The following is a guest post.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words but in the hands of the right photographer, it could just leave you speechless.
In the modern age of multi-media, photographs and images surround us, with no subject sacrosanct or taboo. Yet although the people behind the camera may not be as well-known as the celebrities they snap, there are some whose pictures are so incredible, they go on to become as famous as their images.
Here are just five of the most famous photographers the world has seen; and even if you don’t instantly recognize their name, the chances are that their pictures will be very familiar.
1) Annie Leibovitz
Born in Connecticut, Annie Leibovitz has forged a career creating iconic yet startling images which have shocked and rocked popular culture.
There are not many people who won’t recall the now-famous Vanity Fair cover from 1991 which showed Demi Moore naked, her dignity only preserved by her hand across her breasts. Not too ground-breaking, except when you consider that the celebrity was seven months pregnant at the time. The resulting image broke many social taboos and provoked raging debates with some labeling the picture as empowering whilst others condemned it for inappropriate sexualization.
A picture of Annie Leibovitz
The Demi Moore picture wasn’t the first foray into the world of celebrities, nor Ms Leibovitz’s first brush with sensation and scandal.
A photographer for Rolling Stone for more than 10 years, she went on to take pictures of American presidents as well as some controversial pictures of the Queen in 2007, yet no image of hers was arguably better known than one of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Showing the singer naked and curled, fetus-like, around a fully-clothed Yoko, the photograph was the last professional photo shoot for John Lennon. Just five hours later he was assassinated.
2) Steve McCurry
Defined as a photojournalist rather than just simply an artist, Steve McCurry has captured some of the most haunting images from around the world.
With armfuls of awards and trophies which reflect just how highly regarded his work is, McCurry has taken huge risks and put his own personal safety in jeopardy to bring images from some of the most war-torn areas in the world and put them in the public arena.
One of the photographs he is most associated with is a picture taken in a refugee camp in Pakistan which ended up on the cover of National Geographic, often referred to as the Afghan Mona Lisa. The now legendary image shows just the face of a weather-browned 12 year old orphan girl from Afghanistan, but with the most startling green eyes challenging the audience to dare to look.
McCurry is now renowned for showing the people behind the war-zones, and putting a human face on the suffering and hardship.
3) Robert Capa
Although no longer living, no list of famous photographers would be complete without the inclusion of the granddaddy of modern photography: Robert Capa.
The man renowned for bringing revolutionary wartime images, he covered five separate wars, going deep into the trenches to show the harsh realities rather than the sterilized arm’s length photographs which had gone before.
Famous for the phrase “If your photographs aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough†his motto was also to be his undoing as he stood on a land-mine taking pictures of advancing troops in the First Indochina War whilst in Vietnam.
His legacy has lived on as he was the first to use the term ‘Generation X’ and he also has a prestigious photography award, the Robert Capa Gold Medal, set up in his honor and handed out for ‘best published photographic reporting from abroad requiring exceptional courage and enterprise’.
4) Mario Testino
One of the world’s leading fashion photographers, Mario Testino has had a glittering career since his humble beginnings in Peru.
However, it was in 1997 when he really hit the headlines after Princess Diana chose him to be the photographer for her Vanity Fair photo-shoot His work was so acclaimed he has been a regular photographer for the Royal Family ever since and is also credited with creating a supermodel’s career for Brazilian beauty Giselle Bundchen.
A picture of Mario Testino
Arguably the most inventive and sought-after fashion photographer, Testino has worked with all of the major designers including Gucci, Calvin Klein, Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace and Estee Lauder to name but a few.
However, his glitzy photos also have real substance and one of his exhibitions in the National Portrait Gallery in London held the record number of visitors for more than a decade.
5) Kevin Carter
One of the most famous photographers to have achieved so much in a relatively short career, Kevin Carter was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his powerful images of the famine in Sudan.
One of the most haunting images showed a small child, clearly in the latter stages of starvation and struggling to reach the food centre, being stalked by a sinister-looking vulture appearing to be just a few feet away. The photograph was so shocking that on its publication, thousands of people contacted the New York Times to ask what happened to the small boy crawling through the earth.
Carter’s motivation to become a serious photographer was from his traumatic upbringing in South Africa where he witnessed the horrors of apartheid and joined the notorious Bang Bang Club.
However, the horrors that Carter experienced both professionally and personally were too much for him to bear and in 1994; the highly-acclaimed photographer took his own life.
Conclusion
Five very different photographers, with very individual styles and specialities, yet all have made a profound impact on the world today. From the images of World War II brought thanks to the bravery of Robert Capa to the question of whether pregnant women dare bare her body, all of these photographers have left a lasting legacy.
Photos by art_es_Anna and Gabriel_Marchi.