Since Boarders is going out of business, Kyle and I have been buying a few books. One of the last books I bought is "The Great LIFE Photographers," which is the massive book of LIFE photographers and some of their prints. Not only is it a great coffee table book, but the photo's (and stories behind them) are amazing. I don't claim to be a great photographer, or even own a great camera...but I am lover of photography. I believe that the most amazing photo's are going to be the essence of what your trying to capture. That is what I try to capture with my photos. The smiles, the tears and just everyday life. I'd like to share some of the photo's that are in this book.
I was amazed to find one of the first photos of small town life, captured perfectly. In 1945, Myron Davis captured Larry Jim Holm (12 years old) walk along a rail road track with his dog, Dunk. Where at? Oskaloosa Iowa. *sigh* This is the kind of photo that speaks home, that stirs up feelings of nostalgia.
Another of my favs is one of the most iconic photo's ever taken. New York City, 1945, the exicitement of V-J Day is all about. Running about, a Navy serviceman grabs a nurse and kisses her as Alred Elsentaedt captures the moment. The caption reads, "There were thousands of people milling around, in side streets and everywhere. Everybody was kissing each other...And there was also a Navy man running, grabbing anybody, you know, kissing. I ran ahead of him because I had Leica cameras around my neck, focused from 10 feet to infinity. you only had to shoot....I didn't even know what was going on, until he grabbed something in white. And I stood there, and they kissed. And I snapped five times."
Another was shot by Allan Grant; of Yolanda and Marshall Jacobs, after being married atop a flagpole in Coshocton Ohio, 1946. Simply breathtaking.
Finally Lennart Nilsson's photo's of the beginning of life. The caption reads, "He began to explore the secrets of life when he was five years old, as an avid collector of flower and plant specimens. by the age of 12 he was taking pictures of them, and three years later his photographic series Nature of the Farm ran in a leading Swedish magazine. As an adult, he became quite well known for his landscape and portrait work. Then in 1951, Nilsson saw a row of tiny bottles in a lab, each containing a two month old fetus. "I had no idea the embryo was so mature so early. In that same second I knew I would concentrate on the early development of the human." When LIFE published a long cover story in 1965, "Drama of Life Before Birth," Nilsson burst into fame, and the piece which the photographer said was a dozen years in the making, became one of LIFE's most celebrated articles. Over the years, says Nilsson, he has been asked countless times, When does life begin? His response: "Maybe the first moment of human life, it starts with a kiss."
I hope to be able to tell such stories with the photo's I take.
Hope you've enjoyed this post. Love all.
