Robert Capa 1936 年的「軍人之死」是一切的起點。在戰地上拿著攝影機的人，將人間地獄的影像帶到人前，他們往往被奉為英雄。另一方面，因為他們拍攝被害者的影像，用屍體搬弄著木偶戲，人們就給戰地攝影師冠上「死亡天使」的惡名。這帶出了我們的命題：「攝影師的道德是甚麼？」

課程會由攝影的技術層面開始：萊卡 35mm 卷裝菲林相機的出現，轉變紀實攝影手法。然後我們會回到十九世紀的攝影史，再點出幾場現代戰爭裡面（如福克蘭群島戰爭和海灣戰爭）攝影所擔當的重要角色。

除了教授拍攝圖片故事的基本技巧外，在攝影史方面，我們會集中探討戰後攝影媒介的轉變。學員將接觸到一些於當時期突出的攝影師如 Roger Fenton、Robert Capa、Eugene Smith 和 Sebastio Salgado；亦會介紹一些出名的攝影批評家如 Susan Songtag 及 John Berger。

課程概要:

1. Robert Capa 的工作；萊卡相機之前的便攜器材－Ermanox
2. 戰地之外－－圖片故事的五個要素；從 Lewis Hine 到 Eugene Smith
3. 被拍攝得最多和最少的戰爭－越戰、福克蘭和海灣戰爭
4. 十九世紀至當代的餘波
5. 20世紀最多人觀賞之攝影展 ‘The Family of Man’

Robert Capa’s The death of a Loyalist militiaman (1936) started it all. The man with a camera in the war zone has been received as a hero who brings out the cruelty and humanity in the hell on earth; on the other hand, the “corpses played” images had also famed these photographers and ridiculed as “angels of death”. Hence, here comes our guiding question in the course: what are the ethics of a photographer?

The course will start with the technical side in photography: the introduction of Leica 35mm roll-film camera had changed the way people photograph the world. We will trace back to late 19th century, to bring out a number of important changes of the role in photography through certain incidents in the Falkland War (1982) and Gulf War (1991).

Alongside with the methodologies of photographing a picture story, we are going to examine the contents of the post war movements in the medium. Students will get to know with various prominent figures in the history of photography from Roger Fenton , Robert Capa , Eugene Smith to Salgado. They will be introduced to important critics of photography such as Susan Songtag and John Berger.

Course Outline:

1. Robert Capa at work and the day before Leica – the Ermanox
2. Beyond war zone – Picture Story with 5 elements, from Lewis Hine to E.Smith
3. The most and the least photographed war – Vietnam vs Falkland and Gulf war
4. 19th century and the modern day – The Aftermath
5. Most viewed exhibition of the 20th century, ‘The Family of Man’