Don McCullin is the acknowledged dean of war photographers, although it is a designation he does not easily accept. Working since the 1960s in Biafra, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Cyprus, Lebanon, Northern Ireland, Vietnam, and elsewhere, he has created a body of images that reveal in intimate detail many of the agonizing ways in which atrocity can be visited. Today in his early seventies, McCullin is not content with his decades’ worth of photographs: in particular he decries their insufficient role in diminishing the very violence they depict—as evidenced by the title of one of his books on the Vietnam War, Is Anyone Taking Any Notice?, published in 1973. Although haunted by revulsion and guilt, he remains fascinated by photography and is driven to continue working. Recently married and with a young son, McCullin has lately been photographing landscapes in his native England as well as depicting the remains of the Roman Empire for a large-scale documentary project.

Part 1: Don McCullin and Fred Ritchin; from Aperture Foundation on Vimeo.

Fred Ritchin spoke with the photographer last September in New York City; here we present behind-the-scenes documentary clips of their conversation. A condensed version of this interview appeared in the Summer 2009 issue of Aperture.

Camera and editing by Dennis Nazarov
Sound by Hannah Weddel

Click more to view the entire interview.

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Taiyo Onorato and Nico Krebs, from the article The Artist Formerly Known as Fashion Photography

The Summer 2009 issue of Aperture, #195, is now on sale. Featuring a diverse and compelling array of images and writing from artists around the world, highlights include:

• The Difference A Painter Makes: Edward Hopper and Photography, notes by Jeffrey Fraenkel and Robert Adams on Hopper’s vision and its mark on photography.
• Daniel and Geo Fuchs: In the Halls of the Stasi, by Matthias Harder. A look at the now-quiet former headquarters of the East German secret police.
• Gay Men Play: Self-Representation, Sex, and Photography Now, by Chris Boot. Sexual identity explored through the medium of photography and on the Web.
• Maya Deren: A Life Choreographed for Camera, by Mark Alice Durant. Little-known photographs by the acclaimed avant-garde filmmaker.
• The Artist Formerly Known as Fashion Photography, by Jason Evans. Genre-bending photographers who are producing inventive fashion work.
• A Look at Look, by Mary Panzer. One of the twentieth century’s great picture magazines, brought back to light.
• Suyeon Yun: Homecoming. A selection from Yun’s project on American veterans of current and past wars.
• Don McCullin: Dark Landscapes, interview with Fred Ritchin. A photographer known for his unflinching visions of conflict and troubles discusses a long career.

And, coming soon to Exposures: video interviews with Don McCullin.

Click here to get a subscription and your own copy of this fabulous issue.