Customer Reviews

Life Photographers: What They Saw

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***** This is a splendid book. John Loengard, himself a distinguished photo-essayist and picture editor , has presented in their own words the stories of many of the men and women who had served on the photographic staff during the years of publication of the influential. LIFE magazine. In the early nineties Loengard interviewed 44 of the total 88 staff members who had defined the profession of photo-journalist. And just in time! Since the video-taped conversations, one third of the subjects have followed their pioneering fellows in death. Most of the very earliest group are included in this sad roster, including Alfred Eisenstadt, Peter Stackpole, Hansel Mieth, and Horace Bristol. In this handsomely produced volume these noted photographers, along with many of their less well-known colleagues, recount their experiences in the momentous years since LIFE¹s first issue in October 1936. The book is well illustrated with photographs of and by these talented people. It will be especially appreciated by readers with an interest in photography but will also fascinate ordinary observers of the exciting times of our century, as they were recorded by this very perceptive group.

Rex Hardy

This fascinating book is a compendium of 44 separate interviews, edited down to an easily readable length. All the interviews were taken in the early 1990's, and with two or three exceptions, long after the photographers left Life magazine. I cannot even call myself an amateur photographer; I could not identify any of the people interviewed; yet the interviews were immensely interesting for me.

Mr. Loengard starts with a handful of stock questions and from this beginning, each interview takes its own direction. Putting all the interviews one after the other allows the reader to compare and contrast the different people, and at the same time each person retains a solid individual identity. What makes this book so fascinating is how the vivid details build into a story greater than the sum of their details. From the stock questions about their style, their thoughts on photography as art, how they got into photography, and their strengths, passions, & challenges, and who they disliked, were friends with, or inspired by and why, each interview then delves into each photographer's unique perspective and opinions. The interviews go much beyond photography, the Life photographers talk about their lives, and what went on behind the pictures.

This is definitely not a picture book! I estimate that 25% of the book is pictures and the rest is the text of the interviews. The questions are short (Mr. Loengard is not grand-standing here) and the answers are long. It is clear that each interviewee has wide latitude to go where they think it is most interesting, this is what ensures that each photographer maintains their own unique identity. When we stumble across something valuable, a short question asks for more. The only major detraction for me was that sometimes an important photograph that they are discussing is not reproduced. There was never any reason given for this, leaving me to guess if the original was lost, they didn't have the rights, or for some reason not clear, it just wasn't important enough.

Wonderfully written and illustrated. These interviews provide personal narratives from the photographers who brought us the images recording our history. While the photograph is a moment in time, these interviews tell the stories that preceeded the camera click. The one-on-one relationship between the photographer and subject can be very intimate -- abstract historical figures become real when described in these pages.

Life Photographers: What They Saw

If you like photography, you will find this book very interesting as it shares a behind-the-scenes perspective on the great photographers of Life Magazine. For me personally, I was drawn to it because of one photographer inparticular, Loomis Dean (page 276.) - he was my uncle whom I never met but wish I could have. Now I can understand a little better where my love for photography comes from.