It’s good to....

...be a woman. In celebration of International Women’s Day, I want to celebrate one of my favourite photographers, Eve Arnold. There are so many I admire, but I have chosen Eve as she had the greatest influence on my style and how I capture emotion.

I discovered Eve Arnold as a teenager, when I was absorbing all things Marilyn! Films, books, images and documentaries, anything that would allow me to understand and enjoy the real Marilyn Monroe or Norma Jean, my idol! Many of her postcard images graced the back of my bedroom door, for which I spent many a night gazing upon, taking in the natural composition, light and effortless quality.

Arnold began a lengthy photographic relationship with Marilyn after a photoshoot in 1952 for Esquire magazine, but it was her images of Monroe on the set of The Misfits that were to become the most revealing and poignant of the star. It is well documented that the film was in production through a turbulent time in her life as she experienced the unravelling of her marriage to Arthur Miller. Arnold was able to capture not the Hollywood star and sex symbol, but the person, tenderly, at rest and at play candidly with just her camera and available natural light. Marilyns vulnerability was there in black and white.

When I look at these images now, I can see them with a different eye to the teenage girl, the trust between the photographer and subject is obvious. The ability to tell a story with just one image, capturing subtle body language, emotional space and intimacy. It's this relationship and ease I like to establish with my own clients, to capture long lasting memories and a moment in time that will tell a story.

Its not just her images of Marilyn that are to be celebrated and admired, she photographed many of the iconic figures of the second half of the twentieth century. She was the first women to be admitted into the esteemed photo agency Magnum. Her in depth reportage, when she was very much a pioneering women in a mans world. She had the ability to be in the right place at the right time, and catch it up close and personal.

Eve said "If a photographer cares about the people before the lens and is compassionate, much is given. It is the photographer, not the camera, that is the instrument." I couldn't agree more!

So, this morning I raise my cup of tea to Eve Arnold, artist, photographer, pioneer and enabler for women today. You paved the way...

Follow the link below to enjoy Eve's work.

https://www.magnumphotos.com/photographer/eve-arnold/