A French photographer's meticulous six-month investigation has provided new evidence supporting claims that Nick Ut, the Vietnamese-American photojournalist long credited with taking the iconic "Napalm Girl" photograph, could not have been the actual photographer. Tristan da Cunha, an independent photographer specializing in film photography, analyzed extensive archives from June 8, 1972, and concluded that Ut did not have the camera equipment necessary to capture the famous image on that day.
Da Cunha's analysis focuses on a crucial technical detail: the photograph was taken with a Pentax camera, but his research shows Ut was not carrying a Pentax on June 8, 1972. "It is possible to prove that the photo was made with a Pentax. But Nick Ut did not have one in his hands that day," da Cunha explained. Through careful examination of photographs and videos from that period, he meticulously identified each camera carried by the Vietnamese-American photographer, noting specific technical details like perforated lens hoods and double aluminum rings.
The expert's findings reveal that Ut was carrying two Nikon F cameras equipped with 200mm and 50mm lenses, and two Leica M2 cameras with 90mm and 35mm lenses around his neck that day. This technical analysis supports the controversial hypothesis presented in the documentary "The Stringer," which suggests the real author of the "Napalm Girl" photograph was actually Nguyen Thanh Nghe, a humble Vietnamese freelance photographer who remained in the shadows.
Since its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah in January 2025, "The Stringer" has generated growing controversy. The explosive investigation by photojournalist Gary Knight and producer Fiona Turner, directed by Bao Nguyen, is set to reach a wider audience when Netflix releases it on November 28. The documentary places the highway along Trang Bang at the center of a battle between experts over one of the most emblematic war photographs of the 20th century.
The summer of 1972 saw the horrifying image of a naked, burned little girl running down a road to escape the hell of the Vietnam War create worldwide impact. This shocking photograph earned its credited photographer, Nick Ut, the prestigious Pulitzer Prize at just 22 years old. While no one disputes the authenticity of the image today, the impressive body of testimonies and evidence gathered by "The Stringer" calls into question the identity of the photographer behind this icon.
Following the premiere of "The Stringer," no fewer than three reports have examined the attribution question. The first came from Associated Press (AP) itself, which maintained credit for the famous photographer while raising certain inconsistencies, particularly regarding the camera used - not a Leica, but a Pentax. The second report, established by the Dutch World Press Photo Foundation, reached the opposite conclusion, preferring caution given the numerous doubts raised by their investigations. The film relies on uncompromising 3D reconstructions by the independent NGO Index that are unfavorable to Nick Ut.
These reconstructions face vigorous challenges from James Hornstein, Nick Ut's attorney, who denounces biased demonstrations where "series of images and videos are assembled to serve their objective." AP similarly highlights the "large margin of error" in these reconstructions. The challenge lies in the fact that these reconstructions are based on film photographs that are consequently not time-stamped, making it impossible to precisely estimate the duration between different shots, especially since many images have been lost.
This is where Tristan da Cunha enters the picture, amazed by the story he heard through the press and considering it unlikely as the film began generating buzz. The expert is no stranger to such investigations - in 2015, he provided his expertise to critic Alan Colleman regarding another war scene, the D-Day landing of June 6, 1944, photographed by reporter Robert Capa. Using the mass of documents made public by AP, da Cunha attempts to understand "the unfolding of this very confusing scene where protagonists, all dressed the same way, move constantly, but which, given the multiple press teams present, was nevertheless photographed from all angles."
Da Cunha sought to answer one of the major questions posed by the AP report: what cameras did Ut have with him? This fine identification exercise led him to dive into catalogs and collections of film cameras from that era, all of which he had handled personally. In parallel, establishing a chronology from the eighty-nine images published in the AP report allowed him to better understand Nick Ut's choices, his lens changes, and film selections.
The photographer's logical analysis raises practical questions about the attribution. "The chronology I sketched doesn't serve as proof, but it is very telling. We can see how Nick Ut is an excellent photographer - he works hard, doesn't waste time, always has a good reason when he changes lenses," da Cunha explained. "We are in the middle of bombing. Carrying a Nikon F with a 200mm lens, which is very heavy, all day is already an ordeal in itself. He already had four cameras on him. So why would he suddenly pull out a camera from nowhere, which is also inferior to what he already had around his neck? It's absurd."
When contacted, AP corrected two errors in its initial report but maintains the attribution of credit to its photographer, without authorizing access to all high-resolution images that would allow for further refinement of the diagnosis. The controversy continues to unfold as experts, attorneys, and agencies grapple with determining the true authorship of one of history's most powerful and influential war photographs, more than fifty years after it was taken.
