David Burnett was a 25-year old photojournalist sent to Vietnam to cover the war. As a Vietnamese air force fighter came in low and dropped napalm on fleeing villagers, Burnett struggled to change film in his Leica camera. AP photographer Nick Ut was ready and captured the photograph that would lose America the war in Vietnam with its own citizen. All it took was 20 seconds, but Burnett missed the “moment” that Leica cameras were so prized to be able to capture. Not in this case. Even in this digital age, Leica still stubbornly hold on to that base plate though there’s no more film to change. Leica, get rid of the base plate, nostalgia notwithstanding.
Read the article at: washingtonpost.
