AD CORE DEVISE DESIGNER BLOG Vol.4
Yesterday, NHK aired Sawaki Kotaro's detective documentary, "The Fateful Photo: 'Battlefield' Photos: Tackling the Greatest Mystery."
At first I was shocked and disappointed, but then I learned that Capa's (real name Friedman Endre Ernö) photograph of the "Falling Soldier" helped determine the fate of Capa's own untimely death, and it made me think.
"The Falling Soldier" was famous for capturing a Popular Front soldier as he collapsed after being shot in the head, but the photo was taken during a training exercise, the soldier was still alive, and, most shockingly, it was likely not taken by Capa himself, but by his girlfriend Gerda. Capa gained so much fame with "The Falling Soldier" that he rushed through life in order to take a photo that surpassed "The Falling Soldier," and as someone I liked, I felt a heavy heart after watching the film.
The "falling soldier" has certainly become a target for photojournalists, and when I think about how many photographers lost their lives on the dangerous battlefields trying to surpass it, I can't help but think that it was a truly sinful photo. Sawada Kyoichi, who ran through the battlefields in admiration of Capa, was probably one of them. I wonder if the Japanese female photographer I mentioned the other day, and many other photographers, could have avoided death.
(Noboru Seto, Creative Director, AD CORE DEVISE)
