Launched on June 6, 2014, the 70th anniversary of the Allied landing on the Normandy coast, the Robert Capa D-Day Project combines elements of photo history, research in journalism, critical thinking, and media literacy. Led by photography critic and historian A. D. Coleman, this ongoing investigation is a team effort involving crucial contributions from photojournalist J. Ross Baughman, photo historian Rob McElroy, and military historian Charles Herrick.
The Robert Capa D-Day Project has received the 2014 Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi (SDX) Award for Research About Journalism. (Click here for the announcement.) The 2014 Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), with 8,000 members, is the country’s largest journalist organization.
A. D. Coleman has received The Photo Review Award 2015 “for outstanding contributions to photography, including the investigation of Robert Capa’s D-Day photographs.” (Click here for a report.)
The Robert Capa D-Day Project was also nominated for:
• The 2015 Anthony Shadid Award for Journalism Ethics.
• The 2015 Newhouse School Mirror Awards.
• The 2016 duPont-Columbia University Awards.
•
Robert Capa, publicity photo for “Slightly Out of Focus,” 1947.
This series of posts began in June 2014 when the distinguished photojournalist J. Ross Baughman, who had contributed an earlier Guest Post on painters using photographs as source material, emailed to ask if I would consider publishing his analyses of Robert Capa’s D-Day negatives and the legend of their subsequent fate.
After reading Baughman’s draft, exchanging some emails with him, and doing some online fact-checking, I happily accepted his offer. What I found online indicated the availability of a goodly amount of relevant material that expanded on his version of the story and substantiated his conclusions. Rather than ask Ross to rewrite and extend his draft, already polished and resolved, I decided to undertake that task, in order to make the case for an alternate narrative as thoroughly as possible.
The links below, in reverse chronological order, will take you to Baughman’s challenge to the myth, then to my responses and those of others (plus more from Baughman), the most recent first. Think of this as the journal of an investigation. I suggest starting with the earliest post and working your way forward from there.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (52b) (7/13/23): In which I conclude my response to Charles Herrick’s analysis of Capa’s trip from Omaha Beach back to the USS Samuel Chase as the basis for understanding the logistics of his assignment as they interconnect with the logistics of the invasion plan.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (52a) (7/10/23): In which I use Charles Herrick’s analysis of Capa’s trip from Omaha Beach back to the USS Samuel Chase as the basis for understanding the logistics of his assignment as they interconnect with the logistics of the invasion plan.
- Guest Post 37: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (zzz) (6/18/22): In which military historian Herrick concludes his examination of the conflicts between military documentation and Capa’s own accounts of his D-Day return trip from the Easy Red sector of Omaha Beach to the USS Samuel Chase.
- Guest Post 37: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (zz) (6/15/22): In which military historian Herrick continues his examination of the conflicts between military documentation and Capa’s own accounts of his D-Day return trip from the Easy Red sector of Omaha Beach to the USS Samuel Chase.
- Guest Post 37: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (z) (6/11/22): In which military historian Herrick continues his examination of the conflicts between military documentation and Capa’s own accounts of his D-Day return trip from the Easy Red sector of Omaha Beach to the USS Samuel Chase.
- Guest Post 37: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (y) (6/8/22): In which military historian Herrick continues his examination of the conflicts between military documentation and Capa’s own accounts of his D-Day return trip from the Easy Red sector of Omaha Beach to the USS Samuel Chase.
- Guest Post 37: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (x) (6/6/23): In which military historian Herrick examines the conflicts between military documentation and Capa’s own accounts of his D-Day return trip from the Easy Red sector of Omaha Beach to the USS Samuel Chase.
- Guest Post 35: Patrick Peccatte on Philippe Villéger Hypothesis (c) (6/12/22): In which Normandy photo historian Peccatte concludes his exploration of the possibility that Robert Capa just missed getting filmed stepping into the surf on Omaha Beach.
- Guest Post 35: Patrick Peccatte on Philippe Villéger Hypothesis (b) (6/9/22): In which Normandy photo historian Peccatte continues to explore the possibility that Robert Capa just missed getting filmed stepping into the surf on Omaha Beach.
- Guest Post 35: Patrick Peccatte on Philippe Villéger Hypothesis (a) (6/6/22): In which Normandy photo historian Peccatte explores the possibility that Robert Capa just missed getting filmed stepping into the surf on Omaha Beach.
- Guest Post 34: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (w) (4/3/22): In which military historian Herrick concludes from the evidence that both CBS “Murrow Boy” Larry LeSueur and LIFE staffer Bob Landry landed on Utah Beach on June 8 (D+2).
- Guest Post 34: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (v) (3/31/22): In which military historian Herrick provides further evidence that CBS “Murrow Boy” Larry LeSueur did not actually land on Utah Beach on D-Day.
- Guest Post 34: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (u) (3/29/22): In which military historian Herrick provides evidence that CBS “Murrow Boy” Larry LeSueur did not actually land on Utah Beach on D-Day.
- Guest Post 34: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (t) (3/27/22): In which military historian Herrick digs deeper into the D-Day experiences of LIFE staffer Bob Landry and the questionable D-Day reportage of CBS “Murrow Boy” Larry LeSueur.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (51) (2/8/21): In which I respond to Tristan da Cunha’s excellent controlled experiment that involved photographing at Capa’s landing site on Easy Red to determine whether he could have made images of a German officer standing on the bluffs, as he claimed to Hollywood screenwriter Sam Fuller.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (50) (2/1/22): In which I respond to Tristan da Cunha’s excellent controlled experiment that involved testing vintage Kodak Super-XX film to determine whether high heat and/or seawater could have damaged Capa’s D-Day films.
- Guest Post 32: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (s) (1/19/22): In which military historian Herrick concludes his analysis of newly discovered color film by USCG cinematographer David T. Ruley showing the actual damage to LCI(L)-94 from German shelling on D-Day, contradicting Capa’s exaggerated account of his departure from Omaha Beach.
- Guest Post 32: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (r) (1/16/22): In which military historian Herrick begins an analysis of newly discovered color film by USCG cinematographer David T. Ruley showing the actual damage to LCI(L)-94 from German shelling on D-Day, contradicting Capa’s exaggerated account of his departure from Omaha Beach.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (49) (11/2/21): In which I explain why I and other members of the Capa D-Day Irregulars persist in digging into the myths that have barnacled themselves onto Robert Capa’s ten Omaha Beach exposures. With a short review of Nadya Bair’s 2020 study The Decisive Network: Magnum Photos and the Postwar Image Market.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (48) (6/6/21): In which I preview several upcoming research efforts from members of our team, and compare and contrast two responses to our project — one from by Peter Caddick-Adams in his massive 2019 study Sand and Steel: The D-Day Invasions and the Liberation of France, the other from Mike Johnston at his blog The Online Photographer.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (47) (3/29/21): In which I raise a question re the motives behind the clearly inadequate SHAEF plan for retrieving civilian journalists’ photos and dispatches from the Normandy front, offer two new eyewitness accounts from participants, and add to the still-expanding list of those perpetuating the Capa D-Day myth.
- Guest Post 30: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (q) (7/5/20): In which military historian Herrick concludes his deconstruction of the “Legend of the Lost Film” by other D-Day photographers and cinematographers, examining the surviving photos by LIFE staffer Bob Landry and proposing that, with few exceptions, all supposedly “lost” D-Day film actually survived.
- Guest Post 30: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (p) (6/30/20): In which military historian Herrick continues his deconstruction of the “Legend of the Lost Film” by other D-Day photographers and cinematographers, describing the system put in place by SHAEF to gather and transport journalistic product from the Normandy coast to London.
- Guest Post 30: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (o) (6/24/20): In which military historian Herrick continues his deconstruction of the “Legend of the Lost Film” by other D-Day photographers and cinematographers, exonerating Maj. W. A. Ulman from dropping a duffel bag filled with film into the English Channel.
- Guest Post 30: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (n) (6/21/20): In which military historian Herrick sketches the “Legend of the Lost Film” by other D-Day photographers and cinematographers, while introducing “The Curious Case of W. A. Ulman.”
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (46) (6/6/20): In which I note the delay in research for this project resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, announce plans for my interim activities, and continue to rethink the John Morris myth.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (45) (2/2/20): In which I disclose the likely first public commitment to the Capa D-Day myth by John Morris, dating from mid-1954.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (44b) (7/13/19): In which I conclude a considerable revision of the story behind Capa’s D-Day photographs, based on Charles Herrick’s timeline of their transit from Omaha Beach to John Morris’s office at LIFE‘s London headquarters.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (44a) (7/10/19): In which I begin a considerable revision of the story behind Capa’s D-Day photographs, based on Charles Herrick’s timeline of their transit from Omaha Beach to John Morris’s office at LIFE‘s London headquarters.
- Guest Post 28: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (m) (6/20/19): In which military historian Herrick finishes tracking Robert Capa’s D-Day films from Omaha Beach to LIFE‘s London office.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (43) (6/16/19): In which I announce an upcoming NYC lecture on this project, and review the presentations of Capa’s images accompanying the 75th anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 2019.
- Guest Post 28: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (l) (6/12/19): In which military historian Herrick continues tracking Robert Capa’s D-Day films from Omaha Beach to LIFE‘s London office.
- Guest Post 28: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (k) (6/9/19): In which military historian Herrick continues tracking Robert Capa’s D-Day films from Omaha Beach to LIFE‘s London office.
- Guest Post 28: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (j) (6/6/19): In which military historian Herrick begins tracking Robert Capa’s D-Day films from Omaha Beach to LIFE‘s London office.
- Guest Post 27: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (i) (5/20/19): In which military historian Herrick concludes his analysis of spurious claims of connection to Capa on D-Day: William M. Kays.
- Guest Post 27: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (h) (5/17/19): In which military historian Herrick continues his analysis of spurious claims of connection to Capa on D-Day: Capa himself, Charles Jarreau (via Stephen Ambrose), Sam Fuller.
- Guest Post 27: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (g) (5/14/19): In which military historian Herrick begins his analysis of spurious claims of connection to Capa on D-Day: Huston Riley, Charles Hangsterfer.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (42) (4/21/19): In which I note recent online publications of my 2018 lecture on this project, and review British military historian Robert Kershaw’s flawed 1994 book D-Day: Piercing the Atlantic Wall.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (41b) (4/10/19): In which I conclude my review of Canadian scholar Vincent Lavoie’s 2017 book L’affaire Capa: Le procès d’une icône, in which he discusses at some length the early phase of our project.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (41a) (4/7/19): In which I begin my review of Canadian scholar Vincent Lavoie’s 2017 book L’affaire Capa: Le procès d’une icône, in which he discusses at some length the early phase of our project.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (40b) (2/15/19): In which I conclude a stern reprimand of British military historian Robert Kershaw for mindlessly reiterating Capa’s fictionalized version of his D-Day experiences in the pages of the Wall Street Journal.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (40a) (2/12/19): In which I begin a stern reprimand of British military historian Robert Kershaw for mindlessly reiterating Capa’s fictionalized version of his D-Day experiences in the pages of the Wall Street Journal.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (39) (1/3/19): In which I once again castigate Cynthia Young, curator of the International Center of Photography’s Robert Capa and Cornell Capa Archive, for continuing to peddle lies about Capa’s D-Day experiences and the fate of his films.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (38) (6/27/18): In which I give two lectures based on this project, get interviewed for a podcast thereon, and critique yet another rehash of the Capa D-Day myth, this one at Artsy.net.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (37) (12/7/17): In which I discuss the first book on Capa to omit any mention of the supposed darkroom disaster ruining Capa’s D-Day negatives, and mention a Paris memorial service for John G. Morris.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (36) (6/30/17): In which I note the passing of John G. Morris, and examine the ways in which his U.S. and French obituaries address the Capa D-Day myth.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (35) (6/6/17): In which I formally conclude our research project, while proposing a set of questions deserving further investigation.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (34) (5/31/17): In which I provide a final summing up of this project at the blog.
- Guest Post 24: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (f) (5/17/17): In which military historian Herrick concludes his analysis of recently discovered color films showing Robert Capa on D-Day.
- Guest Post 24: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (e) (5/14/17): In which military historian Herrick begins his analysis of recently discovered color films showing Robert Capa on D-Day.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (33) (4/30/17): In which I look at U.S. Coast Guard films of D-Day, and question the legend of Bob Landry’s lost shoes.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (32) (4/16/17): In which Magnum Photos repeats and elaborates the myth yet again, while pitching expensive open-edition Capa “estate prints.”
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (31) (2/27/17): In which iMediaEthics fact-checks my charges against NPPA, and Bruce Young changes his tune on “Falling Soldier.”
- Alternate History: Robert Capa and John Morris (e) (3/5/17): In which I conclude my analysis of the involvement of John Morris in starting, elaborating, and spreading the Capa D-Day myth. In this installment: Morris’s current product line, and the issue of tone-policing.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa and John Morris (d) (2/12/17): In which I extend my analysis of the involvement of John Morris in starting, elaborating, and spreading the Capa D-Day myth. In this installment: Morris’s “new theory” of the fate of Capa’s film collapses under the weight of its own improbabilities.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (30) (1/25/17): In which Magnum reconfirms its commitment to John Morris’s now discredited fable, while TIME publishes new digital fakes of Capa’s supposedly “ruined” negatives.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa and John Morris (c) (12/13/16): In which I pursue my analysis of the involvement of John Morris in starting, elaborating, and spreading the Capa D-Day myth. In this installment: Morris creates his own legend, starting in 1946.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa and John Morris (b) (12/10/16): In which I continue my analysis of the involvement of John Morris in starting, elaborating, and spreading the Capa D-Day myth. In this installment: Morris helps to hide the truth about Capa staging “Falling Soldier.”
- Alternate History: Robert Capa and John Morris (a) (12/7/16): In which I begin my analysis of the involvement of John Morris in starting, elaborating, and spreading the Capa D-Day myth. In this installment: Morris comes clean(er) to James Estrin of the New York Times.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa and ICP (9) (11/16/16): In which I conclude my analysis of the involvement of Cornell Capa and the International Center of Photography in starting, elaborating, and spreading the Capa D-Day myth. In this installment: The truth about Capa’s D-Day images confronts ICP director Mark Lubell.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa and ICP (8) (11/13/16): In which I continue my analysis of the involvement of Cornell Capa and the International Center of Photography in starting, elaborating, and spreading the Capa D-Day myth. In this installment: Cynthia Young hides the truth about Capa’s D-Day images.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa and ICP (7) (10/26/16): In which I continue my analysis of the involvement of Cornell Capa and the International Center of Photography in starting, elaborating, and spreading the Capa D-Day myth. In this installment: Richard Whelan hides the truth about Capa’s D-Day images.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa and ICP (6) (10/23/16): In which I continue my analysis of the involvement of Cornell Capa and the International Center of Photography in starting, elaborating, and spreading the Capa D-Day myth. In this installment: Richard Whelan hides the truth about Capa’s “Falling Soldier.”
- Alternate History: Robert Capa and ICP (5) (7/3/16): In which I continue my analysis of the involvement of Cornell Capa and the International Center of Photography in starting, elaborating, and spreading the Capa D-Day myth. In this installment: Cornell et al obstruct an unauthorized Capa book and film.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa and ICP (4) (6/29/16): In which I continue my analysis of the involvement of Cornell Capa and the International Center of Photography in starting, elaborating, and spreading the Capa D-Day myth. In this installment: Cornell funds — and blocks — independent Capa research.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa and ICP (3) (6/26/16): In which I continue my analysis of the involvement of Cornell Capa and the International Center of Photography in starting, elaborating, and spreading the Capa D-Day myth. In this installment: the first posthumous monographs.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa and ICP (2) (6/22/16): In which I continue my analysis of the involvement of Cornell Capa and the International Center of Photography in starting, elaborating, and spreading the Capa D-Day myth. In this installment: the early years.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa and ICP (1) (6/19/16): In which I begin my analysis of the involvement of Cornell Capa and the International Center of Photography in starting, elaborating, and spreading the Capa D-Day myth.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (29) (5/22/16): In which I add important (and accurate) information concerning Amphibious Armored Vehicle 10, the “wading Sherman” behind which Capa sheltered briefly. With notes re Donald Winslow’s new day job, and John Morris’s new book.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (28) (3/14/16): In which I add important information concerning Amphibious Armored Vehicle 10, behind which Capa sheltered briefly. With a note re the fatwa placed on me by Jean-François Leroy, the grand mufti of Perpignan’s Visa Pour l’Image festival.
- Guest Post 22: Doreen Landry Millichip on Bob Landry (b) (2/10/16): In which the widow of LIFE staff photographer Landry discusses his D-Day experience on Utah Beach, his work for the magazine, and his relationships with John Morris and Robert Capa.
- Guest Post 22: Doreen Landry Millichip on Bob Landry (a) (2/7/16): In which the widow of LIFE staff photographer Landry discusses his D-Day experience on Utah Beach, his work for the magazine, and his relationships with John Morris and Robert Capa.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa and Magnum, 3 (12/13/15): In which I conclude my summary of the involvement of the picture agency Magnum Photos in the propagation of the Capa D-Day myth.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa and Magnum, 2 (12/9/15): In which I continue my summary of the involvement of the picture agency Magnum Photos in the propagation of the Capa D-Day myth.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa and Magnum, 1 (12/6/15): In which I begin a summary of the involvement of the picture agency Magnum Photos in the propagation of the Capa D-Day myth.
- Guest Post 21: Q&A with Patrick Jeudy (b) (11/18/15): In which I conclude an exchange with this French filmmaker whose 2004 project on Capa got censored by Cornell Capa, ICP, Richard Whelan, Magnum, and John Morris.
- Guest Post 21: Q&A with Patrick Jeudy (a) (11/15/15): In which I begin an exchange with this French filmmaker whose 2004 project on Capa got censored by Cornell Capa, ICP, Richard Whelan, Magnum, and John Morris.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa and Time/Life, 2 (10/19/15): In which I conclude a summary of the involvement of the TIME/LIFE media conglomerate in the propagation of the Capa D-Day myth.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa and Time/Life, 1 (10/16/15): In which I begin a summary of the involvement of the TIME/LIFE media conglomerate in the propagation of the Capa D-Day myth.
- Guest Post 20: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (d) (9/23/15): In which military historian Herrick concludes his analysis of the documentation that pinpoints exactly where Robert Capa landed on Omaha Beach — and what that signifies.
- Guest Post 20: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (c) (9/20/15): In which military historian Herrick begins his analysis of the documentation that pinpoints exactly where Robert Capa landed on Omaha Beach — and what that signifies.
- Guest Post 18: Jim Hughes on Capa’s Biographer (8/23/15): In which Hughes revisits his 1986 review of Richard Whelan’s 1985 Capa bio, which critique offered the first public challenge to the Capa D-Day myth.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (27) (8/13/15): In which I discuss the attack on our research project by Gabriel Coutagne, Photo Editor of the website of the French daily paper Le Monde — the second of two such efforts from the La Vie-Le Monde Group, a Paris-based media conglomerate.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (26) (8/9/15): In which I discuss the attack on our research project by Yasmine Youssi, Arts Editor of the French entertainment magazine Télérama — the first of two such efforts from the La Vie-Le Monde Group, a Paris-based media conglomerate.
- All Greek to Me: APhF 2015 (8/6/15): In which I report on this year’s edition of the Athens Photo Festival, and my public exchange there with Magnum’s Patrick Zachmann following a presentation based on this Capa project.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (25) (8/2/15): In which I introduce the accounts of two newly discovered eyewitnesses to Capa’s time on Omaha Beach and departure therefrom.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (24) (7/12/15): In which I conclude my discussion of Normandy researcher Patrick Peccatte’s response to our project, and describe in some detail other recent comments on this investigation and its ramifications.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (23) (7/9/15): In which I describe the awards ceremony at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, for the 2014 Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi (SDX) Award for Research About Journalism, and begin a discussion of Normandy researcher Patrick Peccatte’s response to our project.
- Guest Post 17: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (b) (6/10/15): In which military historian Herrick concludes his research proving that one of Capa’s 10 D-Day images has been miscaptioned and thus seriously misunderstood for 70 years.
- Guest Post 17: Charles Herrick on Capa’s D-Day (a) (6/6/15): In which military historian Herrick introduces his research proving that one of Capa’s 10 D-Day images has been miscaptioned and thus seriously misunderstood for 70 years.
- Guest Post 16: Rob McElroy on Robert Capa, 2 (b) (5/20/15): In which photographer McElroy concludes his demonstration proving that Richard Whelan and Cynthia Young of the International Center of Photography have lied about the supposed “emulsion slide” on Capa’s 10 D-Day negatives.
- Guest Post 16: Rob McElroy on Robert Capa, 2 (a) (5/17/15): In which photographer McElroy begins his demonstration proving that Richard Whelan and Cynthia Young of the International Center of Photography have lied about the supposed “emulsion slide” on Capa’s 10 D-Day negatives.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day (22) (4/27/15): In which I announce our receipt of the 2014 Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi (SDX) Award for Research About Journalism, and republish my 1998 review of John Morris’s memoir, Get the Picture.
- Guest Post 15: J. Ross Baughman on the NPPA (b) (4/23/15): In which the Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist details the remainder of the information and insight on Capa’s D-Day actions and pictures that he provided to the NPPA’s Bruce Young, only to be ignored.
- Guest Post 15: J. Ross Baughman on the NPPA (a) (4/19/15): In which the Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist details some of the information and insight on Capa’s D-Day actions and pictures that he provided to the NPPA’s Bruce Young, only to be ignored.
- Alternate History: The NPPA and Full Disclosure (Not) (4/6/15): In which I file a second formal complaint with the Ethics Committee of the National Press Photographers Association, this one over the NPPA’s breach of journalistic ethics in neglecting full disclosure of conflict of interest when publishing its recent feature article on this Capa project.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa, John Morris, and the NPPA, 5 (3/29/15): In which I conclude my evaluation of Young’s highly biased “neutral report,” which contains exactly 75 words of mine in its 7200-word total, and my diagnosis of the compromising long-term relationship between the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) and John Morris, and the organization’s devotion to the Robert Capa myth.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa, John Morris, and the NPPA, 4 (3/25/15): In which I point out some of the many ill-informed glibnesses and elisions of Bruce Young’s 7200-word puff piece on our Capa project.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa, John Morris, and the NPPA, 3 (3/22/15): In which I point out how “Capa-phile” writer Bruce Young and his editor, Donald Winslow, a John Morris devotee, somehow neglect to fulfill their obligation for full disclosure of bias in this publication.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa, John Morris, and the NPPA, 2 (3/18/15): In which I apply Thomas Patterson’s critique of “he said, she said” journalism to the Capa feature published by the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA).
- Alternate History: Robert Capa, John Morris, and the NPPA, 1 (3/18/15): In which I begin a discussion of the discredited model of “he said, she said” journalism that the National Press Photographers Association has applied to this investigation in a just-published feature story in its house organ, News Photographer.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day, 21 (3/15/15): In which I conclude my dissection of John Morris’s “new theory” of why he’s not responsible for 70 years of misinformation about Capa’s D-Day films, as enunciated by the former LIFE picture editor to the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA).
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day, 20 (2/8/15): In which I continue my dissection of John Morris’s “new theory” of why he’s not responsible for 70 years of misinformation about Capa’s D-Day films, as enunciated by the former LIFE picture editor to the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA).
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day, 19 (1/27/15): In which I begin my dissection of John Morris’s “new theory” of why he’s not responsible for 70 years of misinformation about Capa’s D-Day films, as enunciated by the former LIFE picture editor to the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA).
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day, 18 (12/6/14): In which I discuss John Morris’s November 11 retraction of central components of his previous narrative re Capa’s D-Day films, this time on Christiane Amanpour’s high-profile CNN show.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day, 17 (11/30/14): In which I exchange emails with John Morris, and discuss his retraction this past summer (in an interview with photographer Mark Edward Harris) of central components of his previous narrative re Capa’s D-Day films.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day, 16 (11/2/14): In which I discuss the deceptions regarding Robert Capa’s 35mm negatives from June 4-6, 1944 perpetrated by the late Richard Whelan, the original “Consulting Curator” of the Capa Archive at the International Center of Photography.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day, 15 (10/26/14): In which I discuss the implications of the survival in fine shape of Robert Capa’s 35mm negatives from June 4-6, 1944, held by the Capa Archive at the International Center of Photography. With some pointed questions for Cynthia Young, current curator of that archive.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day, 14 (10/19/14): In which I go into further detail in my description of Robert Capa’s 35mm negatives from June 4-6, 1944 (and other of his negatives from that assignment), which sit intact in the Robert Capa and Cornell Capa Archive at the International Center of Photography.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day, 13 (10/12/14): In which I report that, contrary to John Morris’s 70-year-old fiction, Robert Capa’s 35mm negatives from June 4-6, 1944 rest, in pristine condition, in the Robert Capa and Cornell Capa Archive at the International Center of Photography.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day, 12 (8/31/14): In which I report that David Kogan, the new Executive Director of Magnum, refuses to “devote any time to answering … questions” re l’affaire D-Day de Robert Capa, and video producer Craig Duff blames some technical glitch for the appearance of an image by a U.S. Coast Guard photographer in the middle of a sequence of Capa’s Omaha Beach pictures.
- Guest Post 14: Q&A with John Morris (c) (8/3/14): In which former LIFE picture editor John Morris continues to reply to questions I posed regarding Robert Capa’s D-Day images. Count on some surprises. Third of three parts.
- Guest Post 14: Q&A with John Morris (b) (7/31/14): In which former LIFE picture editor John Morris continues to reply to questions I posed regarding Robert Capa’s D-Day images. Count on some surprises. Second of three parts.
- Guest Post 14: Q&A with John Morris (a) (7/29/14): In which, as promised, John Morris — who assigned Robert Capa to cover D-Day at Omaha Beach and supervised the subsequent handling of his output in fulfillment of that assignment — responds in some detail to a set of questions I posed. Not the same old same old. First of three parts.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day, 11 (7/27/14): In which I present an exchange of emails between former LIFE picture editor John G. Morris and myself concerning Robert Capa’s actions on D-Day and the subsequent fate of his negatives, culminating in a promise from Morris to respond to a set of questions I posed.
- Guest Post 13: J. Ross Baughman on Omaha Beach (b) (7/11/14): In which the noted photojournalist brings his experience as a combat photographer to bear on a frame-by-frame analysis of the 10 remaining images Capa made there.
- Guest Post 13: J. Ross Baughman on Omaha Beach (a) (7/9/14): In which the noted photojournalist brings his experience as a combat photographer to bear on a frame-by-frame analysis of the 10 remaining images Capa made there.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day, 10 (7/6/14): In which I itemize the manifold errors re Capa’s D-Day images in Stephen E. Ambrose’s 1994 bestseller, D-Day: June 6, 1944, The Climactic Battle of World War II, while using the two actual facts he includes to establish the timeline of Capa’s arrival on and departure from Omaha Beach.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day, 9 (7/1/14): In which I note TIME‘s speedy revision of its deceptive video, and describe a second instance of a TIME video about Capa’s D-Day images (this one from 2009) that includes a fake Capa image.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day, 8 (6/29/14): In which I file a formal complaint with the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), asking their Ethics Committee to investigate the apparent violation of their Code of Ethics represented by the faking of Capa’s “damaged” as revealed by Rob McElroy.
- Guest Post 12: Rob McElroy on Robert Capa (6/26/14): In which photographer McElroy demonstrates inarguably that the sample “melted” negatives in TIME‘s May 25, 2014 video on Capa are actually digitally altered versions of Capa’s 11 successful negatives from Omaha Beach.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day, 7 (6/23/14): In which I summarize the case for a 70-year cover-up of the true story of Robert Capa’s D-Day adventure and the real number and fate of his negatives therefrom.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day, 6 (6/21/14): In which I review Capa’s actions after leaving Omaha Beach, and the making of the myth of “106 negatives” from that battle.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day, 5 (6/19/14): In which I correlate Capa’s surviving images of Omaha Beach with his account of making them (and fictional others) in his 1947 memoir Slightly Out of Focus.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day, 4 (6/17/14): In which I read carefully Capa’s caption notes for the 4 rolls of 35mm film he sent to London, discovering that only one of them contained images of the landing — thus exploding the myth that he made 106 images of that epic battle.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day, 3 (6/15/14): In which I review the facts and stories about the “melting” of Capa’s emulsions in a heated drying cabinet, trying (and failing) to replicate that effect in my own darkroom.
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day, 2 (6/12/14): In which I begin my questioning of the received version of the damaging of Capa’s negatives by an overzealous “darkroom lad.”
- Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day, 1 (6/10/14): In which I summarize the version of the legend of Capa’s negatives as told for 70 years by Capa and John Morris, and announce my doubts as to their truthfulness.
- Guest Post 11: J. Ross Baughman on Robert Capa (b) (6/8/14): In which the noted photojournalist questions the legend of Capa’s melted emulsions.
- Guest Post 11: J. Ross Baughman on Robert Capa (a) (6/6/14): In which the noted photojournalist questions Capa’s account of his actions on Omaha Beach during the D-Day landing by the Allies.
•
“The whole series by Coleman and his other guests are convincing, in part because of the experience and obvious expertise of those concerned, but also because of the careful and precise building of their case and the presentation of evidence for it.” — Peter Marshall, >Re: PHOTO
•
A. D. Coleman, Critical Focus, 1995
Special offer: If you want me to either continue pursuing a particular subject or write on a topic other than the current main story, make a donation of $50 via the PayPal widget below, indicating your preference in a note accompanying your donation. I’ll credit you as that new post’s sponsor, and link to a website of your choosing. Include a note with your snail-mail address (or email it to me separately) for a free signed copy of my 1995 book Critical Focus!
Society of Professional Journalists Awards medallion
