The Bang Bang Club

I read this book a while ago. It is definately one of the reasons that i took photography so seriously. However naive and idealistic this book made me feel, it still led me in to the area of journalism that I am in now. The book is about four photographs working in South africa in the time of Apartheid. Before power was to change hands in South africa many people expected civil war. Some claim that civil war never happened but these four men illustrated to the world that civil war was close.Here is one of the pictures that features in the book:

An ANC supporter hacks at an alleged Inkatha Freedom Party supporter who was blamed for taking part in the Boipatong massacre of 1992. Photo by Joao Silva/PictureNET

This is a photograph taken by Joao Silva, a member of the Bang Bang Club.It is photographs and situations such as this that lead me to question journalism and photojournalism. When does a journalist stop taking photographs and interject. I understand that Silva had no concievable chance of stopping this from happening, but in similar situations, when does one get involved? Just a question, rhetorical mostly, but a thought provoking one I hope.

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