Friday, August 26, 2022

Tim Page RIP



Thanks to Wild I know that legendary war photographer Tim Page has died in his late 70s, may he rest in peace. Page was remarkable for his photography of the SE Asian conflict and I wish I'd met him.




But it wasn't to be, he was doubtless more concerned with other things, like moving to Australia, curiously. Brisbane aside, Page certainly shot the war, respect.




I first heard about him from Michael Herr's psychedelic book Dispatches, which had a deleterious impact on several levels. Regardless, Page's photography was outstanding.




May he rest in peace. In related news, a Gathering of Eagles is scheduled in London Sept/Oct, depending on Whitehall. See you there, Mandarins nothwithstanding, on the steps of St. Paul's.

Lee Ho Fooks,

LSP

7 comments:

LL said...

Gathering - be there or be square.

LindaG said...

Safe trip to you all, Parson.
And you all be safe and God bless.

Wild, wild west said...

Pics or it didn't happen, guys.

Somebody once told Page "There's an airstrike in your future" and the prophecy was fulfilled when the Coast Guard cutter he was on was bombed by mistake.

Dispatches is a fine book and highly recommended, but John Laurence's The Cat from Hue is the gold standard on reporting from Viet Nam and living with Viet Nam nestled in your soul afterwards. Page, Sean Flynn and others of that scene are discussed at length. Laurence was a CBS reporter who went over in 1965 to cover the escalation of US involvement and was back for Tet '68 where he encountered the aforementioned kitten, hauled it scratching and biting out of the battle for Hue City and brought it home with him. But it's not a cat book by any means.

Wild, wild west said...

By the way, how many of you noticed that the troops in the second pic are not American?

I'd not seen that pic before, Parson. Good choice.

LSP said...

Mr. LL, we must go where duty calls.

LSP said...

Cum spiritu tuo, Linda.

Let's see how this transatlantic adventure develops.

LSP said...

Thanks, Wild, and thanks for the heads up.

He most definitely shot the thing. And thanks for the book tip, nice one.