Today I thought we could look at three iconic women photographers, Annie Leibovitz, Diane Arbus and Vivian Maier. They are three women who most photographers recognise, yet they all have very different stories.
Iconic Women Photographers – Leibovitz Arbus Maier
It is easy to show only male photographers. There are so many of them, but I also want to show you women as well. I think these three are very iconic, each in different ways. They each have different stories.
Finding videos of them was not easy. I’ve watched so many on each of them, but I think I’ve found the best. I hope you think so as well.
Annie Liebovitz
Annie is perhaps known as one of the most famous celebrity photographers. She has definitely photographed many of them. However, she has also captured people in many ways that were different and some now are very iconic. She is responsible for changing the way we viewed and photographed some things.
I have found two videos about her. One is quite old and looks at her early work. It was done in 1993 just after her first book was published, I think. It gives you a good idea of her early work and how she got into doing what she does.
The second video is an interview she did. Here she talks about three of her images that are considered “iconic”. She shares with us the stories behind the images.
Diane Arbus
Diane Arbus is one of those photographers that I finding intriguing. Her reasons for photographing what she did was also interesting. She was, it would seem, a troubled woman, if that is the right way of saying it. She must have suffered from mental health issues as she committed suicide when she was 49. Unfortunately not a unique story.
She did leave behind an amazing legacy of work and one that we can still look at today.
This was one of the best videos I found on her.
Vivian Maier
A few years the world of photography was lit up by the news that a new photographer had been found. One that was unknown, but had been taking photos for years. Vivian Maier was a nanny, but she also took her camera with her everywhere. Maier never showed anyone her photos, but kept them in a storage unit. After she died they were purchased by John Maloof in an auction.
He had no idea what he had. This video looks at what all those negatives were and who she was.
That is all I have for you today. I hope you enjoy looking at these three iconic women.
Thanks for this post.
You’re welcome.
Yeah, they are talent photographer without any about their skilled.
That’s true.
very nice i wanna learn by you.
That’s nice of you to say.
Great post Leanne … I am familiar with Vivian I saw a doco a few years back. What an amazing photographer she was …
Thank you Julie, yes, she has been known for a while, great photographer.
There is a great Vivian Maier documentary called Finding Vivian Maier, it’s a wonderful insight into her art.
I’ve heard of that doco, I’ve been trying to find it, but haven’t yet. Good to know, thought it would be good.
I saw it on Showtime in the US and it’s been on the public broadcasting channels also. It’s well worth the time to see it.
Apparently it was on a free to air channel here, but not any longer. I was hoping Netflix or one of those would have picked it up, but not yet.
You could probably purchase it or view it thru Amazon Prime if they offer that it AU
Yeah, I will have to take a look. I pay for Amazon Prime.
Leanne, thank you so much to show more of women photographers, I think it is most important to bring their amazing work alive. All three of them are my favorites, although so very different work. Long time ago I had a chance to be part of a presentation of Annie Liebovitz, in Los Angeles.. And also I was lucky to see the first exhibition ever of Vivian Meier’s work, in Los Angeles, it was just as her work was discovered. Thank you Leanne, great work of yours for your presentation, have a great week.
You’re welcome Cornelia, I think it is important as well to showcase them. YOu have been very lucky, that is one of the problems with living in Australia sometimes, we do miss out on some of that sort of stuff. So happy to hear you enjoyed the post, thank you Cornelia.
Fantastic post! THANK YOU! I’ve only had time to watch the AL video, but very much look forward to the others.
Here in Boston during the past year, the Museum of Fine Arts ran an exhibit for several months (I went twice) about Graciela Iturbide, a photographer in Mexico. I loved the interview with her that was part of the exhibit. Her work is about the social and spiritual elements of Mexican culture. She’s such an ordinary person – no celebrity about her at all. She’s simply an inspired person, and her work is wonderful. Thanks again Leanne!
Thank you Mary, so glad to hear you enjoyed it.
Oh I will have to look her up, love being introduced to new photographers. It sounds really interesting, I’m off to find her. Thank you for the introduction Mary.
Leanne–I love this! I watched Vivian Maier first b/c I know the least about her. Fascinating, each one, but sad, too. It was good to see the woman photographers. They seem to remain in the shadows of men.
She is very fascinating, Maier. I would love to see the doco they did on her, but haven’t been able to find it. Glad you enjoyed seeing the women, I agree, they seem to stay in the shadows.