What were you thinking while the monk was on fire?

This month marks the 50th anniversary of a demonstration in Vietnam which resulted in one of the 20th century's most enduring images, a monk seated in meditation in the middle of the street engulfed in flame, a protest again the war raging in that country.  

Time Lightbox has published a short interview with the photographer, Malcom Browne, who in his response to the question of what he was thinking was refreshingly candid and honest.

PW: What were you thinking while you were looking through the camera?MB: I was thinking only about the fact it was a self-illuminated subject that required an exposure of about, oh say, f10 or whatever it was, I don’t really remember. I was using a cheap Japanese camera, by the name of Petri. I was very familiar with it, but I wanted to make sure that I not only got the settings right on the camera each time and focused it properly, but that also I was reloading fast enough to keep up with action. I took about ten rolls of film because I was shooting constantly.

The article also features 11 additional images from that day.

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