200 shots: Damien Parer, George Silk, and the Australians at war in New Guinea

by Neil McDonald

The fierce fighting in the jungles of New Guinea during World War Two provided a primeval environment for some of the most dramatic war photography in Australia's history. 200 SHOTS provides a comprehensive photographic coverage of Australia's involvement at that time and highlights the work two great war photographers--Damien Parer and George Silk. The photographers' notes and diaries are used to describe the circumstances in which the shots were taken. This is linked with official records, interviews with the participants and a close analysis of the images themselves to explain what the photographs reveal about the human experience of war. Damien Parer was killed in action shortly after taking the last shots in this book, but for the first time his notes and film of the 2/3rd Independent Company are compared with the sketches of his companion, the famous war artist Ivor Hele, providing a unique insight into the photographer and the artist's response to jungle fighting. Neil McDonald interviewed George Silk in the United States in 1996 over a seven-day period. This, together with Peter Brune's research, enables 200 SHOTS to put a new pers

Genres: Photography

197 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1998