Margaret Bourke-White was a female
photojournalism from the Bronx, New York, and was born in the year 1904.
Margaret graduated from Cornell University, and supported herself by selling
photographs she had taken around campus.
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| Photo by - Life Magazine Image source - http://www.uiowa.edu/~policult/politicalphotos/Bourke-White1.html |
Margaret’s photography came to the
attention of Henry Luce, who then brought her to New York to be the first
photographer for Fortune magazine, and later to another of his productions –
Life magazine. Margaret shot the first cover of Life magazine, and quickly
became famous worldwide, for being such a successful female photographer. An
amazing thing about these achievements also is that they happened in the early
1900’s, which was still said to be a ‘male world’.
What I find hard to understand is how the
editor or writer of Life magazine can say the following on an advertisement,
when the first ever cover of the magazine was shot by a woman - "Lavish
color folios, hard-hitting text, works of significance by men of stature - all
make LIFE worth having." (From a photo by Professor Nordell on the content
page of Module 9).
There is evidence that this type of discrimination
was common until at least the late 1900’s, and even in some places still today.
It’s hard to believe, but a quote from as recent as 2013 proved that
discrimination and sexism is very much still alive as a male photographer said
to a female journalist at the scene of an accident - “They let you carry that big lens?”.
A quote from Mimi Fuller Foster in 1972
clearly shows that the male population were not used to women alongside,
equally with women, as she says that she was greeted by the employees of the
Cincinnati Post's photo department with “you must be the reason we had to take the Playboy calendars off the wall.”
This would be completely unacceptable
today, but it just shows how male orientated the industry was back then.
Bourke-White made many firsts in her unique
career, and was an extremely dedicated, brave, photojournalist, who didn’t mind
being dropped in at the deep end in order to get that perfect shot. Cornell
universities website states that she was the “first woman photojournalist and first photographer for Fortune magazine. She was the first western photographer allowed in the Soviet Union, the first female photographer for Life magazine,and the first female war correspondent during the Second World War”
One more first, or should I say last, that Bourke-White was famous for,
was being the last person to interview Mohandas Gandhi
before he was assassinated. This is not something particularly that anyone
would be proud of, unlike the others, but it is something that is memorable and
quite breathtaking when you think about it.
These are very impressive achievements to say
the least, and a breakthrough for women in that period of time.
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| Photo by - Margaret Bourke-White - Self Portait Image source - http://jackiewhiting.net/Art/BourkeWhite/Selfportrait.jpg |
I talk about a breakthrough for women, because that the time
Bourke-White was working as a photojournalists, women were very much
discriminated and looked down upon, so she really raised the boundaries and
proved that you don’t have to be male to take good photographs. A breakthrough
for women in the 21st century came when Wimbledon Tennis
Championships in London, England, raised the amount of prize money for women to
equal the amount the men receive. The championships came under fire in 2005 and
2006 when American tennis player Venus Williams chose to “take on the All England Club” in a fight for equal pay. After winning the championship title in 2005,
Williams made a personal appeal to the governing body of the LTA (Lawn tennis
association), stating that it extremely unfair, and discrimination, that the
winner of the gentlemen’s draw received a whopping £30,000 (almost $55,000)more than the winner of the ladies draw.
Unfortunately, nothing came of this appeal, but the following year, she
tried again, and succeeded. In 2006, after winning the ladies singles draw at
The Championships –Wimbledon, she was the first ever woman to receive the same
amount of prize money as the winner of the gentlemen’s draw – Roger Federer,
1.4 million dollars.
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| Photo by - Clive Brunskill Image Source - http://espn.go.com/espnw/w-in-action/nine-for-ix/article/9441441/venus-williams-equality-change-espnw |
This was a turning point, not just for
women’s tennis, but for women all around the world, as it proved that equality
can exist.
Photo Analysis
Image 1 - Life Magazine Cover (photograph of dam on cover, excluding logo and other red parts)
Photo by: Life Magazine
Image Source: http://www.uiowa.edu/~policult/politicalphotos/Bourke-White1.html
Year Created: 1936
Principle #1: Black and White or Color? - Color photography was available at this period of time, but the photograph was taken in black and white. Shooting the dam in black and white gave it simplicity, and helped you to picture how big the structure really is.
Principle #2: Use of Lines - The photograph is shot in an excellent way which shows brilliant diagonal lines across the top of the dam. This does not lead to anything, but the idea that the structure goes on forever.
Principle #3: Background/Foreground Compliments - You may not notice it at first, but the image contains two people at the bottom of the dam. I like how they were included in the photograph and i think it shows the scale of the dam and makes them look tiny compared to the structures that stand above them.
Why did I choose the image?: I chose this image because it was very relevant and was a huge achievement for Bourke-White and womens photography.
Image 2 - Self Portrait
Photo by: Self Portrait
Image Source: http://jackiewhiting.net/Art/BourkeWhite/Selfportrait.jpg
Year Created: 1943
Principle #1: Obvious Main Subject - The photograph was taken with the pure intent on being to capture a portrait of Margaret in her flying gear. The plane in the background adds to the picture but doesn't take away from the main subject.
Principle #2: Keep it Simple - The photograph was taken from low down, looking upwards - which eliminates any distractions that may be in the background. There are only two things to look at - the person, and the plane.
Principle #3: Background Compliments (repeated principle) - The plane is included in the picture and really adds to the feel of the moment. The plane shows you that Bourke-White was truly flying with the fighters and risking her life in order to get valuable photographs. The photograph is similar to an old war photograph in which the pilot would pose next to the propeller of his fighter plane.
Why did I choose the image?: I chose this photograph because i felt it really showed the dedication of Margaret and the lengths she was willing to go to, to cover important events. This photograph really highlights the fact that Margaret was "America’s first accredited woman photographer during WWII, and the first authorized to fly on a combat mission" (http://life.time.com/history/american-bombers-and-crews-in-wwii-england-photos/#ixzz3V9CaCMIe)
Image 3 - Venus Williams and Roger Federer with Wimbledon trophies
Photo by: Clive Brunskill
Image Source: http://espn.go.com/espnw/w-in-action/nine-for-ix/article/9441441/venus-williams-equality-change-espnw
Year Created: 2005
Principle #1: Subjects Expression - The photograph is taken at a moment when Venus and Roger share some words during the Post-Tournament awards ceremony. Neither person are overly posed, and this makes them look relaxed, like they are sharing a joke or some amusing words. This makes them look calm, and makes you think that they are relieved that the hard work has paid off.
Principle #2: Quality of light - There is a strong source of light behind the camera facing towards the subjects. This is clear because you can see a slight reflection in the skin of Venus Williams and also in the trophies they are holding. This light also helps to bring out the colors, especially in Venus' cheeks.
Principle #3: Depth of Field - It is hard to tell what aperture was used when taking the photograph because they are stood very close to a door behind them, so there is no background to show depth of field. The flags however, are clearly in focus, which are very important to the picture as they show what country they are representing. This may suggest that a fairly high aperture was used.
Why did I choose the image?: I chose this image because although at that point in time (2005), when they both won their individual titles, they were not getting paid the same amount of prize money. 2 years later however, a similar picture must have been taken when the two same players won the championships again, and were awarded the same amount of prize money. This was a historical moment and this photograph has a lot of hidden information behind it.
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