Talk:Dick Swanson

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Which one[edit]

http://www.swanson-media.com/photos and http://www.swanson-media.com/photos/dickswanson-bio-cv.pdf describe a photographer Dick Swanson (1933 - 2009) born in Michigan and died in Florida. http://www.swansonphotography.com/ is a Dick Swanson raised in Illinois, as described in the biography section. He is still living but was apparently born in 1934.Dick L. Swanson.[1] His wife Germaine has been in the news on occasion as well. I don't think these two are immediate family and I don't know if there is enough information out there to create sensible encyclopedia articles. One of them took a number of photos in the 1970s for the EPA that appear to be public domain in the National Archives.[2] --Dual Freq (talk) 19:21, 13 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Some of the photos ended up on Commons. commons:Category:Dick Swanson. --Dual Freq (talk) 19:39, 13 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Dick Swanson (b.1934)[edit]

Here are some potential sources regarding Dick L. Swanson, photographer (b. 1934). --Dual Freq (talk) 18:22, 14 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Biography of Swanson - Leroy, Catherine (2005). Under Fire: Great Photographers and Writers in Vietnam. Random House. p. 52. ISBN 9781400063581. Retrieved 2014-09-14. -
Swanson, Dick (1962). "Man Alone". POYi Archive, Item #4630 Originally published in the Des Moines Register & Tribune. Retrieved September 13, 2014. "Man Alone" was mentioned by the 1963 Pulitzer Jury as "good on-the-spot work".[3]
Swanson, Dick (October 2004). "Remembering Eddie Adams". The Digital Journalist. Archived from the original on 2004-10-31. Retrieved 2014-09-14. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
Swanson, Dick (April 1999). "Last Exit from Saigon". The Digital Journalist. Archived from the original on 1999-05-08. Retrieved 2014-09-14. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
"A Guide to the Dick L. Swanson Photographic Archive, 1959-1994". The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 2014-09-14.
"Photojournalism: Dick Swanson". The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 2014-09-14.
An article mentioning Swanson, but mainly about his wife's restaurant in Washington DC. Gamarekian, Barbara (1979-02-24). "Where Eating, Eying People drays a crowd". NY Times News Service via The Day. New London, Connecticut. Retrieved 2014-09-14.
Article mentioning Dick Swanson's journey from Vietnam with his wife's family - Associated Press. "Thousands of South Viets join Stream of Refugees". The Evening News. Newburgh, New York. Retrieved 2014-09-14.
Sketch biography listed amongst the best military photographers - "25 of the best military photographers". A Day in the Life of the United States Armed Forces. Harper Collins. Retrieved 2014-09-14.
Article about photojournalists with an anecdote about Swanson and Gerald Ford explaining a poolside photo with Ford - Durrell, Richard J. (November 29, 1976). "The Men and Women Behind the Cameras Are Vital to Our Continued Success". People Magazine. Retrieved 2014-09-14.
"One Man's Refugee Family: How Dick Swanson's Vietnamese Relatives Have Fared". People Magazine. 4 (26). December 29, 1975. Retrieved 2014-09-14.
Clifford, Garry (May 19, 1975). "A Daring American Rescues His Wife's Family from Vietnam". 3 (19). Retrieved 2014-09-14. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
Short biography - "Dick Swanson". The Eye of Photography (L’Oeil de la Photographie). Retrieved 2014-09-14.
Article linking Swanson with the EPA photos on commons:Category:Dick Swanson - Angelova, Kamelia (2012-08-21). "What Philadelphia Was Like In The Summer Of 1973". Businessinsider.com. Retrieved 2014-09-14.

Photos of Swanson on commons from the Ford Library / Museum archives

Identity of the photographer whose work is at Commons[edit]

That's a pretty impressive list. Well done. That said, sorry but I'm unimpressed by "Article linking Swanson with the EPA photos on commons:Category:Dick Swanson". There's no suggestion in it that Angelova or anyone else at Business Insider contacted Swanson. (No "Reached by phone at his home in [wherever], Swanson remembered that [blah blah].") As the photos are in the public domain, of course they were under no obligation to do this; additionally, Swanson's website has no contact page or email address (as far as I can see). So I don't rush to criticize anyone for not contacting the man. But blame aside, there's no evidence that anyone did contact Swanson. Angelova might have simply googled the name and landed at this particular website. -- Hoary (talk) 00:54, 15 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

She seemed like more than just a random blogger,[4] but I have some doubts as well, she may have made the connection in error as you say. It seems like he would mention the EPA photos on his bio if it were the same Swanson. The timeline seems to fit, the photos were in Baltimore and Philadelphia in Summer 1973 and he was working the White house bureau which might have connected him to the EPA. --Dual Freq (talk) 01:14, 15 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Well, I think I've arrived at an answer. I found a Germaine Swanson on Facebook married to a photographer named Dick Swanson. He has an album with the EPA / Documerica photos on his page. album Dick Swanson Photography I did not make contact with them, but his comments on the album make clear that he is the photographer. Maybe it's too much WP:OR, but I'm convinced. His profile photos also match some others I've seen while researching this topic. --Dual Freq (talk) 02:26, 15 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Well done. All I see on both is The page you requested cannot be displayed right now. It may be temporarily unavailable, the link you clicked on may have expired, or you may not have permission to view this page. However, I'm not a member of Facebook (and, other perhaps than via some invented identity, I never will be). Yes, yes, it's too much "OR", but you seem utterly disinterested so I am not concerned. -- Hoary (talk) 02:56, 15 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not disinterested, I did remove the commonscat template yesterday, since the business insider piece is not really compelling. I've beaten the digital bushes pretty hard to try and find info for a biography and to verify the him as the author of the EPA photos. However, the best I can do, with online sources, is the business insider link and the fact that he says he took the photos on his facebook page. While I'm not suggesting to cite facebook as a reliable source, I think it does answer the question as to which Dick Swanson took the 1973 vintage EPA photos. Other biographical details that I can find are: Graduated Rossville, Illinois High School, class of 1952 and University of Illinois, 1960. I doubt I can find much more than that unless there is a book about him out there somewhere. --Dual Freq (talk) 22:11, 15 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

W-w-what? I was thanking you for your good work (really!); and for me (and Wikipedia), disinterestedness is a definite plus. (Do we perhaps understand the word differently?) The word aside, I agree with all that you say. -- Hoary (talk) 23:04, 15 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]