Good Books, Part 1

I'm working on a series of short reviews of three books that together do a good job of telling the story of what life was like for journalists and photographers in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Certainly, they each contain colorful reminiscing and favorite "war stories," but at the heart of each book is an honest telling of what it took to get the job done and survive the odds that were largely stacked against them.

The three books I'll be reviewing are:

Page After Page: Memoirs of a War-Torn Photographer by Tim Page

Dispatches by Michael Herr Lost Over Laos: A true Story of Tragedy, Mystery, and Friendship by Richard Pyle and Horst Faas

First up is Tim Page's autobiography, Page After Page.

Tim Page is one of the best known war photographers who made his mark in Vietnam during the latter half of the 1960's. It's been said that the character of the photographer played by Dennis Hopper in the film, Apocalypse Now, was modeled after Page. It's also been said by some that Page was out there, always "beyond the edge." He was wounded at least three times. On the last occasion he was pronounced DOA three times, but was resuscitated and survived subsequent brain surgery.

Page After Page is, as the name implies, a page turner. Tim Page was one of Sean Flynn's best friends; shared rooms with him and went out on assignment together. (Flynn later disappeared, along with fellow photographer Dana Stone, in Cambodia. It is now believed that the Kamer Rouge executed both Flynn and Stone.)

For me the most interesting part of Page's story is the chain of events that landed him in Laos and then Vietnam in the first place. Page, at age 17, left England on a typical VW van type trip around Asia. He spent a long time in India and ended up in Laos, broke and looking for work. Eventually he accepted a job as a stringerer with UPI having virtually no experience using a camera and found his way to Vietnam. Before he was 30 years old he had seen more combat than some foot soldiers and made his name as one of the most colorful war photographers ever to pick up a Nikon F.

Personally I think Page After Page is a great book, not a great piece of literature, but a great book. Page tells his story with a lot of humor and stark candor. The book has a copyright of 1988 and was published in the US by Macmillan Publishing, New York. I picked up my first US printing in the mid 1990's and have read it a couple of times. It may be out of print, but I saw it available on Amazon not too long ago. I definitely recommend getting a copy for yourself.

Other books by Tim Page:

* Tim Page's Nam (1983)
* Sri Lanka (1984)
* Ten Years After: Vietnam Today (1987)
* Derailed in Uncle Ho's Victory Garden (1995)
* Mid Term Report (1995)
* Requiem (1997)
* The Mindful Moment (2001)

The GGNRA Photography Project

My good friend John W. Wall and I have been working on a project shooting images of the various sites included in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Sometimes John and I go out shooting together and other times we go solo. While John has covered much more territory than I, we have put together a sizable collection of images.

John has just published a portion of that collection in a new Lulu book which is available through his Lulu Storefront.

John has combined his color images and my black & white images to create a nice survey of some of the greatest natural and man made features of the San Francisco Bay Area. Something tells me there's a sequel in the works.

Recent Work, Multiple Projects

As always I'm working on several projects all at once: night scenes, cityscapes, people on the street. And I'm now gearing up to get back to the portrait series I started earlier in the year. Here are some of my most recent images.

Waiting for the Streetcar, 6:30 am

Waiting for the Streetcar, 6:30 am

Montgomery Street, San Francisco

People in front of the opera House, San Francisco

People in front of the opera House, San Francisco

Still Kicking And Clicking!

Most of you know that last week I was diagnosed with Chronic Leukemia. Treatments are going well and Anna has created a special blog to keep everyone up to date on my progress with the disease, "How's Dave Doing?"

I want to let you know that I'm doing fine and still photographing and looking forward to getting serious about some new projects. Thanks for all the warm wishes you have been sending in, they are greatly appreciated.

So here are some recent images I have been having fun with. I'd love to hear your comments. More to come...




The de Young Museum, early morning,
Golden Gate Park.
©2007 David W. Sumner









Homeless man sleeping at the Band Shell, Golden Gate Park. ©2007 David W. Sumner














Old riding stables, Golden Gate Park.
©2007 David W. Sumner









Anna's reading glasses in her studio.
©2007 David W. Sumner











Plant in a bottle in Anna's studio.
©2007 David W. Sumner
















Fun shooting one of Phylis Diller's costumes,
now on display at the San Francisco Performing Arts
Library & Museum. ©2007 David W. Sumner

The Urban Wilderness?

Taming Mother Nature?
The Lucasfilms complex
on the Presidio.

(Photo: ©2007 David W. Sumner)

"One World, One Lens"

In the May 2007 issue of The Digital Journalist, Donald Winslow's article, One World, One Lens, takes an interesting look at the career of photographer James Whitlow Delano. The article's opening statements really hit home:

"To look at a photograph by James Whitlow Delano is to peer inside a meticulously crafted poem. Viewing a gallery of his images, each one as concise as haiku, is like traveling through scenes from Marco Polo's dream-world. But the eye and the art are Delano's – and only his. The Tokyo-based American-born photographer once told an interviewer, '"I don't change anything for anyone.… I have a point of view and a reason for each undertaking."'

Knowing this, one might find it hard to believe that he shoots everything, regardless of what it is, with one – and only one – lens.

"Much as a poet finds and polishes his voice, Delano has found and polished his singular lens. '"I have two Leica M-2s and two 35mm f2 lenses. They are likely older than me," he told News Photographer. "One lens means speed. Very simple operations. That is critical. If you miss the moment, you cannot get it back. I shoot exclusively with Leica. On the few occasions that I have used a Hasselblad, which is a wonderful camera, I feel like I am driving a Mack truck. But the Leica makes the work possible. You can suggest the energy rippling just below the surface."'

"The absence of an overstuffed camera bag filled with the latest, greatest gadgets is not only evidence of an artist with a clear vision who has found and mastered his essential tools, it's also a reflection of his intent. "

Read the full article here.

The First Person

Thanks to Eric Brizee for sending this image to me...

The first photograph of a person. Boulevard du Temple, by Louis Daguerre, 1838.
(A 10 minute exposure.)