KILLING FIELDS PHOTOGRAPHER DIES

• Killing fields photographer dies – Dith Pran, whose work (and fate) as reporting partner to Sydney H. Schanberg was portrayed in the movie The Killing Fields, has died of cancer in hospital in New Jersey. He was 65. Dith Pran originally taught himself photography so that he could take pictures for Schanberg. After his escape from Cambodia in 1979 he worked as a staff photographer on The New York Times. [expand story >>>]

The Killing Fields movie includes a portrayal of Schanberg and other foreign journalists attempting to create a passport for Dith Pran, so that he can escape the country with them. A passport of Schanberg's is altered by removing all except his middle names, and the passport photo is removed. To replace it with one of Dith Pran, the journalists photograph him and develop and print the negative in an embassy bathroom. The paper is out of date. The chemicals are improvised. The first two attempts to print the photo fail to stop and fix it. The third print seems to be okay, but has faded completely by the time it is needed. [add comment]