I didn’t know anything about him or his work until now. I’d heard his name in passing on a few occasions from photojournalists talking about his workshop in New York.
But I know the one image that won Eddie Adams, who died September 19, the Pulitzer in 1969, and made him famous– “Saigon Execution.”
The photo depicts a South Vietnamese general shooting a Viet Cong captive in the head. People who knew Adams say he hated that picture, and that he couldn’t look at the picture for two years. That one moment in time became the defining image in his career, and he resented it.
I have since learned that he was so much more than that one image. Stories written about Adams tell the tale of a passionate, energetic storyteller with a larger than life personality.
He earned hundreds of awards, and made portraits of presidents and celebrities. But he leaves behind a legacy more important than the images he captured– the Eddie Adams Workshop called “Barnstorm.”
Creating the workshop was his way of giving back. Hundreds of young photojournalists have experienced the tuition-free workshop, which exposed them to top photographers from a variety of disciplines.
The workshop will continue as will his influence on generations of photojournalists to come.
Read about Eddie Adams:
Eddie Adams embraced life with a wide lens
The Eddie Adams Workshop
http://www.eddieadamsworkshop.com/
Eddie Adams, Journalist Who Showed Violence of Vietnam, Dies at 71
NPPA story
