Don McCullin

Sir Don McCullin CBE
McCullin on TV Brasil, 2011
Born	Donald McCullin (1935-10-09) 9 October 1935 (age 81) Finsbury Park, North London, England
Residence	Somerset, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	Photojournalist
Years active	1959–present
Children	5

Sir Donald McCullin, CBE, Hon FRPS (born 9 October 1935) is a British photojournalist, particularly recognized for his war photography and images of urban strife. His career, which began in 1959, has specialised in examining the underside of society, and his photographs have depicted the unemployed, downtrodden and the impoverished.

McCullin grew up in Finsbury Park, North London, but he was evacuated to a farm in Somerset during the Blitz. He is dyslexic but displayed a talent for drawing at the Secondary Modern School he attended. He won a scholarship to Hammersmith School of Arts and Crafts but, following the death of his father, he left school at the age of 15, without qualifications, for a catering job on the railways. He was then called up for National Service with the Royal Air Force.

During McCullin's period of National Service in the RAF he was posted to the Canal Zone during the 1956 Suez Crisis, where he worked as a photographer's assistant. He failed to pass the written theory paper necessary to become a photographer in the RAF, and so spent his service in the darkroom. During this period McCullin bought his first camera, a Rolleicord. On return to Britain shortage of funds led to his pawning the camera. His mother used her own money to redeem the pledge.