Famous Photographers in a Variety of Settings

There is a famous saying that states a picture is worth a thousand words, and nowhere is this more true than in the art of photography. Photography has gained popularity in the last 150 years. Some photographers’ focus on portrait and personal photographs, others focus on landscapes and nature, others focus on capturing events and news stories (also known as photojournalism). Famous photographers have used their skills and artistry to tell a story, to show a depiction of a specific time, or to capture and immortalize a place or person (or group of people).

Ansel Adams was one of many famous photographers who specialized in landscape photography. Adams was born in San Francisco, California on February 20, 1902. His photographs of Yosemite Valley in California are some of the most well known photos of the 20th century. Adams worked primarily with black and white photography, although he worked with some colour photography as well. He was a cofounder of f/64, which was the collective name given to a group of famous photographers who were from the San Francisco area, and shared similar photography techniques. The first f/64 exhibition opened in 1932 and included works by Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, John Paul Edwards, Sonya Noskowiak, Henry Swift, Willard Van Dyke, and Edward Weston. Adams was a pioneer in photography and his landscape photos such as, The Tetons and Snake River (1942) will stand the test of time. Adams died in on April 22, 1984 at the age of eighty-two.

Yousuf Karsh was one of many famous photographers who specialized in portrait photography. Karsh was born on December 23, 1908 in Mardin, Turkish Armenia (presently Turkey). In 1923 Karsh went to Canada to live with his uncle. Eventually Karsh would go on to catch the attention of Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King. In 1941 Karsh took a photo of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill after Churchill had given a speech to the House of Common in Ottawa, Ontario. This photo is one of the most recognized photos of Churchill. Karsh took portrait photographs of many well-known and influential people of the 20th century including; Albert Einstein, George Bernard Shaw, Queen Elizabeth, Martin Luther King Jr., Fidel Castro, Mother Theresa, and Helen Keller. Karsh died at the age of 93 on July 13, 2002.

There are many famous photographers who work as photojournalists, but the father of photojournalism was Henri Cartier-Bresson. He was born on August 22, 1908 in Chanteloupe, France.  In 1937 Bresson took photos of the coronation of King George IV for Regards magazine in France. Bresson went onto photograph many important events in the 20th century including the liberation of Paris from the Nazis in World War 2, and the funeral of Gandhi in India. Bresson believe that photographers had to be instinctive when taking a photo, because unlike paintings (and other art forms) the art in a photograph might only last a second. This became known as “the decisive moment.” Bresson felt that photography could be both an art form, and a way of seeing the world as it is. Henri Cartier-Bresson died on August 3, 2004 in Montjustin, France.

From landscape to portraits, from the photography of art, to the capture the real world Ansel Adams, Yousuf Karsh and Henri Cartier-Bresson were all famous photographers who helped change the world of photography.