Pat Witty of the Times' photo desk has put together the back story on the Tank Man of Tiananmen Square, just in time for the 20th anniversary of the event. Being an admitted news and photo geek, I was quite familiar with three of the four views of this icon. Cole's won World Press Photo of the Year, Widener's was a runner-up for a Pulitzer, and Stuart Franklin's seems to have increased in play as the years have distanced. Each photographer wanted to improve something on his images.
When talking about the image on World Press' site, Cole said "If this kid's going to give his life in protest, I've got a responsibility to nail the shot." Steadying a long lens with adrenaline running and trying to hide from the police was the first part. The second was making sure the film got out and was seen. Correctly fearing that his room would be searched, Cole "placed the tank roll in a plastic film can and wrapped it in a plastic bag and attached it to the flush chain in the tank of the toilet." The film was not found during the room search, and he managed to retrieve it and make deadline.
The Beeb caught up with Jeff Widener, who recounted how he struggled to make the image while working through a concussion from the night before, suffered when a brick clocked him in the skull. He credits the titanium structure of his camera body for saving his life.
Time has posted a collection of Stuart Franklin's images along with his narration. "For me as a photographer, it just seemed very far away. I was frustrated that I wasn't right there, that I wasn't closer, and I couldn't really see it as a particularly interesting photograph. I know that sounds ridiculous now..."
Cole commented a few years back "I was awarded the World Press Photo of the Year for the photo, which I thought was a mistake, as I have always contended that Stuart Franklin should’ve shared the award with me if they were intent on awarding it for that photo and I told WPP so when they contacted me to announce it. The quality of the shot is not what either Stuart or myself would have liked, but something that all photographers should understand about the situation is that after the initial crackdown, it became almost impossible to be on the streets as a westerner. Martial law had been declared, and on two separate occasions I came under fire while trying to shoot, once no less in a diplomatic compound where David and Peter Turnley and myself had taken up a position over a line of tanks. For me the shot of the young man facing down the tanks isn’t an award winner, or a stand alone, or any of that. Quite simply for me, it's the testament of a man who defined probably most important moment of his life rather than letting the moment define him, and I and the other shooters were very privileged to have witnessed it." Cole also counted 64 people who had been killed on the night of the 4th, but lost those images when Chinese authorities beat him, confiscated his film and zapped him with a cattle prod.
I had never seen Arthur Tsang Hin Wah's version of the scene... nor had many other people. "For some reason, the editor in the office did not pick the frame of the man blocking the tanks. Instead, they picked the frame of the man climbing up the tank. The next day, A.P.’s version was widely played. They called me up at the hotel and I told them to have a close look again. So my photo of the man blocking the tank was released more than 12 hours later than my competitor’s."
Arthur continued, "I am glad that it still has impact after 20 years. Four different versions but one same focus.”
