View allAll Photos Tagged LifeMagazine
According to Legend, in Tokyo in June 1950, a young Japanese photographer, Jun Miki, a part-timer for ‘Life’ magazine showed two American photojournalists, David Duncan and Horace Bristol, some prints he had taken with a barely known ‘Nikkor’ lens on a Leica 35mm camera. They were both sufficiently impressed to arrange for a trip for the three of them to the nearby Nippon Kogaku factory where they were given a demonstration and a comparison between the Nikkors and the lenses made by Leitz and Zeiss.
Duncan was so convinced by the superiority of the Nikkors over the German lenses of that time that he purchased a set. When the Korean War broke out a few days later he used them on his Leica bodies throughout his coverage of the war.
His negatives were sent back to Life’s New York office for printing and publication. The technicians asked if he was using a plate camera and considered that the sharpness of the photographs was better than anything they had previously seen from 35mm negatives.
Other Life photojournalists started using Nikkors and some purchased Nippon Kogaku’s rangefinder Nikon Cameras which they found to be more reliable in the severe Korean winter.
Experts examined both the camera and lenses and in December the New York Times ran an article in praise of the equipment.
A myth developed that Life magazine was so impressed with the results that they ordered a special batch of black painted Nikon S bodies for their staff. The black finish made them less conspicuous on the battlefield and some had larger wind-on and rewind knobs for easier handling with gloves.
The story remained a myth for decades until diligent research by Nikon Rangefinder Guru, Robert Rotoloni, published photographs in his seminal book and journal in 2007. A very small number of contenders have emerged, some with the mythical large knobs, others without but with adequate provenance.
Body number 6108685, owned by Katsuhara Takashima was the first to be examined by Rotoloni in 1987. This had the standard rewind knobs. The lens was an all black f1.4 Nikkor 331242.
This was sold at the Leitz photographic Auction in Vienna in November 2023 and fetched €48,000.
No. 6112267 surfaced at a Photo Show in Tokyo in 2004.
This also had the standard rewind knobs.
No. 6105936 was the first to be seen with the larger winding knobs. It had been owned by Tatsuhico Arakara since the 1950’s and was pictured in his books. It is now in the Nikon Museum in Tokyo.
No. 6101424, with provenance linked to ‘Life’s’ Carl Mydans, came up in a Boston auction in 2007 and fetched $28,200. It is documented in Robert Rotoloni’s Nikon Historical Society Journal, number 97.
No. 6112580 surfaced at the Austrian WestLicht Auction in 2013. Owned by Nikon Sales Manager Mr. Sanetoshi Kuratsuji. It sold for $66,000.
This camera has been sold again recently at OstLicht in June 2024 for €45,000.
It is thought that about 15 black Nikon S were produced from chrome bodies but only 3-4 were made with black paint on the original brass body shell.
Continued ............
Leprosy Louisiana. 214G-054-016National Hansen's Disease Center, Carville, Louisiana, Mary Ellen Mark: 25 Years. Bulfinch Press. Little Brown and Company 1991“Leprosy Patient with Her Nurse, National Hansen’s Disease Center, Carville, Louisiana, 1990”American Photo. Jan/Feb 1992. PP. 85“Leprosy Patient with her nurse, Carville, Louisiana, 1990.”The Pennsylvania Gazette. February 1992. pp. 17“A Leprosy patient with her nurse at the National Hansen’s Disease Center in Louisiana, 1990.”PhotoPro. Sept/Oct 1992. pp. 40Photo Metro. April 1992. pp. 4“Leprosy Patient with Her Nurse, Louisiana, 1990.”Camera & Darkroom. October 1993. pp. 29“Leprosy, Louisiana.”
Malcolm X, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 1962
Eve Arnold
Gelatin silver print
Eve Arnold was commissioned by LIFE magazine to photograph the Black nationalist organisation, Nation of Islam. She gradually built a rapport with Malcolm X, who became a prominent Civil Rights activist before his assassination in 1965. Made during a visit to Black-owned businesses in Chicago, this portrait reveals Malcolm's acute awareness of his media image.*
Taken from the exhibition
Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection
(May 2024 to January 2025)
Showcasing over 300 rare prints from 140 photographers, Fragile Beauty is a major presentation of 20th- and 21st-century photography on loan from the private collection of Sir Elton John and David Furnish.
Selected from their collection of over 7,000 images, the photographs (many of which will be on public display for the first time) are era-defining images which explore the connection between strength and vulnerability inherent in the human condition.
Historically made from candle wax and now frequently created using PVC, the process is incredibly bespoke, with each item being made to order for individual restaurants. Having evolved beyond menu promotion, the process has now become its own form of cultural expression in Japan, and food replicas can be found on goods from keyrings to phone cases, some of which will be stocked at the Shop at Japan House London.
The exhibition covers the period from 1950 to the present day, bringing together an unrivalled selection of the world's leading photographers to tell the story of modern and contemporary photography. Celebrated works include a monumental installation of 149 Nan Goldin prints from her Thanksgiving series, as well as images from Robert Mapplethorpe, Cindy Sherman, William Eggleston, Diane Arbus, Sally Mann, Zanele Muholi, Ai Weiwei, Carrie Mae Weems and others.
Brand new acquisitions are also on display by Tyler Mitchell, Trevor Paglen and An-My Lê. These join some of the very first acquisitions made by John, including fashion photographs by Horst P. Horst, Irving Penn and Herb Ritts.
Marking 30 years of collecting, the exhibition celebrates Elton John and David Furnish's passion for photography and reflects their personal taste and unique eye as collectors. Across eight thematic sections, Fragile Beauty explores themes such as fashion, reportage, celebrity, the male body, and American photography. Portraits of stars from stage and screen also feature, including photography of Aretha Franklin, Elizabeth Taylor, The Beatles, and Chet Baker. Many photographs in the exhibition respond to themes of persecution, resistance, and key moments in history, including images of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, AIDS activism of the 1980s and the events of 11 September 2001.
[*V&A]
Taken in the V&A Museum