Humanity and Inhumanity

George Rodger's career as a photographer was one of constant yet often unsung achievement. He began his photographic career with the BBC as a stills photographer. His baptism as a photo reporter came with his appointment as a stringer for Life magazine during the Blitz on London in the most threatening of days of 1940. Many of his images from that time are still in constant use, because his instinct has always been to concentrate on the humanity of his subjects, even in the face of terrible adversity. It was for Life that Rodger embarked on a series of adventures that were to take him to almost every theatre of World War II in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. His urge to record also found expression on paper, and he was later to publish an enthralling account of these years, and to undertake a lecture tour throughout the United States. The turning-point of his career came with the liberation of Belsen. As for the first few days he was the only photographer present, the images he captured became crucially important in making known the depravity of the camps. Rodger's professional interest led him to join Henri-Cartier Bresson, David Seymour and Robert Capa in founding the greatest picture agency of the post-war era, Magnum Photos. In 1948 he embarked on a campaign of photography rediscovering humanity, starting with an expedition from Cape Town to Cairo by road. He found African tribes almost untouched by European influence, and was able to create images of enormous power that quickly became world-famous.

Bruce Bernard (1929-2000) was a picture editor and writer whose interest in photography dated back to his childhood. His career with images included eight years as Picture Editor of the Sunday Times magazine and four years as Visual Arts Editor of the Independent magazine. Among his previous works are the anthology Photodiscovery (1980), Vincent by Himself (1985) and The Queen of Heaven (1987). He reviewed books and exhibitions for several publications including the Spectator . His most recent book Century (Phaidon, 1999), to which he devoted the last years of his life, is a vast photographic record of the twentieth century.

Peter Marlow was President of Magnum from 1989 to 1993. He started his photographic career in 1977, working on news and features with Sygma. His work has been published internationally and his most recent publication is Liverpool Looking out to Sea (1993).