Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Really

 Okay last night [cousin] asked what the picture from my last post was about so I thought I would tell. So the guy that photographed this was Eddie Adams. Now I don't have the exact quote, but Eddie once said that he has ruined that man's life, Nguyen Ngoc Loan, the man pointing the gun at the other man. He was South Vietnam's National Chief Police. Eddie wrote that this happened every day in war, but because this was captured on film he is the only bad guy in the war. Truth is that man being shot was a traitor and had done a lot of bad stuff like being a traitor and also killed the Chief Police's wife and children, but we wouldn't know that without a long story about it. After the war Nguyen came to good old America, moved to Virginia and opened a pizza factory. He had to close it because nobody would come because the people had found out that he was that guy in the picture. One former patron wrote a note on the door of his restaurant saying, "We know who you are."  He died of cancer on July 14, 1998. 
I know that is really like depressing, but it really makes me think through every shot I take. That guy was doing his job. And though I am sure that photographer was not out to get the Chief, it still affected him forever. It really puts a whole meaning on "Don't Judge a Book by it's Cover" thing. That poor guy. WEEELLLLL have a good day hahaha.