The real thing.
Classical photojournalism may be dying, replaced by the noise of Instagram and cell phones, but one of its greatest exponents, Jill Freedman, is still going strong.
Click the picture for the NYT Lens story.
The length to which she would go for a story or a good picture are remarkable. Click through to her blog here to read about her well known book Firehouse, documenting the tough lives of Bronx firemen.
A pioneering reformer.
Countless Americans owe their decent living standards to the pioneering social reformer and photographer, Jacob Riis, a naturalized American born in the Netherlands.
His revolutionary use of photography to highlight the plight of New York’s poorest residents came to the attention of Teddy Roosevelt and between them these two reformers arguably did more for the poor than any one before or since.
Click the image for The Retronaut blog which features a comprehensive collection of Riis’s many harrowing images which helped change America for the better.
Hard row.
Spotted at the Hyde Street Pier in Fisherman’s Wharf, SF.
French fashion photographer.
The 1950s fashion work of Georges Dambier has all the period charm and grace missing from modern fashion photography. It is a joy to look at.
Click for more.
Look at the lovely, sparing use of color here:
Highly recommended.
Landscapes of the West.
There’s a fine biography of Morley Baer (1916-1995) in Wikipedia. Baer was a WW2 Navy combat photographer who turned to architectural and landscape photography. His architectural work is more severe than that of the California master, Julius Shulman and his fine landscape work shows none of the tasteless over processing beloved by Ansel Adams and his three billion copyists. I can promise you there are no images of White Birches in this book.
I purchased Light Years, a large format (12″ x 12.5″) book of his images, well printed, for $50 from the publisher, Photography West Graphics in their retail store in Carmel – the price listed on their web site is incorrect.