Tu-Du-Hospital in Ho-Chi-Minh-City. Hundreds of preparations of born and unborn children are kept in a small room. Many of them originate from provinces which were attacked by defoliants during the war.

xxx

The best shot so far in this series, reflections...

I can't get past how grotesque this is to appreciate any "art" in this. I wish I never saw this picture.

Casey: That's just fine.

I must point out that the title of this series IS "The Consequences of the Chemical War in Vietnam".

 

There is no way these sickening facts of history and life could be fully conveyed by photograpy without grotesque imaginery.

 

Marvelous series.

 

Hi Roland, I agree with Ilkka and as you know yourself the "art" is being able to convey some of the horror ... Tony

Casey's world is soccer moms and white picket fences. The most grotesque thing on this page is her ignorance.

Great Testimonial. Actually this isn't my favorite image of the series, but I would like to echo que opinions about the quality of this work, to lament the ignorance of those who can't appreciate and to tell that your manifest against war if terrific, very apropriated for the moment we are all living and with very good use of photography.

 

I would dare to say that many of those who rate the images so lowly are actually doing it because of the participation of the USA in the atrocities. I hope I am wrong, though.

 

 

wow. I really apreciate not only your amazing photo's but your spirit. it must have been really hard to take these.

amen. not appriciating the photography of truth is like not appriciating a history teacher talking about slavery or the holocaust. we cannot pretend or keep scilent about the past no matter how terrifying it may be.

wow,I have never been so moved by a series as this one...bravo to you who was able to keep a steady hand in capturing this very difficult reality.

following the thread...

I don't think that your work should be hidden. I don't think that is wrong to make all people know how evil is the human gender and what atocities have been commited all around the world and in every time.

I'm just a little concerned about the site.

PN is a community where professional and non professional photographers show their work. There's something of narcisistic in this, it's frivolous, it's futile.

Your work is disturbing, soul shaking. And you must shout those crimes to the world. But this is not the web-site.

 

There are to possible options:

 

1-all of us are are disgusting people shoting to girls, flowers and bees while genocydes are committed.

 

2-you are an hypocrite and just use such an horrid situation to make same "nice" shot to boast with your friends.

 

 

Of course none of those are true and we are free in a free world (a part of it at least), and you can do whatever you whant. But if you publish this work on PN you infere to one of those hypothesis.

 

Anyway thank you for shacking our lazy souls...

 

Giovanni

 

 

Giovanni, I'm sorry, but I simply can't agree. Images such as this can play a tremendous role in shaping the way that we view the world, and as such, deserve attention not only from the general public, but also from those of us here who may be able, no matter how little, to help make them more effective.

 

As far as Roland's motivation in posting here, I should think it quite obvious -- he has an image that he feels worth making better, and he would like our opinion on how that might be done. That is, after all, what critique is all about.

 

To that end, let me say, Roland, that I find the reflection of the room lights on the jar distracting from the focus of the image. I'm not sure if they are deliberate, unavoidable, or simply unnoticed, but anything you might do to de-emphasize them would be helpful.

 

Taken as a whole, the this really is stunning, though. I would offer my congratulations if it didn't seem somehow inappropriate to do so. I will offer my thanks for having the courage both to post this and walk into that room in the first place.

 

 

I feel compelled to write here if only for the sake of emotional release. To Akin, what is the reason someone would ask for a critique? On PN it is undoubtedly to field input from a vast resource of photographers who may input enough to enable one to enhance his or her skill set in the field of photography. However, to offer a clinical analysis of method or technique as you have done here is truly lost in the tragedy of the toll that human beings can exact from other human beings.

 

One of the most famous images of the Viet Nam War taken by photographer Nick Út of Phan Thị Kim Phúc and other children running in terror from a napalm attack. The photograph won the World Press Photo of the Year award in 1972. Yet I dare anyone to offer a critical assessment of that shot and not feel belittled by the insignificance of technical opinions versus the unspeakable pain, terror and anguish those kids are experiencing at the moment that the shutter was released.

 

No. This series is not and should not be expecting an opinion on lighting, composure or any other aspect of the photographic art. This is human tragedy at its damnable worse, and should be left to be viewed in only silence accompanied by the faint hope that the images are powerful enough to compel the observer to search for ways to reach above this.

 

These images have certainly done that.

The affect of the war still lingering after 3 decades, very striking image. BTW, I was born in that hospital.