{"id":96752,"date":"2018-06-19T12:00:33","date_gmt":"2018-06-19T19:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=96752"},"modified":"2018-06-19T21:47:34","modified_gmt":"2018-06-20T04:47:34","slug":"6-lessons-inge-morath-has-taught-me-about-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/19\/6-lessons-inge-morath-has-taught-me-about-photography\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Lessons Inge Morath Has Taught Me About Photography"},"content":{"rendered":"

Inge Morath<\/a>: one of the great female masters of photography<\/a>, whose visual imagery I love.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\n “[Inge Morath was] a high priestess of photography… with the rare ability to penetrate beyond surfaces and reveal what makes her subject tick.” – John Huston\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"USA. <\/a>
USA. New York City. 1997. Fourty-second Street. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"USA. <\/a>
USA. New York City. 1957. Orchard Street. <\/div> <\/div>
\"USA. <\/a>
USA. New York. Manhattan. 1957. A Llama in Time Square. \u00c2\u00a9Inge Morath\/MAGNUM PHOTOS <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"USA. <\/a>
USA. New York City. 1958. One of the last horsedrawn carriages with a beautiful woman passenger, ballerina Vera ZORINA, in Central Park. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"USA. <\/a>
USA. New York City. 1958. Mrs. O. Kaletsch promenades her miniature poodle in the upper residential area of Fifth Avenue. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"USA. <\/a>
USA. New York City. 1963. Brooklyn neighborhood with the bridges in the background. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Inge Morath assisted Henri Cartier-Bresson<\/a> (perhaps where she got insight into great and elegant composition) and was one of the early Magnum photographers. I don’t think she is as famous as she should be; so I hope to bring her work to light.<\/p>\n

Interesting note, Morath kept this quote from Henri Cartier-Bresson on her mind:<\/p>\n

\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A good photograph is made when the inner vision behind the closed eye corresponds with the vision of the open one behind the viewfinder in the moment of pressing the button.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d – Henri Cartier-Bresson\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

1. You show your soul through your photos<\/h2>\n
\"SPAIN. <\/a>
SPAIN. Navalcan. Province of Toledo. 1955. Bridesmaid’s hairdo. \u00c2\u00a9Inge Morath\/MAGNUM PHOTOS <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"USA. <\/a>
USA. New York. Manhattan. 1958. Beauty class at the Helena Rubinstein Salon. \u00c2\u00a9Inge Morath\/MAGNUM PHOTOS <\/div> <\/div>
\"County <\/a>
County Kerry. Killorglin. Tinkers (gitans irlandais) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"inge <\/a> <\/div>
\"MOI1954018W00232\/28AC\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Moldavie. <\/a>
Moldavie. Bicaz. Construction d’un barrage hydro-\u00c3\u00a9lectrique. Femme ing\u00c3\u00a9nieur. Contact email: New York : photography@magnumphotos.com Paris : magnum@magnumphotos.fr London : magnum@magnumphotos.co.uk Tokyo : tokyo@magnumphotos.co.jp Contact phones: New York : +1 212 929 6000 Paris: + 33 1 53 42 50 00 London: + 44 20 7490 1771 Tokyo: + 81 3 3219 0771 Image URL: http:\/\/www.magnumphotos.com\/Archive\/C.aspx?VP3=ViewBox_VPage&IID=2S5RYDZCBT8F&CT=Image&IT=ZoomImage01_VForm <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"MOI1967011W00014\/30C\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IRAN. <\/a>
IRAN. Rasht. 1956. Kurdish shepard. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"CHINA. <\/a>
CHINA. Beijing. 1978. Actor\/director Jin SHAN and actress Zheng ZENYAO. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Photography is a strange phenomenon… You trust your eye and cannot help but bare your soul.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When looking at the photos of Inge Morath, I can see her soul. Her playful attitude, and grace.<\/p>\n

2. The joy of making photos!<\/h2>\n
\"SPAIN. <\/a>
SPAIN. Pamplona . 1954. Antonio ORDONEZ getting ready to go out to fight a corrida. \u00c2\u00a9Inge Morath\/MAGNUM PHOTOS <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Spain. <\/a>
Spain. 1954. Pamplona. St. Fermines Festival. <\/div> <\/div>
\"inge <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"SPAIN. <\/a>
SPAIN. Navarre. Pamplona. St Fermines Festival. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

\n “Pressing the shutter has remained a moment of joyful recognition, comparable to the delight of a child balancing on tiptoe and suddenly, with a small cry of delight, stretching out a hand toward a desired object.”\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Inge Morath was quite ‘child-like’ in her photographic approach: making photos that are fun!<\/p>\n

3. Making photos is a necessity<\/h2>\n
\"USSR. <\/a>
USSR. Moscow. 1965. Pavel KORIN. \u00c2\u00a9 Inge Morath\/Magnum Photos <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"USSR. <\/a>
USSR. Leningrad. 1965. State Ballet School. \u00c2\u00a9 Inge Morath\/Magnum Photos <\/div> <\/div>
\"RUSSIA. <\/a>
RUSSIA. 1965. Drawing room in novelist Lev KASSIL’s house. (left to right) Mme. SOBINOV, widow of the tenor, under an early portrait of herself. Her granddaughter & Lev KASSIL and his wife. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"USSR. <\/a>
USSR. Moscow. 1988. Decoration. Red Square. \u00c2\u00a9Inge Morath\/Magnum Photos <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

\n “To take pictures had become a necessity and I did not want to forgo it for anything”\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I love this — making it your own personal imperative to make photos.<\/p>\n

4. Discovering inner-truth through photography<\/h2>\n
\"USA. <\/a>
USA. NYC. 1991. Louise BOURGEOIS (FRA), sculptor. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"SPAIN. <\/a>
SPAIN. 1954. Torero Antonio ORDONEZ. \u00c2\u00a9Inge Morath\/MAGNUM PHOTOS <\/div> <\/div>
\"USA. <\/a>
USA. Untitled. (from the Mask Series with Saul Steinberg), 1962. Photograph by Inge Morath \u00c2\u00a9 The Inge Morath Foundation\/MAGNUM PHOTOS. Mask by Saul Steinberg \u00c2\u00a9 The Saul Steinberg Foundation\/ARS, NY <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"USSR. <\/a>
USSR. Leningrad. 1967. Poet Joseph BRODSKY on the roof of the Peter and Paul Fortress. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"USA. <\/a>
USA. California. Los Angeles. 1959. French-born author Anais NIN, sips coffee in Schwabs Drugstore. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"USA. <\/a>
USA. Reno, Nevada. 1960. Set of “The Misfits”. Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller in their suite in Reno\u00c2\u2019s Mapes Hotel after a day\u00c2\u2019s shooting. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"CHINA. <\/a>
CHINA. Beijing. 1978. 6:30 a.m., Chang An Avenue. <\/div> <\/div>
\"AUSTRIA. <\/a>
AUSTRIA. Salzburg. 1991. Klessheim castle. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IRAN. <\/a>
IRAN. Shiraz. 1956. Veiled Muslim women and caged cockatoos (wives of one man). <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The Gaza HOPE Orphanage is operated in part by UNRWA, 70 boys ranging in age from 7 to 13 learn a variety of useful trades from refugee instructors.They learn to cobble their own shoes, and contribute the surplus to the camps. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"USA. <\/a>
USA. Roxbury, Connecticut. 1963. Sculptor Alexander CALDER in his studio. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"USA. <\/a>
USA. Walker, Kentucky. 1965. A poor mother and her children. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"GB. <\/a>
GB. ENGLAND. London. Publisher Eveleigh NASH at Buckingham Palace Mall. 1953. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

\n “Photography is essentially a personal matter – a search for inner truth.”\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Inge Morath didn’t just make photos for journalistic purpose. She also used photography as a philosophical tool<\/a> — to search for her own inner-truth; how she saw the world (which I saw as optimistic, joyful, and bright!)<\/p>\n

5. Always remain an amateur photographer<\/h2>\n
\"ENGLAND. <\/a>
ENGLAND. London. 1954. Street corner at World’s End. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"SPAIN. <\/a>
SPAIN. Madrid. 1955. Plaza de Toros. Picador and Matador. <\/div> <\/div>
\"AUSTRIA. <\/a>
AUSTRIA. Cafe in Vienna. 1961. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"inge <\/a> <\/div>
\"USA. <\/a>
USA. Reno, Nevada. 1960. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"MEXICO. <\/a>
MEXICO. 1959. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"TUNISIA. <\/a>
TUNISIA. Mahdia. 1959. Fishermen. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"SOUTH <\/a>
SOUTH AFRICA. Basutoland. 1955. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"ROMANIA. <\/a>
ROMANIA. Certeze. 1958. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"MIDDLE <\/a>
MIDDLE EAST. Gaza. U.N. troops at Israeli frontier. 1960. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

\n ” In my heart I like to remain an amateur, in the sense of being in love with what I’m doing, forever astonished again at the endless possibilities of seeing and using the camera as a recording tool.”\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Don’t seek to be an indifferent ‘pro’ photographer. Stay an amateur (which means “lover” in Latin). Never lose your hope and optimism for the epic ability of the recording possibilities of the camera!<\/p>\n

\n

6. Photographing humans<\/h2>\n
\"USA. <\/a>
USA. Nevada. Reno. 1960. Marilyn MONROE during the filming of The Misfits \u00c2\u00a9Inge Morath \/Magnum Photos. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"FRANCE. <\/a>
FRANCE. Paris. 1957. Ives SAINT LAURENTE during his early days at the Christian Dior fashion house, prior to his first opening of his own collection. <\/div> <\/div>
\"Swedish <\/a>
Swedish actress Ingrid BERGMAN. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"USA. <\/a>
USA. Nevada. Reno. 1960. “The Misfits.” Clark GABLE and Marilyn MONROE. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"ENGLAND. <\/a>
ENGLAND. London. 1953. New Bond Street. Two women dressed almost identically according to the rules of one particular and popular English school of fashion. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"USA. <\/a>
USA. Reno. Nevada. 1960. Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller in the back seat of a car during the filming of “The Misfits”. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

\n “I am especially interested in photographing in countries where a new tradition emerges from an ancient one. I am more attracted to the human element than the abstract.”\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Photograph more humans!<\/p>\n

\n

More inspiration by Inge Morath:<\/p>\n

ROAD TO RENO:<\/a><\/h2>\n
\"inge <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"USA. <\/a>
USA. New Mexico. 1960. Hitch hikers on the road from Albuquerque to Gallup. <\/div> <\/div>
\"inge <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"USA. <\/a>
USA. New Mexico. 1960. Highway entertainment at an Indian Trading Post before arriving in Albuquerque. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"USA.Arkansas. <\/a>
USA.Arkansas. Little Rock. 1960. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"MOI1954015W00015\/29C\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153This is the story of my first trip across the United States. It is not really a story, they are bits of notes written each night at a table in a motel room that always was a different place and always looked the same,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

“Cars run like hurried beetles, stuffed with their passengers, men and women and children, with suitcases and paper bags with beds and blankets.”- Inge Morath<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Practically nothing announces the approach of one of the most extraordinary places I was to see on this trip, grown out of the barbaric desires to gamble and gain and forget, Las Vegas suddenly receives you, wearing stage makeup in full daylights with the sophistication of a ham actor in an ambulant road show. The magnificent setting of this highly perishable world of a few boulevards, expensive hotels, motels, slot machines, chemin de Fer tables and chorus girls is the desert. Las Vegas spills you out into it again just a few minutes after you have left its main boulevard and one wonders how long it would take this sand to cover it all up, this heat to dry it all out.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

SPAIN<\/a><\/h2>\n

\n Inge Morath describes Spain as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153 \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 almost like entering a dream one had had many times. I loved the people, they let me photograph them, but also they wanted me to listen to them, to tell me what they knew, so that we told their story together\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Inge Morath desired (through photography) to:<\/p>\n

\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Express the things I wanted to say, giving them form through my eyes.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

Great Female Masters of Photography<\/h1>\n
\"\"
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Migrant Mother\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by Dorothea Lange<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Men are over-represented in photography. Here are some great female photographers to know:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Female Masters of Photography<\/h2>\n
\"\"
Photo by Zoe Strauss<\/a> \/ Magnum Photos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n