Photographer Focus #7: Robert Capa’s D-Day Landing

Capa was on Omaha Beach under fire on the morning of D-Day, the 6th June 1944, putting himself in danger to make images that he thought were important. He pushed the shutter on his Contax II rangefinder ten times, maybe eleven. Those frames became the iconic photographic record of D-Day through which we imagine the landing. The story of how they got there, and the story that’s been told about them ever since, is more complicated than you think. To be clear, none of what follows in this post diminishes Capa’s heroism. His actions were brave beyond comprehension and they became history. This is about a myth that grew around those ten frames, how it was discovered, and how it was never necessary in the first place. The truth is always more interesting. FRANCE. Normandy. Omaha Beach. The first wave of American troops lands at dawn. 6th June 1944. The investigation that blew up the Capa D-Day myth was led by the photography critic and historian A. D. Coleman and his team, which included…