Is Anyone Taking Any Notice

Is anyone taking any notice? This is a question which I feel Don McCullin must have asked everyday throughout his career as a photojournalist making it quite fitting as the title of a book that takes you on a journey across the world encapsulating some of the most tragic scenes from the 20^th century.

Beginning in England this book throws the reader back and forth through time as McCullin explores the thoughts that go through his mind looking back upon his images. These thoughts have been presented as rather unusual pieces of text across the top and bottom of each page forcing the reader to slow down and take the time to make sense of what it being said. McCullin has rather intelligently controlled the tempo of the book using blank space. In parts of the book there can be entire pages left blank as if McCullin wants the reader to pause and consider the work on previous pages before continuing to more captivating images on the next page. This I found worked incredibly well and added a lot of value to the experience this book brings.

The book presents a kind of hierarchy within the pages making it clear which images are more important, for example certain images spread over the boundary of a page and spill onto the next. This technique allows the reader to better understand each narrative depicted across the pages. The book captures not only scenes of horror and mutilation but also the moments around that, the moments  in which you truly begin to develop an understanding.

This book is truly captivating and I find it is essential for any photographer to read if they want to develop their ability to capture a story within the confines of a photo book.