McCullin: BBC Imagine – A Portrait of Don McCullin
Don McCullin is primarily known as a British war photographer, whose work for the Sunday Times in the 1960s and 70s brought images of the Vietnam War, the conflict in Cyprus, and many other global crises to the public’s attention. However, for me, McCullin has always been much more than just a war photographer. I sometimes wonder if the reason I own a camera today is because I saw his powerful imagery as a child.
I write this blog post while working on Assignment 3 of Expressing Your Vision—an assignment focused on the “decisive moment.” I firmly believe that you don’t need to replicate Henri Cartier-Bresson to capture a decisive moment—just look at the work of Don McCullin.
McCullin follows Robert Capa’s famous phrase, “If your photos aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” This closeness, however, is not just physical—it’s emotional and empathetic. It’s about truly understanding and caring for your subject, and that’s the essence of McCullin’s work, which is vividly conveyed in the documentary.
McCullin’s approach is defined by his strong sense of morals. There have been times when he walked away from a shot—such as during executions—or when, instead of merely observing, he risked his life to help those he was photographing. In Vietnam, while embedded with U.S. troops, he would often assist in bringing back the wounded, even under fire.
This empathy and moral integrity are what set McCullin’s work apart. When I look through his images, there is no sense of voyeurism. One of the most striking examples is his portrait of a shell-shocked Vietnam soldier, which, for me, sums up the entire conflict. The young soldier, tough-looking yet lost and disoriented, reflects the chaos and confusion of the war. I believe this is as powerful a decisive moment as Cartier-Bresson’s Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare—and much less likely to encourage derivative work.
McCullin’s use of black and white photography was typical for his time, but it lends his work a timeless quality. His images, “warts and all,” capture the raw reality of life. What sets them apart is the moral compass of the man behind the camera.
Perhaps some of McCullin’s finest work is his coverage of Berlin during the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961. He went on a whim, not assigned by a newspaper, and was poorly prepared. Armed with a camera he had purchased during his time in the RAF, McCullin created a series of striking images. By employing low angles, extreme upward tilts, and other techniques, he conveyed the tense atmosphere of those days, when East and West were divided. The low angles make the tanks and soldiers appear more imposing and oppressive. When I look at these images, I feel like a small child in Berlin, helpless and scared of the overwhelming presence of soldiers and tanks.
In summary, Don McCullin, to me, embodies documentary photography at its most powerful.
Bibliography
MORRIS, Jacqui. 2015. BBC Imagine 2013 McCullin. [online]. [Accessed 7 Sep 2015]. Available from World Wide Web: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV-RM-Th3Uk>
MCCULLIN, Don. unknown. [online]. [Accessed 7 Aug 2015]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://scalr-9465-us-east-1.s3.amazonaws.com/images/PHOTO_18267371.jpg>
MCCULLIN, Don. 2001. Don McCullin. Jonathon Cape.
