Photography Tutorial · 2022-02-27

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record!

Thomas Chu Photo

War is the most intense form of struggle in human conflicts.

And war photographers are the most dangerous category of all photographers. In the hail of bullets, they present to us moments that, if not photographed, would be buried forever.

Their works profoundly expose war, and some photos even influenced the course of wars to a certain extent.

In today's article, I'll select 30 classic war photos from the history of Chinese and foreign photography. Many of them contain no bloody scenes, yet each tells us of war's true cruelty, and the complex human emotions and stories behind war.

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 1

The Iraq War

An Iraqi civilian was arrested by US forces on suspicion of possessing explosives; the contrast in their expressions reflects two utterly different positions and statuses.

Shot: 2005, Jorge Silva

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 2

The Iraq War

A Shia Muslim girl is crying loudly. Her uncle was injured by a shell that just landed near her home. The cruel war has left enormous psychological trauma on the local children.

Shot: 2004, Ali Jasim

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 3

The Iraq War

An 8-year-old child received the American flag at his father's memorial service. His father had died just a few weeks before he was to return home from Iraq.

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 4

The Vietnam War

A South Vietnamese plane, while searching for Viet Cong hideouts, deliberately dropped napalm on civilians. The severely burned little girl ran naked down Route 1. This photo sparked a huge anti-war movement around the world.

Shot: 1972, Nick Ut

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 5

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

A Palestinian boy in Gaza City raises his toy pistol in a provocative pose — the seeds of hatred have already been sown among children.

Shot: 1993, Larry Towell

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 6

The Vietnam War

The South Vietnamese police chief shot dead a Viet Cong guerrilla officer who had committed numerous crimes. Due to the lack of context and the cruelty of the scene, this photo instead gave an impression of the strong bullying the weak, causing a huge uproar in public opinion. But in war, the situation is actually very complex — it's hard to say who was right and who was wrong.

Shot: 1968, Eddie Adams

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 7

The Syrian War

A fighter stands on the rubble of a rooftop, with the devastated town of Kobani below. The firepower poured out by both sides in modern war can turn any crystallization of human civilization into complete ruins.

Shot: 2015

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 8

The Cuban Revolution

The bombing of the "La Coubre," orchestrated by the US Central Intelligence Agency, killed more than 100 Cuban dockworkers. Che Guevara appeared at the protest demonstration the next day. The moment the photographer captured — Che Guevara resolute, angry, and with unwavering eyes — became his immortal classic image.

Shot: 1960, Alberto Korda

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 9

World War II

During the Great Patriotic War in 1942, a Soviet political commissar led the charge toward the enemy's positions

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 10

The War of Resistance Against Japan

In 1940, Eighth Route Army soldiers fighting on the Great Wall.

Shot: 1940, Sha Fei (沙飞)

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 11

The Spanish Civil War

A soldier falling after being shot — this is also one of Robert Capa's classic war photography works.

Shot: 1936, Robert Capa

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 12

The War of Resistance Against Japan

The silhouette of an Eighth Route Army soldier, steadfast and towering

Shot: Sha Fei (沙飞)

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 13

The Eritrean-Ethiopian War

On May 24, 1991, after the Eritrean people's 30-year struggle, they finally won independence from Ethiopia. But for the future after the war, people still seemed full of confusion.

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 14

The Afghan War

An Afghan woman weeps uncontrollably before the tombstone of a relative who died in the war.

Shot: 1996, James Nachtwey

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 15

The Korean War

US bombers are frantically raining down bombs

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 16

World War II

A night view of the Moscow Kremlin, with the city behind lit by the fires of bomb explosions and anti-aircraft fire.

Shot: 1941, Margaret Bourke

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 17

The Korean War

Korean people after the US bombing

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 18

The War of Resistance Against Japan

During the Battle of Shanghai, after Japanese bombing, the Shanghai railway station lay in ruins, with a child who had lost his parents sitting on the ground crying bitterly

Shot: 1937

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 19

The Vietnam War

A Vietnamese mother wades across a river with her child to escape the sea of fire left after US forces bombed the village.

Shot: 1965

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 20

The War of Resistance Against Japan

In Hankou, Wuhan, a Chinese boy soldier, still youthful yet with steadfast eyes.

Shot: 1938, Robert Capa

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 21

The War of Resistance Against Japan

During the battles of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, an elderly Chinese man stops on the devastated streets of Tengchong to ask a US sergeant for a light

Shot: 1944

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 22

The War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea

Chinese volunteers crossing the frozen Yalu River

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 23

The Chinese Liberation War

Civilian laborers supporting the Huaihai Campaign. Marshal Chen Yi said the Huaihai Campaign was pushed forward by the masses with wheelbarrows.

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 24

World War II

The Normandy landings: US soldiers experienced extremely fierce fighting on Omaha Beach. The photographer's blurry images instead bring the tension of the real battlefield.

Shot: 1944, Robert Capa

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 25

The Kosovo War

Relatives and friends comfort a widow whose husband was shot during a patrol yesterday

Shot: 1998, Dayan Smith

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 26

The Vietnam War

During the Vietnam War, US forces used aircraft to spray 76 million liters of highly toxic herbicide on the jungles. This toxic substance poisoned a large number of Vietnamese children, causing many deformities.

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 27

The Vietnam War

A grieving Vietnamese widow cries while holding a plastic bag containing her husband's remains. The remains were found in a mass grave and are believed to have been killed during the 1968 Tet Offensive.

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 28

The Vietnam War

During the Vietnam War era, anti-war demonstrators clashed with the National Guard guarding the Pentagon — flowers and steel rifles forming a stark contrast

Shot: 1967, Marc Riboud

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 29

The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union

At a Great Patriotic War rally in Leningrad, young navy sailors salute Anatoly, a Marine veteran who lost his legs in World War II

Shot: 1989, Ivan KIlnov

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 30

The Self-Defense Counterattack Against Vietnam

A PLA soldier died still holding a grenade in his hand — heroes of the people are immortal.

Wars at Home and Abroad in Photography History — The Stories War Photographers Risked Their Lives to Record! · Fig. 31

The War of Resistance Against Japan

An Eighth Route Army soldier, with the motherland's land under his feet and blue sky and white clouds behind him.

Shot: Sha Fei (沙飞)

War has never been far from us. The invisible wars of the modern era also exist around us today in the forms of technology wars, trade wars, and cultural wars.

Seeing these precious historical photos, we can't help but marvel at how hard-won peace is.

We don't want to see war, but to stop war, besides a heart that loves peace, we need an immensely strong comprehensive national strength, and the courage to face war, even to end war with war.

Finally, long live the People's Republic of China, and long live the great unity of the world's people!

← All tutorials