W. Eugene Smith

William Eugene Smith was a craftsman of unmatched talent who’s incessant perfectionism and refusal to conform professionally makes him, in the opinion of many people, the undisputed king of photojournalism. Born in Wichita, Kansas, Smith got his first camera from his mother at the age of fourteen. A man of many woes and inner turmoil, he battled with drug and alcohol addiction for much of his life, being admitted to mental institutions on several occasions. His passion for the truth, regardless of how stark or unflattering it may somethimes seem, depicts him as a fanatically dedicated artist, hell bent on creating his vision at all costs.

A pioneer in many fields, his restless nature never pinned him down to one photojournalistic approach. A master at portraying the grim realities of combat, working class exploitation, environmental damage, drug addiction, and the photo essay, his intuitive sense of timing, technique and insight also allowed him to capture some of the most beautiful images of nature and childhood ever to be caught on camera, capturing the humanity of his subjects like no other.

“I Have Never Made Any

Picture, Good or Bad,

Without Paying for it in

Emotional Turmoil”

William Eugene Smith

Wounded, dying infant found by American Soldier in Saipin Mountain (1944)

The Second World War, Iwo Jima, Sticks and Stones (1945)

Smith’s frustration with the way war was being presented in the American press pushed him to show a true account of his experiences while island hopping with the American offensive against Japan. His routine of “staying up when everyone else had ducked for cover” left him severely wounded when he was his by mortar fire on the island of Okinawa.

While recovering from his injuries, Smith, who had not been able to take a photo in almost two years, suddenly reached for his camera once again while taking a walk with his children in the garden of their home. Having the strength to take only one picture due to his left hand still being shattered, his photo A Walk to Paradise Garden has since become known as an “icon” of the twentieth century. It is an image that commands much empathy from those who see it, perhaps because the children’s faces are unseen, people imagine it to be their own children, travelling into the unknown future.

A Walk to Paradise Garden (1946)

Waiting for the Andrea Dorea (1953)

When Eugene Smith was sent to cover the story about an Italian liner, the Andrea Doria, which collided with a Swedish vessel, killing fifty one people, he went straight to Pier 88 in New York to await the arrival of the surviving passengers. Here, he noticed a young nun holding her fingers to her lips, and clutching a teddy bear intended for one of the surviving children, in an expression of utter anxiety. Life magazine rejected the photo as it was not what they were looking for.

For his final work, a fifty two year old Smith was sent to Minimata Japan to cover a story on mercury poisoning which was affecting the local people. It would prove to be his finest work. Smith, planning to stay in Japan for three months, and determined to tell the story of “Minimata disease” to the world, stayed for three years.

During those years Smith took thousands of photographs, leading to the production of numerous magazine articles, exhibitions and books. Smith realized that a single striking photograph was required to become a symbol of Minamata disease. In Smith’s own words, “It grew and grew in my mind that to me the symbol of Minamata was, finally, a picture of this woman (the mother), and the child, Tomoko. One day I simply said, let us try to make that symbolic picture”. Tomoko in her Mother’s Armshas been called the pieta of modern photography. The finest image from his finest collection. It shows a loving mother, Ryoka Uemura, cradling her severely deformed daughter in a traditional Japanese bathing chamber. Smith was asked to give presentation on his work in Stanford University in 1975. When it came to the slide of Tomoko in Her Mother’s Arms he broke down crying in front of the audience. The harrowing image of Tomoko brought the issue of Minamatadisease and the plights of it’s victims to worldwide attention and inspired the people of Japan’s fight for compensation against the chemical factory whose mercury waste poisoned the waters fish, a staple of the Japanese diet. For his troubles, Eugene Smith was set upon by six “heavies” from the Chisso plant and beaten within an inch of his life and left lying unconscious in the middle of the street. He suffered enduring pain from the beating for the rest of his life.

Tomoko in her Mother's Arms

In 1979, complications from his long term consumption of amphetamine, taken to enable his workaholic tendencies, and alcohol led to a massive stroke, from which Smith died shortly thereafter.

Today, Smith’s legacy lives on through the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund which promotes “humanistic photography.” Since 1980, the fund has awarded photographers with grants of up to $20,000 for exceptional accomplishments in the field.

Pittsburg Worker

Robert Capa

We have all heard the old Chinese proverb “a picture is worth a thousand words”, and like all great proverbs, this is as relevant today as when it was first coined.

A photograph can cross all ages, intellects, language’s, and creeds, and reveal something of the human condition to all of us.

A true photojournalist can objectively tell a story that remains as timeless as a proverb, pierce as deep as a bullet, and make a profound lasting impression on the viewer, all at the click of a button.

So hear is a salute to some of my favourite photojournalists of all time. Enjoy!

Robert Capa

Widely regarded as one of the fathers of photojournalism, Robert Capa was a 20th century combat photographer who adopted the belief that “if your picture isn’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” Using his camera as his weapon of choice in five different wars, his work came literally from the trenches as opposed to the arms-length perspective that was the precedent previously.

Loyalist Militiaman at the Moment of Death

The Falling Soldier

This photo, showing a Loyalist Militiaman who had allegedly just been shot and is in the act of falling to his death, brought Robert Capa worldwide recognition and is generally regarded as one of the most famous war photographs of all time.

Many authors and photographers have claimed that the photo was staged, while others have spent decades gathering information which they say can prove that the photo is indeed authentic. Whatever the case may be, this image has become a symbol of  the Spanish Civil War and one of the most memorable photographs of all time.

Robert Capa’s next job for life magazine would cement his name at the top of the photojournalism hierarchy and show him as a man with little fear to put his art ahead of his physical safety. When he arrived on Omaha beach on D-Day to a hail of German machine gun bullets and sordid steel obstacles piercing up from the water, Capa managed to unload 106 shots showing the terrible scene going on around him. From these, only 10 reels survived due to a grave mistake made in the darkroom by a young technician. Those that remained were blurred, surreal shots, which sufficiently conveyed the chaos and confusion of the day.

Dylan

Hendrix

Senor Dylan

The Mannequin

Mannequin with Bananas

Srahwee Tombs, Co. Mayo

Black Eyed Dog

-lines can be combined to create different textures and patterns. An example of this would be engravings and pen and ink drawings.

Albrecht Duerer’s Knight Death and the Devil

This engravment uses both dense and detailed line cut into metal to achieve and it’s tone and realism.

 This pen & ink drawing uses a cross hatching technique to add value and tone.

-A series of points can attract attention, especially as they move together.

-In architecture, horizontal line is often be used to create a sense of calmness in an organic environment while vertical lines can portray grandeur eg: cathedrals.

We then had a go at contour drawing, using our hands as the subject and learning to use dotts and lines to create texture and value.

1. Value- light vs dark

2. Saturation- intense vs dull

3: Hue- red, yellow, green, blue, or purple

Ralph Steadman’s official website displays a fascinating window to his wonderful world of creation. In it, the self proclaimed “Toon God” provides the user with a biography, information regarding his works, current exhibits, and projects. Plus, if you’ve got the cash, there’s a large range of artwork and accessories for purchase. From silk screens of literary icons such as Kurt Vonnegut and George Orwell to Hunter S. Thompson aprons, the website gives even the modest art collector a chance to own a piece of Mr. Steadman’s work.

User Centric Design

Ralph Steadman is a cartoonist, caricaturist, and author whose website provides the user with a large span of information regarding his life and work. This is what the user wants from the website and this is what the website provides. Most people who come to the website for the first time will probably only know of Ralph Steadman as the wacky illustrator of Hunter S. Thompson’s semi-autobiographical novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The website does a great job providing the user with the story behind what lead to these wonderful works of art but also manages to also manages to travel way beyond his collaboration with Dr. Thompson, giving us a full view of the artist. In a user friendly environment, appreciators of his art are treated to hundreds of images of his work, information regarding his famous collections, and current projects and exhibits. One thing that could be criticised is that the blocks of text are a little bit long and could be made into shorter paragraphs, however, It’s not the kind of website that I would personally just scan over anyway. 

Simplicity

From a design point of view, the website is quite simple and easy to follow. The artists signature is used as a logo and is spread across the top of the home page and is displayed clearly in smaller text on each additional page at the top right corner. There is a vertical navigation bar which uses large text to the right with four separate options for searching the site. Data is displayed using a single bar split between text and images that runs down the page. The background, which is quite plain, uses a lightly shaded design that doesn’t intrude on the information of the site. Most sections provide a learn more button for extended information on a subject and each page has a navigation bar which keeps you clicking further into the site with a home button to bring you back.

Layout

The layout of the sites home page uses one large block containing all the information running down the centre of the page. This block  is bordered from the background and split into two columns,  mainly image on the left of the block and text on the right. This large block takes up 70% of the pixels, leaving 45% on each side for the background. At the top of the page is the logo with the navigation bar running down the side in the artists ink splattered handwriting.  A link for contacting the website is replaced by a rather unnecessary hit counter on the main page, but is present on every other page on the site. Once browsing through the site the main navigation bar shifts location and becomes a horizontal bar at the top of the page, with a new vertical bar appearing on the left of the screen for filtering additional information. This is slightly confusing for a first time user but is necessary in achieving the less important design of the home page.

 White-Space

White-Space is used extensively throughout ralphsteadman.com giving it a crisp, refreshing look. As Ralph Steadman’s favoured medium is simply black ink on white paper, it is fitting that his website is designed in the same way. This creates a unifying balance between all aspects of the website.  Macro-white space is used in the background with light grayish sketching drawn around the screen. This acts as a frame for the main picture- the important data  in the center block of the page. In the center column, micro-white space is used generously behind the text and images, with only the navigation bar and a few articles displayed on a coloured background to add some contrast and warmth.