Don McCullin Exhibition at Tate Britain
I was first confronted to McCullin's work at the Frontline Club in London. There's a very large print there of the Shellshocked Marine on one of the walls, and it blew my mind. I have since looked at his work in books and online, but had yet to actually see an exhibition, so when I had a half day in London and only one meeting scheduled with a great business contact who is also into photography I suggested we should meet there. The exhibition spans his entire carreer from his early amateur (but already incredibly astute) work documenting his neighborhood and shooting his friends to his recent bleak landscapes of Somerset. The prints were rather smaller than what I was hoping, but seeing these classic photos (and many not so classic) in print is mindblowing in and of itself. I was struck at how often McCullin was willing to break so called rules of composition and framing to get a more effective result (many of his marine portraits are cut off at the top, so that you only see the eyes...) Many of the war shots also have you wondering "who exactly stays there and shoots in these circumstances" which is exactly what you should be asking yourself of any war photography. Finally, his landscapes, utter darkness and yet so powerful. Go there if you can, it's a must see.
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