At the small-town paper, Marcy made all the difference. She was also a future Pulitzer Prize winner.
With her camera she cut through all the crap to find something of real value in the people.
Her signature touch often blended humor and compassion while giving a glow to black-and-white images of daily life. What she found added up into a larger statement over time.
Photographer Burt Stern was one of her inspirations of the hard work to strip an event down to a simple, direct image and underlying message, albeit his were often of commercial intent.
In those days, please remember, ours were mostly black and white shots, though her darkroom technique did wonders with the grays.
I noted her remark about a coworker’s husband who had no concept of aesthetics – a photographic silhouette, to him, meant something went wrong. He saw everything as “good” or “bad” reduced to a scale of “I like” or “don’t like.”
Yes, “good people” (like us) versus “bad people,” who may simply be different rather than evil.
It’s been a problem across much of humanity, though consumerism cashes in on it.
Sticking to what you like means taking the easy way out, rather than aiming for greatness or achievement. Many of the things I value in my own life started out as dislikes – opera, contemporary classical music, asparagus, lamb, meditation, beer …
I suspect she was the inspiration to make the protagonist in the novels that became Subway Visions, Daffodil Uprising, Pit-a-Pat High Jinks, and What’s Left a photographer rather than a writer. It was a step away from glorifying the writing trade. Besides, I had seriously considered becoming a visual artist but settled on writing instead.
“The camera itself creates and destroys illusion.” (Source long since lost.)
Jnana's Red Barn 