Depression era photographer.
Though Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans may be better known, Arnold Rothstein’s Depression era photography for the FSA is striking for its composition and compassion, never better illustrated than in the image below.
There’s a fine paperback to be had including some 120 of his pictures and you can buy it for very little from Amazon by clicking the image below:
Union Square, SF.
iPhone 6 snap.
Outstanding.
Arnold Newman is the father of the environmental portrait with a strong, severe vision which he applied to taking portraits of some of the most famous people in all areas of endeavor during his life (1918 – 2006). The show at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco displaying much of his best work is highly recommended.
The related book, above, is worth getting, but most certainly not for the plodding writing which somehow manages to make even the two most thrilling encounters of Newman’s life – the portrait of the Nazi murderer Krupp and that of the no less despicable Arafat – boring. But there are many images, well reproduced, making the cost bearable.
Entrance to the show.
The famous people documented by Newman are profiled on the wall.
Inside the show – my son is in the foreground. The prints could be bigger ….
Given that Newman invariably worked with a 4″ x 5″ camera there is little excuse for the small size of the prints on display, though the coverage of his work is comprehensive. All of the images on display are monochrome, which is a shame.
An Italian photojournalist.
Mario de Biasi (1923 – 2013) was an Itlaian photojournalist with a lovely light touch to his work. Perhaps his most famous snap is the one below, enjoyed by my son and I at a local Italian restaurant:
Much of his work was done on the streets of Milan, that most sophisticated of Italian cities.
You can find books of his work at Amazon here.
iPhone 6 snap.
In Monterey.
Panny GX7, 45-200mm OIS lens.