Life is Black and White.

I came across this evocative picture today and had to stop and seek out others.  This is one of the great Bert Hardy photographs and all are well worth a browse.
Bert Hardy was born in Southwark before the Great War and was to become famous for his work in 'Picture Post' magazine during the 40's and 50's.  Before the days of TV news reporting came from short 'Pathe' or 'Gaumont' newsreels in local cinema's, the only alternative fro those seeking pictures was magazines like the 'Picture Post,' a magazine that brought many famous photographers to fame.  

Bert took many pictures around London offering a view of the people he grew up amongst.  During the war he even climbed to the top of one of those long fireman's ladder to photograph the inside of burning buildings during the blitz.  This was the first time his name was added to the pictures, usually the photographer's name was omitted.  His pictures, clearly some posed, do offer a caring view of Londoners at the time.

'Picture Post' began to slide after the war when television began to arrive.  There was also trouble from an article by James Cameron accompanied by Hardy photographs taken in Korea during the war there.  This did not give a one sided view of the conflict and indicated one side was as bad a the other.  Soon afterwards the editor departed and sales began to drop.  By 1957 the magazine folded but TV was then dominant in the land.

Hardy served time in the army as a war photographer landing in France on D-Day and eventually reaching Belsen.  He then went to the Far East.  After the war he returned to the magazine until the end and for a while dallied with advertising pictures but in 1964 he retired and became a farmer.  Hardy died in 1995.

Bert Hardy was one of the great documentary photographers, few can match him.  His black and white pictures, taken often in dangerous places, will catch the eye for many years to come.  It is a shame there are so few books around filled with his pictures.

Old Photos

This is Paris 9111 by Alfred Stieglitz. I like this, especially enlarged.  This is not a great subject but it is real life and I like that sort of thing.  Photographic fashion changes over the years, possibly reflecting society, possibly reflecting the photographer, possibly just folks playing around with the camera.  Stieglitz didn't 'play around,' and produced some interesting pictures in his day. Born in New Jersey in 1864 he was presenting his first pictures by the 1880's. Considering the bulkiness of the cameras and the difficulty of developing and printing in those early days it is amazing how quickly photography caught on. Alfred was a man at the centre of the American photographic world until his death in 1946.

Henri Cartier - Bresson 1908-2004 came later and was the master of the candid picture. He was not however keen of being photographed himself which is a bit unfair.  Considered one of the greatest of his time he was aided by the invention just before the Great War of the Leica Camera. The compact nature and quiet workings enabled him to pry on people take candid snaps.

Bert Hardy 1913-1995 came to fame as a Picture Post cameraman. This magazine combined news stories with good quality pictures and was popular until the days of television took away the public. Bert's pictures combined gritty reality of life in Britain before and after the Second World War. Whatever the subject Hardy gave realism a human edge, these were real people and readers of the magazine could easily identify with them. He is without doubt one of the great British photographers. 

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