A couple of days back I posted here that the photojournalism world had lost Eddie Adams, a well-respected photojournalist, to Lou Gehrig's Disease.

I said, “… the photograph you see below by Eddie Adams is considered an epochal moment in the history of geopolitical events. It's a photograph of Brig. Gen. Nguyen Ngoc Loan of South Vietnam executing a suspected Vietcong prisoner.” That is what is conventionally believed in the media, among academics and even photojournalists. But David D. Perlmutter, in an article for Editor & Publisher debunks the myth about that image changing world history.

While I would like to say that I stand corrected, our perceptions are what they are. Which images today will stand the test of time and shake our perceptions in the future?

A heartfelt eulogy from one of Eddie Adams‘ former assistants, Stacia Spragg.

Via PhotoTalk

At Perpignan this year, Getty Images announced a $100,000 “investment” grant for photojournalists. But there are no free lunches.

“Getty Images will hold a one-year exclusive rights deal with the photographers to market and license the images to its customers, delivering contributor royalty fees to photographers … The photographers will always retain copyright.”

As Andy at PhotoTalk astutely points out, with 5 photographers being chosen for this program, the nickel and dime value for each photographer is $1,666 per month. I just hope Getty isn't expecting these photographers to shoot exclusively for them. In some quarters $1,666 is a LOT of money, but it just doesn't go very far out here in the US.

New York Times reports that the Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Eddie Adams died on Saturday.

For those who who don't know, the photograph you see below by Eddie Adams is considered an epochal moment in the history of geopolitical events. It's a photograph of Brig. Gen. Nguyen Ngoc Loan of South Vietnam executing a suspected Vietcong prisoner.

In a world where photography was defining our perceptions and underscoring our need to better understand the ramifications of an international policy gone awry, Adams' images informed, instructed and infused in us the need to question our actions both at home and in a foreign land.

On a tangent, students of photojournalism ought to check out the Eddie Adams Workshop. The nation's top 100 photographers are chosen each year based on a portfolio review and the recommendation letters of either instructors or peers. I was honored to be selected for the thirteenth meeting of that august group in upstate New York.

I am sure his presence there and among the photojournalism community will be greatly missed.

Life magazine is being resuscitated … again. I guess Time Inc. can't run away from such a well-known brand, but neither has it had any luck turning a profit. Life, as some of you know, was a wonderful venue for photojournalists to publish their photo essays or stories. It has had many up's and downs and avatars in between. We'll have to see what this one will be like. According to Mediabistro.com, “as Life magazine gets set to relaunch October 1, New York's International Center of Photography hosts a retrospective of the magazine's most iconic prints.”

[Addendum: Found this link on the NYTimes pages about the Life exhibit]