subscribe 0330 333 1113 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 13 April 2019 25
to go out with him the next day, just walking
and shooting photographs. Of course, I was
amazed and privileged that he would allow
me to tag along.
So, we went out shooting pictures, and there
was an almighty explosion when a suction
bomb was dropped by the Israeli forces on
an apartment block. We ran to where this
demolished building had just landed, and there
was lots of smoke and chaos. A woman,
wearing a kind of leopard-skinned patterned
dress, saw us taking pictures and she ran at
Don and kind of attacked him. He, says, in
[McCullin’s biography] Unreasonable Behaviour,
this is the last serious war picture because of
what she did; he was very ashamed at
snatching the picture.
He decided then that this would be his last
major war, but for me, that moment was when
I decided I wanted to be shooting serious
pictures. As he was deciding to stop, I was
deciding this is exactly what I want to do, so it
has stuck in my memory for quite a long time.
It’s no coincidence that people are flocking
to his work. He kind of transcends photography
and the photographs reach out and touch the
viewer. You can’t really believe what you’re
seeing because we all live in very comfortable
worlds now - looking at McCullin’s pictures
really brings it home to the viewers about how
lucky they are. I think it makes them feel guilty
that they don’t do anything to help or that the
world hasn’t changed. It’s still going through
terrible situations where innocent people arejust caught up in events that politicians and
dictators decide. People are intrigued by Don;
he’s a very interesting and complex character.
People think they know him, and if they don’t
know him, they want to get to know him.
This is the ultimate exhibition – it’s a
great thing the Tate has done, to display
photojournalism in such a venue.Tom Stoddart’s almost 50-year career
has seen him photograph many
international events, including the war
in Lebanon, the election of President
Nelson Mandela, the siege of Sarajevo
and the wars in Iraq. To see more from
© DaNIeLa SbrISNy his long career, visit tomstoddart.com.