Photographer of the Month - August: Gordon Parks

Gordon Parks (November 30, 1912 - March 7, 2006) was also a huge influence on me as a photographer. One of the first photographer I began to admire in high school and college. NPR recently had a photo slideshow of many of famous works. Parks photographed all types of styles; from photojournalism to fashion for Vogue. He also dabbled in film making - a small film called "Shaft." Ever head of it?

In the 1940s, a photographer named Gordon Parks broke into a scene that had previously been dominated by white men. He was the first black photographer to work for magazines like Life andVogue, and the first to work for the Farm Security Administration and the Office of War Information. Born into poverty and the youngest of 15, he had a sensibility about poor living conditions. But as a renowned photographer, he also had access to some of the most famed athletes and celebrities, like Muhammad Ali and Ingrid Bergman.

~NPR

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