To celebrate International Women’s Day (March 8), this month we present a special series about women who have marked the history of photography, from great photographers to the most clicked women of recent decades, we tell you a little bit about the lives of those who have contributed to our visual culture.In our last article in the series, the chosen one is Catherine Leroy, a little-known photographer in Brazil, a great professional who covered the wars in Vietnam and Lebanon.
Catherine Leroy was born in 1945 in France, studying in a convent in the French capital, Paris, studied music and thought she could become a classical pianist, and from a very young age I have already shown an interest in photography.At the age of 21, in 1966, dissatisfied with the inhumane media coverage of the Vietnam War, he bought a one-way ticket to Laos.In the bag, he wore his only photographic equipment at the time, a Leica.
- The French photographer was one of the few women to cover the tense moments of the Vietnam War.
- His career began with selling his photos to agencies such as AP (Associated Press).
- In 1967.
- She was injured while covering he was covered.
- The following year.
- In 1968.
- Catherine Leroy was captured and held as a prisoner of the Vietnamese army.
Months later, she was one of the first to be released and wrote a report on incarceration, which appeared on the cover of Life magazine.His most famous image is that of a young soldier of the United States Navy in Vietnam in 1967, with his hand resting on the chest of a fallen companion, looking up, waiting for some kind of help, while realizing that the man was already dying, is getting sensitized.The photograph is titled “Corpsman In Angustia”.
However, it is not the photo that really reveals the style and essence of Catherine Leroy, who even in conflict has tried to capture everyday life, not just bloodied bodies or soldiers in action.After the period in Vietnam, he covered conflicts in several countries such as Northern Ireland, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and Libya.Her last cover of war was in Lebanon, where she was kidnapped.The episode marked her for the rest of her life.
After so much experience in conflict coverage, Leroy began to devote himself to journalism and fashion photography.A legendary figure of the war professionals, Catherine Leroy, and the photographers who preceded her, opened the doors to the later one.
Every woman has been shown to be able to do any kind of work, including covering the main armed conflicts of the last century: at the time, male and male-dominated environments.Catherine died in 2006 in the city of Los Angeles, where she had settled after her post-war period.