Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/03/15
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]The Metro section of today's New York Times included a noteworthy obituary for Ilse Bing, described as a "1930's Pioneer of Avant-Garde Photography". She died on Thursday in New York City at the age of 98. The article includes a 1931 photograph, entitled "Self-Portrait with Leica in Mirrors".The obituary is also available on the NY Times Web Page (www.nytimes.com). According to the article, Ms. Bing was "The only professional photographer in Paris in the '30s to work exclusively with the Leica. Ms. Bing mastered the use of this small camera as well as darkroom techniques to show the subtleties of light and movement against the inky blacks of Paris at night. She favored the overhead shots and tilted angles of German constructivists, but her photographs are often infused with the softer, more lyrical and humanistic qualities found in the work of many French photographers." I strongly recommend reading the full obituary about this important Leica photographer. Jim Gallagher