Dorothea Lange & Georgia O'Keeffe

I received this book: Dorothea Lange, A Life Beyond Limits (by Linda Gordon) from the author's publicist.


I have to say it felt like Christmas to get this nice big book in the mail before it was available to everyone else! This new biography of Dorothea Lange is a must have for any photographer or art lover's library. For me, learning about the amazing woman behind the camera makes her photographs even better.

"Perhaps the biggest surprise about Lange’s personal life was that she was by no means the saintly, self-effacing personality that many had assumed, extrapolating from her photography. On the contrary, she was driven by ambition, sometimes irritable, often demanding—yet uncommonly sensitive and generous."

Lange, a photographer I have always admired, is brought to life through the pages of this book. As photographers we often attempt to reveal much about our subjects while shielding ourselves. I enjoyed this look at the woman behind the camera.

Get a copy for yourself!
http://www.wwnorton.co.uk/book.html?id=2332

This is the first time I've received something at no charge and mentioned it on my blog. So... I feel like I can't stay much more about it without being a sell out! While it was a cool experience, I by no means plan to turn my blog into advertising. I will continue to write about my life & photography - so don't worry about having to read lots of random product reviews!

So, speaking of female artists I adore - I was flipping through the free on demand movies and came across this:

http://www.mylifetime.com/on-tv/movies/georgia-okeeffe
Ok, I'll be the first to admit that lifetime movies are usually all man-hating and not so good, but I really liked this one... even if they were a bit hard on poor Stieglitz. Last I checked it was still on comcast's free on demand so take a look! I knew that O'Keeffe was Stieglitz's muse but seeing, though these actors, out how he thrust her into the spotlight was revealing. I particularly liked the mention that his photographic work was fading out of the public eye and she worked hard after his death to establish his legacy... what an interesting relationship.

Side note, what is with the heavily airbrushed photo of Joan Allen (O'Keeffe)? She almost looks like a child in the artwork but we only see her as an adult in the movie - what is the deal?