The Bang Bang Club

I received this book for my birthday on the 4th of this month from a good friend of mine, i picked it up a few times to read it, then casually laid it back down, hoping to read it soon. I picked it up once again 3 days ago, and couldnt put it down...weather it be from the horrific nature of the content or my heart breaking after each chapter and having to continue on in hopes it would end. But i finished it, I truly dont think I will be the same again. This to me, is one of my big eye-opening moments in my life. to live to be 29 years old and never hear of such savagry, I couldnt quite put my thoughts into words for this blog...but heres a little summary of it , I found online.

Four young photographers, dodging bullets and risking life and limb to get "you are there" views of violence in South Africa do it so well that they earn a nickname. They became known as "The Bang Bang Club" (bang they're in, they get the photo, bang they're out).

This club made its name during the painful last days of Apartheid. However, the images expand beyond that to images taken among the violence of the Sudan and the former Yugoslavia. Blood is still running as photos are snapped--in fact two of the photographers are shot while covering a firefight outside Johannesburg. Joao Silva is torn between pulling his comrades, Greg Marinovich and Ken Oosterbroek to safety and his desire to capture the images on film. Oosterbroek had been fatally injured.

The book is written by the two surviving members of the Bang Bang Club. Oosterbroek was fatally shot outside Johannesburg; Kevin Carter committed suicide when Oosterbroek was killed. The shooting occured just after Carter won a Pulitzer and he was celebratig that Pulitzer when his comrades were shot.

The book is an excellent first hand account from these photographers about their experiences in getting photos in dangerous situations. I guess it takes someone suicidal or something to do such a job. While I won't pursue such a career, and will likely dissuade any children from doing such work, the experiences were fascinating. It may be debated whether their photos helped speed the end of Apartheid. But their book certainly gives a glimpse into the operations of a group bringing vivid images to the world.

Soon to be released is a movie based upon this book starring Ryan Philipe