Among hundreds of thousands of captions, just a handful proclaim Sgt. Irene Marquardt’s position as the “only Wac photographer" in the European Theater of Operations. A colleague had asked if we knew how many women photographers are represented in the holdings of the Still Picture Branch.
Today’s post is written by Larry Shockley, archives specialist in NARA’s Office of Innovation. In 1972 a freelance photographer by the name of Erik Calonius was hired by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to capture photographs relating to EPA activities, environmental problems, and everyday American life in the 1970’s. Many of the photos that Calonius … Continue reading Documerica Photographer Spotlight: Erik Calonius
Camera slate taken April 13, 1968 during Operation No Name II. Courtesy of Sergeant Dennis Fisher. As a photographer, you know what it takes to make a good picture but doing it under combat conditions challenges everything you have ever learned. Sergeant Dennis Fisher In April, the Still Picture Branch was fortunate enough to welcome … Continue reading Sergeant Dennis Fisher and Marine Corps Combat Photography in Vietnam
In the mid-1930's, Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes conceived the idea of commissioning painted murals for the department's headquarters building in Washington, DC. However, impressed by Ansel Adams' work, Ickes later broadened the scope of the project to include mural-size photographs and recommended Adams. According to Ansel Adams autobiography, he was "appointed at the … Continue reading 79-AA: Ansel Adams Photographs of National Parks and Monuments, 1941 – 1942
Alexander Gardner may be best known for his photographic work during the American Civil War era of the 1860s. Gardner was born in Scotland in 1821 and started originally as an apprentice jeweler. After seeing Mathew Brady’s photographs at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, Gardner knew he had to be involved in the … Continue reading Alexander Gardner’s Photographs of the Civil War
Pulitzer Prize winning photo journalist John H. White is well-known for his photographs of life in the city of Chicago, IL, particularly African American life, during the early 1970s. At the time, White was with the Chicago Daily News working for the federal government, photographing for the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) DOCUMERICA project. DOCUMERICA was … Continue reading Spotlight Photographer – John H. White
If you are not familiar with the name Dorothea Lange, at the very least you may recognize Lange's iconic photograph "Migrant Mother." Caption: "Destitute pea pickers in California. Mother of seven children. Age thirty-two. Nipomo, California." Photographer: Dorothea Lange. Source: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black-and-White Negatives. … Continue reading Spotlight: Dorothea Lange
The theme this week is Photographs of Photographers. Local Identifier: 111-B-1074, "Mathew B. Brady" Local Identifier: 174-G-22-4, "Lewis W. Hine" Local Identifier: 80-G-324556, "Capt. Edward J. Steichen, USNR, (retired), photographic expert, on island platform, studies his surroundings for one of his outstanding photographs of life aboard an aircraft carrier. Capt. Steichen held rank of Comdr. … Continue reading Images of the Week: Photographs of Photographers
