Japanese War, World War II, 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the First Indochina War. 

You may recognize his photos from the Normandy Invasion. 

I think the most incredibly aspect of his work is the risks that were involved to capture something so violent in a unique way. 

That picture was taken from the Indochina War. Extremely moving and heartbreaking. 

Other famous photos by him include:

Obviously something that sets him apart (and other great photographers like Robert Frank and Gerda Taro) is the way they were able to capture different time periods and important moments with more of a personal connection for the viewer. 

Gerda Taro was also a war photographer and is often regarded as the first female photojournalist to cover the front lines of war and die while doing so. Ain't that something. I can't find many of her photos online, but she has a book that I am definitely going to purchase. 

So far this quarter has turned out to be heavily research based on new photographers. I wasn't expecting this at all. To be honest, I didn't think I would come across so many photographers accidentally. The fact that the past three people I have researched were found by simple tasks such as blogging or listening to music makes it even more enjoyable and exciting to learn about. I do believe that the things we begin to love start following us and appearing everywhere. Perhaps because we pay more attention to them, or perhaps because things happen to work that way. 

And with that I leave you a quote by Capa,

"If your pictures aren't good enough, you aren't close enough." (And for you Luke- "It's not enough to have talent, you also have to be Hungarian.")