Quote:
Originally Posted by bill
...so how does that constitute "not staged"...?
Regards,
Bill
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Staged would imply Rosenthal saying: "You stand over there, you there; now lift the flag! Ok, lets do that again and get a second shot for safety!"
A superior officer ordering a bigger flag to be hoisted as a replacement, so everyone on the island could see it, is history. It was an action not induced or influenced by the photographer. Rosenthal just happened to be there when this occurred and made the shot.
If I remember correctly the first raising was also photographed. Rosenthal's photo of the replacement flag being raised was a lot more photogenic, so it is the one that became famous. Ironically Rosenthal thought he had blown it, because you couldn't really see anyone's face in the photo.
Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Flags being replaced is not an uncommon occurrence through out history. For the most part infantry soldiers do not carry around full size flags, but instead may have a half or third size example. Usually these small flags are quickly replaced by a bigger version.
Other examples are the hoisting of the Red flag on the Reichstag by the Red Army. But in this case, we may really be dealing with a staged event, that took place days after the battle.
Flag on the Reichstag - FamousPicturesMagazine