Freeze-Frame; Scorching, Poignant, Devastating, Serene, Playful, Magnum's Powerful Images Always Leave an Imprint On the Mind. Sunday Herald Picture Editor Elaine Livingstone Takes a Look at Magnum Stories, a New Book of 'Masterclasses' Where 61 World-Renowned Photographers Discuss the Way They Work

Sunday Herald › November 23, 2004

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Summary

FOR more than a decade, a small group of very different men of varying nationalities gathered at a Paris cafe. They discussed politics, love and life, argued, laughed, survived wars, witnessed and suffered tragedy. But what really united these unlikely characters was their love of photography and this, along with their diverse personalities and strong friendships, melded them together and resulted in their greatest creation: Magnum, the world's most prestigious photographic agency, born in 1947.

Robert Capa, who famously had covered the D-Day landings in northern France, was undoubtedly the driving force behind the idea. With his co-founders Henri Cartier-Bresson, David "Chim" Seymour and George Rodger, their vision was to create an organisation that was independent and unique, reflected largely by their own experiences and their desire to report on the what was going on in the world. The objective: to bear their own witness to the stories they chose to work on and be recognised as journalists with their own point of view and artistic approach. It would be an agency owned by photographers, for photographers. It was unlikely at that time any of them were aware they were creating history while attempting to document it, but this is exactly what happened. From these founding four, Magnum has grown over the last five decades to a 60-strong co- operative and continues to dominate the world of photojournalism.

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Extract

Freeze-Frame; Scorching, Poignant, Devastating, Serene, Playful, Magnum's Powerful Images Always Leave an Imprint On the Mind. Sunday Herald Picture Editor Elaine Livingstone Takes a Look at Magnum Stories, a New Book of 'Masterclasses' Where 61 World-Renowned Photographers Discuss the Way They Work

Sadly Capa and Chim were killed in separate incidents on assignment within the first decade - Capa stepped on a land mine in Indochine in 1954 and Chim was shot while driving near the Suez Canal in 1956 - and they were never able to see the full potential of their dr...

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