Eddie Adams Research

Photographer: Eddie Adams
Vietnam 1968
 

I chose to analyse this image by Eddie Adams because I think it shows action well. This photograph captures a moment perfectly and the emotion stands out immensely. The photograph shows a General with his arm outstretched about to shoot a prisoner. Most people think it is someone from the South Vietnamese national police simply shooting a helpless man unfairly however that is not the case. The man did infact commit many crimes including murder which is why he has a gun to his head. I think this image is very powerful and people would find this very interesting to research or even just look at.
The shutter speed would have had to be quite quick as the photograph is not staged and therefore, the subjects would not be stationary. Adams simply photographed real people and real actions that cannot be faked which is why I liked this image. It shows how spontaneous photographers have to be when photographing real life scenes. Also, as the image is black and white, it shows that it is most likely quite old. The contrast between the black and white is dramatic and makes the subjects face stand out against the background. If this image was never taken, we would not know how some people were treated at the time in Vietnam.