Capa and desensitisation

“The concentration camps were swarming with photographers and every new photo of horror served only to diminish the total effect”- Robert Capa, 1947.

I just finished Capa’s memoir, Slightly out of Focus, and the phrase above struck me last night as particularly interesting. It’s essentially the same argument that many people use about imagery of Africa and other developing regions today. Except that Capa wrote this almost 70 years ago.

If you haven’t already, you must read the book. His writing is as evocative as his photography.

That is all.