Episode 15: Bill Eppridge and the Beautiful Death

The recent passing of Bill Eppridge reminded me of the photograph that he took of a dying Robert Kennedy and of my reaction to it – it is a beautiful photograph. I wonder whether the beauty of the photograph detracts from the story. Is it above all a thing of aesthetic delight and a storytelling image a distant second? I don't intend any disrespect by saying this. It's just that I wonder at the relationship between beauty and storytelling. Does beauty detract or obscure the story the photographer intends to tell? Or perhaps it enhances it somehow?

In this episode of The Documentary Photographer, we touch on the issue of beauty in documentary images. We also look forward to the upcoming print sale to raise funds for medical relief in Syria.