Margaret Bourke-White
BRANDON LAO
PHOTO 1
PERIOD 4
Birth
 Born June 14, 1904 in The Bronx, NY
Education
 Attended several universities throughout the U.S.
 Including: Columbia University in NY, U of Michigan,
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Purdue University, Western Reserve University in Ohio
and Cornell University.
Received degree in Herpetology (study of reptiles) in
1927.
Studied photography as a young women.
Developed styles and techniques she needed on her own.
Her father was also a photographer and was the one who
exposed her to taking pictures.
Appears
 Her work appears in magazine, newspapers etc.
 First woman to be hired for the field of
photojournalism.
 Was the first photographer for the “Fortune
Magazine” and first woman photographer for the
“Life Magazine.”
Style
 She’s best known as the first foreign photographer
permitted to take pictures of the Soviet Industry.
(First female permitted to work in combat zones.)
Influences
 Margaret’s dad was also a photographer, so he
showed her how to take photos at a early age. She
learned mostly all of the techniques and styles
herself when she was a young girl.
Buchenwald Concentration Camp
Taken in 1945 at the Buchenwald
Concentration camp.
From the photo, you cant really tell if
it was taken inside or out but if I had to
guess I’d say inside because of how little
light there is. The light is coming from more
of the left side but coming straight on. The
main subject is the Jews behind the fence,
that’s the only subjects in this photo. The
wire or lines that the people stand behind
make this photo more interesting because it
shows that they’re prisoners. The people in
this photo are both men and women so it
shows that the Nazi’s captured any Jewish
people, even though most or all were
innocent and didn’t do anything to the
Nazis. All the people in the picture look
sad, tired, frustrated and mad because of
these concentration camps they were sent
to. I choose this photo because it represents
what happened during this time very well.
Bread Line
Taken in 1937 in Kentucky.
This photo looks like it was taken outside,
the lighting was natural so there is light coming
from all angles. The main subject of this photo is
the people standing in line waiting for food. You
can tell because the people range from blacks to
whites to men to women and from young to old,
also many of them are carrying bags. Also, this
photo was taken in black and white which shows
about how long ago the picture was taken. The
photographer was showing people what goes on
around the country. Some people may not even
know that this is how people get food and may
take things for granted. I choose this photo
because it shows the frustration of many people
during this time period.
Gandhi and His Spinning Wheel
Taken 1946 in India.
This lighting is artificial because
this picture was taken indoors during
the day. The light is coming from
behind him from the window and that’s
why the front of his body is so dark. The
main subject of this is Gandhi and his
spinning wheel, these are the only big
things in the photo and it looks like he
his reading from something, possibly a
bible. This photo was in TIME
Magazine and showed the story of
expected Independence of India. I
picked this photo because it shows how
peaceful Gandhi was.
Horror in front of the Camera
Taken during the Korean War.
The lighting is natural because the picture
was taken outside, so light is coming from
all around. The main subject is the chopped
off head and soldier laughing behind him.
These are the only subjects in the photo other
than the sky. The photographer was showing
that in this war, horrible things happen while
some people don’t feel guilty at all doing it
or not even care. I selected this picture
because of how unique and unusual it is.
Most people around the world probably have
never seen things like this and are probably
really shocked to see it. But that will attract
more people to look at it.
Piles of Corpses
Taken 1945 at the Buchenwald
Concentration Camp.
The photos lighting is
natural. The picture is taken
outside so light is coming from all
angles. The main subject of the
photo is the pile of dead people.
They all look really white while
everyone else is wearing black, or
darker clothes. The photographer
was showing what happens at
these concentration camps.
There’s a huge pile of dead people
in the middle of the ground and
everyone else just walks by and
ignores them like its nothing. This
shows how common people at this
camp see things like this. Most
people will get scared or grossed
out seeing this. I choose this
because its just different, really
unique and will catch peoples
eyes.
Citations
 http://www.topyaps.com/top-10-photographs-of-
margaret-bourke-white/
 http://www.photoseminars.com/Fame/MargaretWhite.htm
 http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/bour-mar.htm
 http://www.gallerym.com/artist.cfm?ID=17