I went to view the Don McCullin exhibition at the Tate. It includes images from a wide range of conflicts around the world as well as the UK. It also includes some landscapes taken near to where he lives.





Don McCullin is a British photographer who is known for his images from different conflicts around the world. He mainly worked for the Sunday Times. His images show the realities of these conflicts and can be difficult to look at with images from places such as Biafra, Vietnam and the Congo as well as the conflict in Northern Ireland. During his travels, he has been injured as well as having his camera nearly destroyed with a bullet that was meant for him! He used both a Rollicord camera during the 1960’s changing to a Nikon 35mm F camera, developing his own images in the dark room.
Although his images are harrowing to look at, I found them to be interesting as they tell a story that you might not necessarily see or hear about in everyday news. They show the human side of the conflicts, the suffering and horrific injuries that the people receive whilst being caught up in the wars that affect their countries. Although McCullin received press passes to photograph some of these conflicts, he put himself in danger for others, paying for himself to travel to to where the danger was. I’m not sure this was the best way to work but bringing the images back shows the world the true horror of what happens in war and includes not just soldiers but innocent citizens of these countries including children.
Along with his war photography images, the exhibition shows his magazine spreads, as well as landscapes taken in Somerset. This exhibition shows the scope of McCullins work and how he has managed to adapt to the situations he is placed in and still get the most incredible shots especially as he uses film which can be seen as a hard medium to work with. It has definitely encouraged to use the film camera more when I go out to different places.