6 Great Photographers

ANSEL ADAMS, HENRI CARTIER BRESSON,

ROBERT FRANK, EUGNE ATGET, IRVING PENN,
and ANDRE KERTESZ
 ANSEL ADAMS

February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984

American photographer and environmentalist

best known for black-and-white photographs

American West
•Yosemite National Park
famous photographs:
Moon and Half Dome
Yosemite National Park, California

first camera: Kodak Brownie box camera

Yosemite Valley, to me, is always a sunrise, a glitter of green and golden wonder in a vast edifice
of stone and space. ..........
– Ansel Adams, The Portfolios Of Ansel Adams
 AUTUMN MOON
THE HIGH SIERRA FROM GLACIER POINT

• taken by Ansel Adams

Taken at Yosemite Valley

captures the american west

best known for its exposure time

“Yosemite Valley, to me, is always a sunrise, a glitter of green and golden wonder in
a vast edifice of stone and space. ..........”
– Ansel Adams, The Portfolios Of Ansel Adams
 HENRI CARTIER BRESSON
August 22, 1908 – August 3, 2004

French photographer

father of modern photojournalism

early adopter of 35 mm format, and the master of candid
photography.

•develop :
"street photography"
"real life reportage" style
influenced generations of photographers that followed

first camera: Box Brownie

"The only thing which completely was an amazement to me and brought me to photography was the work of
Munkacsi. When I saw the photograph of Munkacsi of the black kids running in a wave I couldn't believe such
a thing could be caught with the camera. I said damn it, I took my camera and went out into the street."
 Behind The Gare
St. Lazare

• taken by henri cartier bresson

Taken at st. lazare

captures a boy skipping over water

perfect capture of street photography

“There was a plank fence around some repairs behind the Gare Saint-Lazare train
station. I happened to be peeking through a gap in the fence with my camera at the
moment the man jumped.”
– henri cartier bresson
 ROBERT FRANK
November 9, 1924 - Present

born in Zürich, Switzerland

experienced World War II

•important figure in American photography and film

notable work: 1958 photographic book
The Americans
heavily influential in the post-war period

expanded into film and video

freelance photojournalist for

McCall's, Vogue, and Fortune

artistic influence: Walker Evans

"When people look at my pictures I want them to feel the way they do when they want to read a line of a poem
twice."
Robert Frank, LIFE (26 November 1951), p. 21
 Parade—Hoboken, New Jersey

• taken by robert Frank

Taken in new jersey, 1955

captures the daily life of americans

collected in a photobook, “the americans”

“There is one thing the photograph must contain, the humanity of the moment. This
kind of photography is realism. But realism is not enough - there has to be vision, and
the two together can make a good photograph.”
– Robert Frank
 EUGNE ATGET
February 12, 1857 – August 4, 1927

French photographer
Born outside the French city of Bordeaux,

photographs documents the architecture and street scenes of

Paris.

•1897 -1927
captured the old Paris
narrow lanes, courtyards in historic city center and old
buildings

photographs attracted the attention of well-known painters

•Man Ray, André Derain, Henri Matisse and Picasso

“A good photograph is like a good hound dog, dumb, but eloquent.”

- Eugene Atget
 Ogran Grinder

• taken by eugene atget

Taken in paris, 1898

reflects the daily life of french

most well-known photograph

"My photos are documents, nothing but documents."

- Eugene Atget
 IRVING PENN
June 16, 1917 – October 7, 2009

American photographer
known for:
portraiture , fashion photograph
post World War II feminine chic, glamour photography

worked for Vogue magazine

pose subjects with a simple grey or white backdrop

photographs unusual arrangements with great detail and clarity

published numerous books

"Photographing a cake can be art"

—Irving Penn
 Herliquin dress

• taken by Irving Penn

Taken in new york, 1950

featured in the vogue magazine

photo of his wife: lisa fonssagrives - penn

"A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart and leaves
the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It is, in a word, effective."
- Irving penn
 ANDRE KERTESZ
2 July 1894 – 28 September 1985

Hungarian-born photographer

known for:
groundbreaking contributions to photographic composition
•establishing and developing the photo essay
seminal figures of photojournalism

appear in many solo exhibitions and shows with other

artists

took photographs of life in the trenches during wwii

“I am an amateur, and I intend to remain an amateur for the rest of my life. The photograph
gets its beauty from the very truth with which it is stamped. This is why I guard myself
against any kind of professional trickery or virtuosity.”
- Andre Kertesz
 the fork
la fourchette

• taken by Andre kertesz

Taken in france, 1928

most famous work

simple, but great composition

“I attribute to photography the task of recording the real nature of things, their interior life. The
photographer’s art is a continuous discovery which requires patience and time. A photograph
draws its beauty from the truth with which it is marked.”
- andre kertesz
 Bibliography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Kert%C3%A9sz
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansel_Adams
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Atget
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Cartier_Bresson
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving_Penn
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Frank
http://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/images/
http://mariagimenez.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/eugene-atget05.jpg041108_robertfran
k3.jpg
http://blog.ricecracker.net/2009/08/30/andre-kertesz-influence/
http://nmazca.com/3142857/ansel_adams_autumn_moon.jpg
http://www.lensculture.com/webloglc/images/frank_1.jpg