I think Whelan’s argument is very convincing, or rather, would be very convincing to many people, but I personally just can’t imagine a soldier hearing gunshots from multiple guns and decide that I’m just going to run straight towards them. That sounds like suicide. So yes, I do think Capa’s photograph was staged. I don’t think the authenticity of the photo mattered back then, Capa had an idea and decided to act upon it. I think I would have don’t the same honestly. Also, I don’t think the authenticity of the photo matters now either. The only reason I would want to know if it was staged would be out of pure curiosity and that alone, the photo would and is still an important photo that changed photography.
