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"Best
photographers have a real heart for the land"
SHE has worked with legendary
photographers and journalists like Henri Cartier Bresson,
Robert Doisneau, Larry Burrows, and all those great names
in modern journalism. Armed with a degree in English from
the Berkeley University, she was all set for an academic
career, but destiny had better things in store for Helen
Veret. In 1964 she met up with the Editor-in-Chief of the
Life magazine, Hugh Moffet. Impressed by
Verets impressive credentials and her vivacious
personality, he offered her the job of editorial
assistant. More than 30 years on, Veret is still with Life.
"You can see, I have been hooked by Life," she
says with a broad smile. Now she is Lifes
picture-editor, operating from a small office in Paris.
Her files are full of famous photographs that Life
is famous for. Work begins at noon in her Paris office.
Her only other colleague is an American journalist.
Vivacious, full of life and also an authority on fashion,
Helen is a woman with a contagious love for life. Helen
Veret was in Chandigarh along with her architect husband
and she gave a lecture here at the Alliance Frances. Kuldip
Dhiman met her for an exclusive interview. Excerpts:
What exactly do you
look for in a photograph?
A good photograph is a
good photograph. An original photograph is one that
surprises you; makes you ask questions. It is different.
A good picture is a picture that you will always
remember, that sticks in your mind. For example when you
talk about the Vietnam war, the best pictures that come
to your mind are those taken by Larry Burrows. There is a
really classic picture shot by him that has a wounded
black soldier trying to help a white GI, who is nearly
dying. This picture is predominantly green. The green
colour strongly accentuates death and misery of war. This
photograph highlights the sorry plight of two soldiers
who in peace time would not even say hello to each other.
And here they are in hell trying to help each other. Oh
my God! I get goose pimples when I think about it. That
is my idea of a great picture. Then we have another one
from Larry Burrows where you see a soldier in a
helicopter. He is sitting next to the dead body of his
best friend. So, monsieur a good photograph is a
good photograph- cest tout!
Do you also suggest
stories from Paris?
You see, I work part time.
I come to the office at noon and look at all the papers
to know what is happening around the world. I try to find
potential news stories that have some sort of a link with
the USA. We cannot suggest a story from Europe that does
not have any connection with the USA. For example, our
last story was about some homeless people of New York
very poor people. One was a scientist with no job!
You see, these people had jobs, but are desperate now.
So, what do they do? They decide to build a raft to cross
the Atlantic! When we heard about them, we decided to do
a story on them. We organised a helicopter and sent a
photographer and a journalist. I, of course, did all the
legwork the organising and the coordinating part.
That involved making phone calls to New York to check
when the photographer was arriving and did he need an
assistant or not. It was a six-page story; completely
conceptualised in France, of course, with the okay from
New York. If we feel fashion is extraordinary this year
and there is a new designer who is different, we suggest
it to one of the editors in New York, who goes to our
managing editor, Isolate Motley, and discusses it with
her. If she likes it, we get the okay.
Photographers visit our
office all the time. I look at their work, and if they
are good, I hire them for some future story. Then, New
York, sometimes, asks me to dig out some old pictures
maybe of World War and a wounded soldier, famous
generals, stuff like that. You always have to say
Okay, dont worry, you will have it by
tomorrow. They dont like to take a no
for an answer. It is a kind of game, and I really love
it.
You have worked with
some of the great names in photo journalism, havent
you?
Yes. When the circulation
was ten million per week, we had a whole list of
photographers who were the very best in the world.
Cartier Bresson worked for us; so did all the other great
names in photography: Robert Doisneau, Larry Burrows,
Edward Newton and Harry Benson the guy who did
those marvellous portraits of the Beatles.
Wasnt it the
golden age of Life?
Golden age, bien sure, from
our point of view. It is terrible to say, but great
pictures were there to be taken. We had the Vietnam war,
the Biafra, and the six-day war in Israel. We lost one of
our very talented young photographers there on the very
first day.
When one thinks of Life,
it is usually the big black and white images that come to
ones mind those stark and bold images.
Yes, of course. When I
think about those great days of Life, it is always
black and white. They do publish black and white now, but
I am sad to admit, colour has invaded all the
magazines... all the magazines. But remember colour is
fragile, it fades,whereas a black and white print of
Cartier Bressons shot in 1939 is still magnificent.
From being a premier
weekly selling ten million copies, Life
stopped publication in 1972. It resumed publication again
in 1978. But the magazine that set high standards for
journalism, is finding it hard to justify its existence.
What ails Life?
In the olden days, Life
was full of news. And Life was the best
magazine in the world. Then television invaded our
drawing rooms, and you know the rest. Nowadays, a
reporter risks his life and goes to, lets say,
Bosnia bombs are falling everywhere, he comes back
with great pictures to his agency. Unfortunately, it is
usually too late. Very few magazines in the West now
publish gloomy pictures. All of them are turning into
society-magazines. They want to speak about the
Princesses, film stars, celebrities, models. On the cover
you might see Princess Caroline of Monaco, or you might
have poor Lady Di. You know, to have good news pictures
accepted, you have to be very lucky these days.
Thats why news photographers, most of whom are so
dedicated to show what is happening in the world, are a
disappointed lot now. We at Life try our best to
promote good photo journalism. We have a section called
the Big Picture.
After having worked
with legends like Bresson and Avendon, how does it feel
to work with young photographers?
The new photographers are
very active. It is difficult to make a comparison. But
definitely, Henri Cartier Bresson will remain a
historical fact. Why? Because he is a very cultured man,
he is such an exceptional character, a very sensitive
man. In my opinion, his best years were between 1936 to
the end of the great war. He is incomparable. It is not
easy to measure up to a genius like him. The young ones
are also good, but they are too young. Mind you, Bression
celebrated his 90th birthday last August! I must tell you
he looks as fresh as a cucumber. You would think he is
65. He doesnt have anything nice to say about
contemporary photographers. He does a lot of sketching
now. He used to drawings when he was young, and he has
gone back to it. He always criticises photography, but I
know since he is a very good friend of mine
that he loves photography.
Has the information
explosion affected news journalism?
"Yes. But I am very
old-fashioned, I dare say. I am not for all these image
transfers that are done over the computers from one
country to another. But it is very convenient. I think
the job of the picture researcher is going to disappear.
Even the job of the picture editor might become
redundant. We might have only one picture editor in New
York and why not? Its convenient, its
cost-effective, its quick. But I dont think
all this is going to glorify the quality of pictures: not
at all. But I dare say, when I see a very good
retrospective of a good photographer... oh what a joy to
see some really good prints! Or to see great pictures in
a book. I always say that I prefer to see a set of
pictures in a book. What a joy! I have a theory, I know
photographers are going to be very mad at me for saying
this, but I believe that photography is not meant to be
exhibited. Painting yes: photography no. There is
always a glare on the photographs when they are
exhibited. Of course, to be known, you have to exhibit. I
always prefer to look at a photograph in a book.
Do you have a say in
the layout?
Unfortunately not. We make
a selection, send it to New York, where it is again
short-listed by the picture editor there. They then
discuss the layout with the art director and the editors.
The final layout is, most of the time, a surprise for me.
I usually say I would not have done it that way.
How does one become a Life
photographer?
The simplest thing is to
come to us with a story, not different pictures: we are
not interested in different pictures. We see how the
photographer has treated the story. When a photographer
comes to us and say that he/she has pictures from,
lets say, India. I ask her for how long she was in
India. If she says 24 hours, then I am not interested.
You cannot capture the essence of a country in such a
short time ... when you just zoom past a country
no. The best photographers are those who know the people,
the customs; they have a real heart for the land. If you
dont have your heart beating for what you are
doing, the work is no good. Everything comes from the
heart. Otherwise, you give a modern instamatic camera to
a four-year-old girl, and voila, she can take a
picture. What really makes a great photograph is
imagination!
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