Ode to Maggie

The first photojournalist I ever studied was Margaret Bourke-White. This was at Knox in my "photojournalism" class that was really an art/photoshop class. We were supposed to choose a photographer and imitate their style. The most I learned from her back then was how to shoot "wide". Before that I didn't really know how to photograph people without being super tight.

This semester for my Introduction to Women's Studies class I chose to write my final paper on her. She was truly an amazing woman. She was one of few photographers allowed to shoot in Soviet Russia and she was a war photographer for Life magazine. She was also one of a few photographers who took photos during the liberation of the concentration camps in Nazi Germany. Life magazine's first cover was by Bourke-White.

This photo is my ode to one of my heroes. I've been trying to photograph this tree downtown for about 6 months. I noticed the way the light hit it at a certain time of day once while driving by and I never forgot it. I finally caught it at the right time of day today. I tried shooting it from street level but it didn't look the way I wanted it to. So I ended up climbing up into gardens that are stacked like stairs on the side of an office building accross the street. I then had to grab onto the ledge of the rooftop next to me and inch accross about 20 feet and while hanging partially over the edge, I took my photo.
I like to think that Margaret, who was no stranger to hanging over the edges of buildings to get the shot, would be proud.

“I did not know till later that the crew members had placed bets on me. If we were attacked, would the waist gunner knock me out so he could defend our airplane, or would I knock out the waist gunner so I would have room to take pictures?”–Margaret Bourke-White

Dirty hands afterwards.