Interview with a Photographer from the American Magazine "Life" - Part Three

Author: (USA) John Loengard / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Walter B. Ryan (hereinafter referred to as Ryan): After graduating from high school, I found a job at a film company. Later, I worked as an assistant to a photographer who had an office on Lake Street in Washington. We took many photos on the luxury liner Queen Mary. But his business started to decline, and he couldn’t afford to hire me, so he had to let me go. At that time, I found that a photography agency called Pix was looking for staff, and I was hired by Pix in March 1937. Cornell Capa worked with me in Pix’s darkroom for a year. Sometimes, I also did some simple shooting tasks. Pix once wanted to capture a parade held at Madison Square Garden for competitive performances, and I climbed a tree to take some excellent photos. Life magazine published them and thought, “This young man did a good job.” Starting in 1941, I signed a contract with Life magazine’s Washington office to work on a prepaid basis. In late August, one afternoon, Life magazine told me, “Hurry to Norfolk—the Royal Navy’s Glory is arriving.” This was a British aircraft carrier that had suffered severe damage from German bombing in the Mediterranean. The ship’s captain was Lord Louis Mountbatten (Lord Louis Mountbatten, a British field marshal, a great-grandson of Queen Victoria, and the Supreme Allied Commander in Southeast Asia during World War II. Annotation). I couldn’t find a suitable train, or else I could have arrived in Norfolk in time from Washington. So I had to travel along the Potomac River and finally found a ship that departed that night, but all the cabins were full. I persuaded the captain, and he let me sleep on a bench in the engine room. The ship arrived in Norfolk at 6:34 a.m. the next day, and I rushed ashore to hire a taxi—just like in movies—but I was blocked by a truck with 120 trailers on the way. In the end, I arrived at the street pier gate, but the Marine guard there told me, “The Glory is at the fourth street pier.” Carrying my large camera bag, I ran out of breath. At the gate, the Marine guard said, “I can’t let you in.” I said, “I have to—otherwise I’ll lose my job. I have to get on the Glory.” The guard told another Marine, “Take this guy aboard.” When I boarded the Glory, Lord Mountbatten was walking down from the bridge to inspect his soldiers. I bent one leg and took a photo from below. The journey from Norfolk back to Washington was just as difficult. As soon as I returned to Washington, Life magazine told me, “You have to go to Iceland immediately.” This was because American forces would be establishing a base there. Within a few hours, Life magazine had arranged a passport for me to go to Iceland, and I flew to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Because Canada was at war, all my photography equipment was seized by customs. A Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer stayed with me until I boarded the plane to Iceland. After arriving in Iceland, I walked around and saw a stack of Life magazines at a newsstand. I habitually picked up a magazine and flipped from the back to the front, stopping at the cover. I was overjoyed because the cover used the photo I had taken of Lord Mountbatten. The editor had enlarged the photo and cropped the sailors out, leaving only Lord Mountbatten’s upper-body portrait. It made for an excellent cover. I boarded the Golden Falls ship, and a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer handed my camera equipment to the ship’s captain, saying, “Don’t give these to him yet—wait until the ship is 15 nautical miles out.” P21-22