Customer Reviews

Wayne F. Miller: Photographs 1942-1958

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#Wayne Miller is usually known as Edward Steichen's assistant for MoMA's 1955 Family of Man exhibition (twelve of his photos were included, the largest number from an individual) but he had worked for him before, in 1942. Steichen was in charge of the US Navy combat photo unit in Washington and had given Miller assignments during the Pacific campaigns.

The first section of this beautiful book covers the War Years: 1942-1945 with the thirty photos showing service men on and off duty. The first one, showing a wounded airman being lifted from his plane on the Saratoga, is quite extraordinary. Parts of the War Years also include ten remarkable photos of ordinary people showing their respects at Roosevelt's funeral and I found it interesting that this is followed by eleven photos taken in Hiroshima. The funeral and the effects of the atom bomb, both tragedies in their own way, are covered in such an honest, human way by Miller that it lifts his work out of the usual reportage photography.

The three other sections of the book: Midwest 1946-49; California 1947-1953 and Family 1946-1958 cover assignments about the northern negro in Chicago and a drug party (both appeared in Ebony magazine) a convention (Life) dog show (Chicago Daily News) migrant workers in California, summer camp for blind children, an Oakland juvenile detention center (Life) and finally Family with photos of his wife and children (Photo-Report) and the last seventeen photos for Life Magazine and Miller's 1958 book: `The world is young'. I thought the photos on all of these pages carry on the human feel that he establishes in the War years section. Over the years he completed 150 assignments for Life.

The book is a joy to look through, the 190 duotones are printed with a 175 screen on quality paper, the layout and type are elegant though unfortunately there is the usual photo book nonsense of running all the captions at the back of the book instead of placing them discretely on the same page as their photo (so lose half a star).

I thought this was a wonderful book to celebrate the work of a very caring photojournalist.

***SEE SOME INSIDE PAGES by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.