“- where uncommon valor was a common virtue.” Franklin D. Roosevelt, speaking on the Battle of Iwo Jima.

Today, February 23, 2010, marks the 65th anniversary of the raising of the United States flag on the Island of Iwo Jima. This video was taken from the documentary movie “To the Shores of Iwo Jima”. This is authentic footage that was photographed by US Navy and Marine Corps personnel during the actual battle. The motion has been slowed down and the famous Joe Rosenthal photograph, “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima”  superimposed at nearly the instant it was taken.

However, Rosenthal’s photograph was taken of a second flag raising, not the first one. Another photographer, Louis R. Lowrey took an equally iconic photograph of the first flag raising, but the Lowrey photograph got delayed in its processing. Then, when the Rosenthal photograph was released to the public, the Marine Corps got several names transposed from the first flag detail to the second one which was used as the caption in the newspapers. This mistake took several years and an official investigation to get corrected. Not much was known of the first flag raising for many years. Today, both flag raising details and both photographs are given equal credit by the Marine Corps and academic historians. In the right side of the movie frame, men from the first flag detail can be seen as well as a brief glimpse of the first flag’s stanchion.

The movie footage was photographed by Marine Corps Sergeant William H. “Bill” Genaust.  On March 4th, 1945, Sergeant Genaust was killed (on Iwo Jima) when he entered a darkened cave and was shot to death by Japanese soldiers. He had volunteered to use his camera light so that he could light the way for other marines entering the cave when he was killed. The cave mouth was covered over by bulldozing equipment, and his body has never been recovered.

The Rosenthal photograph became the only photograph to win the Pulitzer Prize for Photography in the same year as its publication, and ultimately came to be regarded as one of the most significant and recognizable images of the war, and possibly the most reproduced photograph of all time. To the Marine Corps, it is the most iconic symbol of their sacrifice and dedication in what is perhaps the Corp’s most formidable battle they have ever engaged in.

The necessity of taking Iwo Jima has always been controversial. However, Imperial Japan spent several years heavily fortifying the island before any US attack was possible, so they saw some significant importance to the island long before Allied planners did. These extensive and well-planned fortifications were completely missed by Allied Intelligence estimates. The Japanese defended the island with their best troops under the command of perhaps their best field commander, Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi. He was aided by the equally capable Colonel Baron Takeichi Nishi. Opposing them was a force of the most seasoned US Navy and Marine Corps forces.

Both men had spent significant time in the United States and understood the American psyche. In fact, Kuribayashi’s personal sidearm was an ornate US M-1911 caliber 45 pistol, the same sidearm carried by US forces. It had been given to him by the US Cavalry Regiment he had been assigned to during an officer exchange program in the 1920s. Nishi had competed in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games and could count several American movie stars as personal friends.

Although it was impossible for Kuribayashi and his forces to repel and win the inevitable battle, he succeeded in his strategy of inflicting more losses upon his enemy than were inflicted on him. The severity of the US losses dispelled any notion among Allied commanders of what an invasion of Japan would cost. It was a main factor in the decision to use the atomic bombs to end the war.

It is now believed that as many as 3,000 Japanese soldiers survived the battle, hiding out in the tunnel networks by day, foraging for food and supplies at night. The last surrender of Japanese soldiers on Iwo Jima occurred in 1951.

The importance of the battle to US Marines today is demonstrated in pilgrimages made to the island, and specifically the summit of Suribachi. Marines will often leave dog tags, rank insignia, or other tokens at the monuments in homage.

During this one-month-long battle, 27 U.S. military personnel were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions, 14 of them posthumously. Of the 27 medals awarded, 23 were presented to Marines and four were presented to United States Navy sailors; this is 28% of the 82 Medals of Honor awarded to Marines in the entirety of World War II.

I love Ford and his work for many reasons. First is his eye for photographic composition. That eye produced many an iconic scene and photograph that many other, including myself, seek to emulate. Second, was Ford’s ability to convey enduring traditional values into the script, values which are the bedrock of life, along with the humorous situations those values often evoke in daily life. In Ford’s work, the “heroes” are the ones who maintain and perpetuate those values, or those who may have lost their way and re-discover those values, such as Ethan Edwards in “The Searchers.  In fact, he often made a point of one’s duty to perpetuate those values. The villains are those who wish to take those values away.

The third thing I admire about Ford is his deep respect, reverence if you will, for the common person; the person who works hard, sacrifices, doesn’t win much nor earn much, but does an honest job to best of the ability without asking fo much in return. Just his or her freedom and basic respect.

Ford had a unique ability to pull all these elements together and tell a story and “Divine Services”  does all that. “Midway” was a true documentary. Ford was on the island when the battle started. He and two other U.S. Navy cameramen filmed on the cuff under fire with hand-held 16mm movie cameras. There’s no Hollywood production sets, no actors, no costume designers., no computer animation. One sees only people and events that were quite real.

When the movie was ready for release, Ford ran afoul of the censors who thought the American public wouldn’t be able to handle what they were seeing on screen. Ford arranged a private screening at the White House with Mr. and Mrs. Roosevelt, who’s four sons were all serving in combat units. There oldest son, James, was with the Marines on Midway. The Roosevelts were profoundly touched by the movie. Seeing how his wife reacted to it, the President told Ford “Every mother in America should see this.”  Thus ended all battles with the censorship board.

Another message was sublimely sent to the public by showing James Roosevelt; the President’s son, wealthy and as well-connected as could be,  right there with the common Joes, facing the same danger, taking the same punishment. Ford drives the point with the narration and these two images that  “All men are created equal” just as the Founding Fathers once declared.

"Land Where My Fathers Died"

"Major Roosevelt"

So where is Hollywood these days? Not producing documentaries of this caliber about the current war, that’s for sure. Ford was the most acclaimed movie director ever. No single director has ever, before or since, received as many Academy Awards. But being top director didn’t prevent him from going in Harm’s Way to show the Roosevelts of Washington and the Smiths of Pine Bluff exactly what their sons were enduring, and more importantly, that they could win.

In Morris County, 7x17 Contact Print

It was a busy Fall but I managed to squeeze one photo outing into the schedule. I had photographed this location before with the 8×10, but from that photo, I knew this scene was perfect for the 7×17. Not much had changed here in four years. Fortunately, the weather was good for this one day. Loaded up the trusty 7×17 into the trusty Ford Ranger pickup and off we went. The location is a few miles northeast of Strong City, Kansas.

Music is Dick Dale’s rendition of “Ghost Riders in the Sky”. I’m glad Mr. Dale is receiving renewed popularity. He is considerd to have invented the surf guitar sound and style in the early 1960s. The likes of Jimi Hendrix and Eddie van Halen are amongst the guitar kings that were influenced by him.

I also uploaded it on Vimeo where you can view an HD version plus download it. The download will only be available for one week starting today.

What am I talking so vaguely about? I’m going to add a political dimension to this blog. What the hell does politics have to do with Large Format Photography? It could be everything as I will explain. Here’s the deal:

Barack Obama is a Socialist at best, perhaps an undeclared Marxist. He has rapidly moved he United States to Socialism under the guise of patriotism and what’s correct for the greater good. The principal players behind his election were definitely of the Socialist bent while others of his endorsers, including White House Staff members, are admitted Marxists. One, his so-called ‘Green Jobs” advisor has proclaimed himself to be a Marxist Revolutionary.

Those seem like harsh accusations. I expect a goon squad from ACORN to start hounding me in some away as soon as this entry is published. Tough shit. I’ll say it again; Barak Obama is a Socialist and perhaps a Communist. He wants the United States, as it was and as we knew, to cease to exist. In his own words as he has stated repeatedly to enact fundamental change upon the United States of America. I didn’t vote for him nor his “change”, but I don’t believe that a good number of well-meaning citizens voted for this sort of change either.  Two quotes from a recent article by Ben Stein are worth repeating:

“The American people in their unimaginable kindness and trust voted for a pig in a poke in 2008. They wanted so much to believe Barack Obama was somehow better and different from other ultra-leftists that they simply took him on faith.”

and,

“Barack Obama is a super likeable super leftist, not a fan of this country, way, way too cozy with the terrorist leaders in the Middle East, way beyond naïveté, all the way into active destruction of our interests and our allies and our future.”

The sooner Barack Obama and all his corrupt cronies are kicked out of power, the sooner we’ll have our cherished liberty and freedom out of danger.

However, today, I hung a small showing of my prints at the Lawrence Bank, located at 9th and New Hampshire in Lawrence, Ks.  Included in the show is the 20×40 inch Flint Hills triptych, “Road CR-2, Greenwood County”. Please stop by and view if you can.

Back in December, we purchased a Canon HV30 high definition video camera. I had been having yearnings to get a film movie camera, but the production costs really rack up fast, and they wind up being digital videos anyway.  The HV30 is a wonderful little camera, with capability far in excess of its diminuative size. Thus, with a few video skills under my belt, and with the aid of the editing software, I’ve created a small self-promotion video (which includes authentic Flint Hills wind in the sound track). Here it is:

Thistle 16

One thing I truly love about large format photography is doing still lifes. I It may look simple but I’ve found still lifes to be hard work. Everything has to be perfect and its always a challenge to get there.

Thistle 16 was taken on Ilford FP4+ film, 4×5 sheet. I developed the negative in Pyrocat-HD developer using the extreme minimal agitation technique. My “studio” was set up in the backyard, draping a spare dark cloth over the grill for the background. The sun was high and to the right rear.

Rose 2006

Rose 2006 was done indoors on the dining room table, natural light, using Polaroid Type 55 positive/negative film.

Hope you enjoy!

]]> http://alexhawley.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/two-black-white-still-lifes/feed/ 3 azodude thistle rose06 http://alexhawley.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/a-black-and-white-landscape/ http://alexhawley.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/a-black-and-white-landscape/#comments Mon, 13 Apr 2009 00:47:29 +0000 Alex Hawley http://alexhawley.wordpress.com/?p=337 ]]>

Monument Rocks #2

Monument Rocks, Gove County, Kansas. This is what black and white photography is all about. Taking the seemingly bland and lifeless and transforming it into an abstraction of tone and texture. This was taken in full afternoon summer sun. The shadow in the lower parts is from the adjacent rock formations.

This negative is what sold me on the new Kodak Tmax 400 film. Contrast range on the subject was extreme yet the main subject is very flat. Developed in Pyrocat HD with extreme minimal agitation. The negative came out very dense requiring split grade printing.

An 11×14 print of Monument Rocks #2 will be on display at the Emporia Artist Walk along with my Kansas Flint Hill landscapes.

With me at Pyramid Pizza will be Rachel Ferrara, a finely talented up-and-coming young photographer. Rachel is Fine Arts student at Emporia State University majoring in photography. I made this video of her senior project show last January.

I finished mounting the big Flint Hills prints. Quite the project to get that big triptych mounted. The final matted size is 40×20 inches. My Emporia  Artist Walk display will feature Black & White Flint Hills landscapes from Chase County, Greenwood County, Wabaunsee County, and Geary County.

Hope to see you at the Artist Walk.

On Road CR-2, Greenwood County

Near Texaco Hill, Chase County