NARROWSBURG, NY — The only Associated Press photographer to hold the title of special correspondent, Eddie Adams (1933-2004) photographed 13 wars, seven US presidents, 65 heads of state and countless celebrities. 

In more than five decades as a photographer, Adams received more than 500 awards honoring his work, including the 1968 Pulitzer Prize and World Press Photo of the Year for his iconic image “Saigon Execution.”

The Narrowsburg Union will open a new exhibit of his work titled “Eddie Adams: Workshop & Legacy” on Friday, September 8. 

A screening of the documentary film “An Unlikely Weapon: The Eddie Adams Story,” will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Friday as well in the Narrowsburg Union’s Delaware Hall. A reception will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Union. 

Adams’ photographs influenced public opinion and changed policy. His series on Vietnamese boat people, “Boat of No Smiles,” helped persuade the United States to admit 200,000 refugees at the end of the war. 

His career also included advertising, corporate, entertainment, fashion and feature photography. His work appeared in Time, Vogue, Vanity Fair and Parade, for which he shot more than 350 covers in 25 years.

His legacy lives on in the Eddie Adams Workshop, the tuition-free seminar for young photographers he founded in 1988. The workshop continues to be the only tuition-free forum of its kind, with 100 shooters handpicked from around the world based solely on the merit of their pictures. 

For more than 30 years, the workshop has helped shape the future of photojournalism. It has an unparalleled history of cultivating quality, exchanging ideas and building relationships. 

This exhibit will feature photos of 30 alumni from the first 30 years of the workshop.

The Narrowsburg Union has created the Union Digital Gallery. They have installed the latest technology, including a 16-foot media wall. Reflections and refractions made by iPads, micro-projectors, and HD monitors give the gallery space a cool glow that provides, a spokesperson said, “a magical immersive experience of sound and image.”

The exhibit will be open until Sunday, October 1. It is free to the public. 

For more information, visit  https://www.narrowsburgunion.com.