Missão


A Fotografia a preto-e-branco é a manifestação mais nobre da 8ª Arte. Uma imagem vale por si, pelo que contém e pelo que comunica. Todos os elementos acessórios são expurgados (começando pela cor) a ponto de não se sentir a sua falta.

Este singelo blogue pretende celebrar a Fotografia a preto-e-branco, relevando o papel dos Fotógrafos que, em nossa opinião, mais contribuiram para esta Arte.
Em complemento, os Autores do blogue irão trazer aqui algumas das suas próprias criações a preto-e-branco. Consoante a época em que foram produzidas (de 1960 até à actualidade) utilizaram-se múltiplos procedimentos na elaboração destas imagens.

Os detalhes técnicos de cada fotografia são deliberadamente escassos. Como se pretende, as imagens valem por si e as particularidades do processamento são quase sempre irrelevantes.

As imagens dos Grandes Mestres frequentemente retratam lugares, pessoas ou acontecimentos do conhecimento público. Do mesmo modo, considerou-se pouco relevante a sua legendagem quando o que se pretende é despertar a atenção do visitante para o portfolio dos Mestres, suscitando a vontade de melhor os conhecer.

** Robert Capa ** (1913–1954)



Robert Capa (b. Endre Ernó Friedmann) was a Hungarian combat photographer and photojournalist who covered five different wars: the Spanish Civil War, the Second Sino-Japanese War, World War II across Europe, the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the First Indochina War.   He documented the course of World War II in London, North Africa, Italy, the Battle of Normandy on Omaha Beach and the liberation of Paris.   His action photographs, such as those taken during the 1944 Normandy invasion, portray the violence of war with unique impact.

Capa's first published photograph was that of Leon Trotsky making a speech in Copenhagen on "The Meaning of the Russian Revolution" in 1932.   From 1936 to 1939, he was in Spain, photographing the horrors of the Spanish Civil War, along with Gerda Taro, his companion and pro photo partner, and David Seymour "Chim".   In 1936, he became known across the globe for a photo of a militiaman who had just been shot and was in the act of falling to his death.

His most famous work occurred on June 6, 1944 (World War II D-Day) when he swam ashore with the second assault wave on Omaha Beach.   Capa took 106 pictures in the first couple of hours of the invasion.   However, an overnervous staff member at LIFE in London made a mistake in the darkroom: only eight frames in total were recovered.

In 1947, Capa co-founded Magnum Photos with, among others, the French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson.   The organization was the first cooperative agency for worldwide freelance photographers.

In the early 1950s, Capa was asked by LIFE magazine to go on assignment to the First Indochina War.   On May 25, 1954, the regiment was passing through a dangerous area under fire when Capa decided to leave his Jeep and go up the road to photograph the advance.   About five minutes later, an explosion was heard: Capa had stepped on a landmine. He was still alive but his left leg had been blown to pieces, and he had a serious wound in his chest.   He was taken to a small field hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.   He had died with his camera in his hand.

Capa is known for redefining wartime photojournalism.   He was famed for saying, "If your picture isn't good enough, you're not close enough". (Wikipedia)