D-Day, Omaha Beach, Normandy Coast
Dデイ、オマハ・ビーチ、ノルマンディー海岸
- Birth Year
- 1913
- Death Year
- 1954
- Date
- 1944 (reprinted in 1985)
- Technique, Material, Format
- gelatin silver print
- Dimension
- 34.5 x 48.0 cm
- Category
- Photograph or Moving Image by ForeignPhotographer/Artist
- Inventory Number
- 87-PHF-124
The date is June 6, 1944, the day of the Allied landings at Normandy during the Second World War. Accompanying the first wave of troops, Robert Capa captured the entire landing on camera while coming under heavy fire from the German army. The negatives, shot at the risk of his life, were sent to the London bureau of Life magazine, but due to a mistake made during processing, most of them melted. This shot, which is often referred to as “Face in the Surf,” is one of the best-known of the barely printable photographs that remained.
The blurring of the image vividly conveys the sense of urgency in the midst of chaos. Capa’s unique perspective, which focuses on a single person even in such a setting, makes the shot particularly impactful.
(MATSUNAGA Shintaro)