Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-10-18)

46

1884–2019

IMAGES OF THE PAST 135 YEARS

Our

of the past 135 years

Talkaboutspoiltforchoice!APstaffandaselectionofreaders

revealthepicturesthathavemadeabigimpressiononthem

GeoffHarris,

DeputyEditor

‘ReachingOut’,1966,

byLarryBurrows

Whileit’snotsomethingI’d

hangoverthemantelpiece,

LarryBurrows’s‘Reaching

Out’is a documentary

imageI canneverforget.It

worksonseverallevels.First,it conveys

thehorrorandsqualorof theVietnam

Warat a timewhentheUSpublicwere

stillnaiveaboutwhatwasgoingon

(Burrowstooktheshotin 1966).

Second,it asksquestions.Is Gunnery

SgtPurdiereachingouttohisstricken

comradein compassionoranger?Why

is Purdiebeingheldback?Third,the

imageis aboutmuchmorethanthe

aftermathof a firefight.Burrowswasan

outsider– a Brit– andtooktheshotat

a timewhenracerelationsin theStates

wereverytense,butit offershopefor

thefuture– Purdiewas,indeed,trying

tohelp.Finally,theimageis asdramatic

andbeautifullycomposedasany

Renaissancemasterpiece,whichis

amazingwhenyouconsiderthelethal,

chaoticenvironment.

photographs

favourite

© HERBERT PONTING/SCOTT POL AR RESEARCH INSTITUTE, UNIVERSIT Y OF CAMBRIDGE / 2009 GETT Y IMAGES

© L ARRY BURROWS / THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION VIA GETT Y IMAGES