In the 1940’s working as a graphic designer she was ‘discovered’ for her visual talent by Photographer Richard Avedon and encouraged towards a career in photography.

Her sophisticated style evolved and was bold, moody and elegantly expressed in fashion photography in Harper’s Bazzaar from the late 1940s to the early 1960s’. Her romantic images revolutionized fashion photography and her talent was highly sought after. Vanity Fair magazine singled her out as one of photography’s “grand masters”. ‘Full of mystery, sensuality, and expressionistic glamour, Bassman’s dramatic black and white photographs capture secret moments and dream memories’.

Bassman told The New York Times in a 1997 interview that she wanted to “take the hardness out of the photography” in order to make it less literal, which she accomplished using darkroom techniques such as bleaching, dodging and burning, and selective focus.

Over the ensuing 25 years, Bassman shot a wide variety of consumer ads–“everything that could be photographed,” she told The New York Times–but especially glamorous models for lingerie advertising. She frequently shot fashion spreads for Harper’s Bazaar as well.

In the 1970s, Bassman was discourage with the changing fashion industry and high-maintenance models, “I got sick of them,” she told The Times in 2009. “They were becoming superstars. They were not my kind of models. They were dictating rather than taking direction.” Disappointed with the profession she abruptly closed her studio, abandoned photography – destroyed her commercial negatives and dumped the editorial ones in binliners in a nook of her home. Instead, for private satisfaction, she photographed semi-abstracts.

For years her famous dramatic images stayed dormant. And then in the early 1990’s a friend of hers discovered her long lost negatives and encouraged her to pursue photography again. With the passage of years she was ready to redefine her photography work.

At 87 years old her interest in darkroom techniques transferred into a fascination for Photoshop and she embraced the digital and began creating interesting effects and variations of images she had captured years ago. Her reinterpretations, as she called them, found a new generation of admirers.

These reinterpretations were so admired that she returned to photograph the Paris collections for the New York Times magazine in 1996, and worked for Vogue until 2004. She had exhibitions across Europe and in the US. Books of her “painting with light” were published in 1997 (Lillian Bassman), 2009 (Lillian Bassman: Women) and this year (Lillian Bassman: Lingerie).

Lillian Bassman who passed away last year in February at age 94, is truly an inspirational artist. In an era where women were not recognized in the arts and design, she was. And as an 87-year old woman she embraced digital, learned technical skills and revitalized her work in a new way.

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Dubbed the Annie Liebovitz of her day, Tsuneko Sasamoto, 107 years old upon passing,  was a Centenarian and Japan’s first female photojournalist. She photographed some of Japan’s greatest personalities and historical moments during her 70-year career. Though widely published in Japan, she is a hidden gem for international audiences.

Born in 1914 in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo, Sasamoto’s father was a kimono dealer. Her life has not been easy. “Originally I wanted to be a painter,” she recalls. “But my father didn’t allow it, saying, ‘It’s not what a woman should be.’ ” She tried college, but dropped out and then pursued illustration and pattern-making; the start of her long love for fashion.

It was a black-and-white film by Man Ray Sasamoto saw with a friend in 1937 that sparked her interest in photography. She went on to start her career as a part-time illustrator on the local news pages in Tokyo Nichinichi Shimbun (now Mainichi Shimbun, one of the newspapers in Japan) .

After working for years, she got promoted to a probationary employee in 1940 when she joined the Photographic Society in Japan, officially became the first female photojournalist in Japan.

Her subjects have ranged from impoverished citizens scratching out a living in the lean postwar years, to student protesters and striking coal miners as the country was taking off economically in the politically tumultuous 1960s. She also documented life in Japan as seen in the photo above Geisha School, 1951.

Up until her death, she was busy giving interviews about her exhibition of selected works, “Hyakusai Ten” (“Centenarian’s Exhibition”), and related book, “Hyakusai no Finder” (“Centenarian’s Finder”). In 2011 she published her own photobook.

The secret to her success and longevity?

You should never become lazy. It’s essential to remain positive about your life and never give up. You need to push yourself and stay aware, so you can move forward. That’s what I want people to know.”

She’s also careful to look after herself, swearing by a glass of red wine every night and a piece of chocolate every day. “I also eat a lot of meat. People often say old people shouldn’t eat meat because it is bad for their health, but that is not true,” she said.

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Todd Webb born in Detroit (1905–2000) was an American photographer notable for documenting everyday life and architecture in cities such as New York, Paris as well as from the American west. His photographs capture the essence of a moment in time.

However before Todd Webb became a notable photographer, he went through a series of jobs and hard times. I find it fascinating how he went through this journey and diverse careers that were totally unrelated to creative photography before he discovered his true passion.

He worked as a bank teller, and was a successful stockbroker during the 1920s but lost his earnings during the Crash before the Depression. During the Depression beginning in 1929, he moved to California and worked as a prospector and earned a meager living. During these years he also worked as a fire ranger for the United States Forestry Service. After 1934, Webb returned to Detroit and worked for the automobile manufacturer Chrysler in their export division. In 1937, he visited a friend in Panama in search of gold, but had little success.

But in Panama, he brought along a camera donated by his former employer, Chrysler.
And so they say…the rest is history.

In 1940 he completed a ten–day workshop with Ansel Adams as his teacher, However he did not follow in Adams path in his work. In 1945 he began his career as a professional photographer.

In 1949 he married independent Lucille Webb who was in her early 40’s (she passed away in 2008 at 101 years old). After 24 hours of knowing her, he asked her to marry him! His journal entry reflects that knowledge… “Things are happening to me, things I hadn’t planned or dreamed of. There is even the possibility I may not be a bachelor forever.”

They lived in Paris for a few years and moved back to New York in 1953. Todd was working as a commercial photographer. During this time Webb received two Guggenheim fellowships in 1954 and 1955, walking across America with his camera.

In 1960, Webb was lured to Santa Fe by his old friend, Georgia O’Keeffe, and settled there for 10 years. He documented Georgia O’Keeffe’s life for the book “Georgia O’Keeffe: The Artist’s Landscape,” and produced some of the most celebrated images.

From the Southwest to the Northeast, in the 1970’s Webb settled in Auburn Maine and died in 2000 at the the age of 94.

Todd Webb’s photographs have been displayed in 25 major museum collections including the MOMA in New York, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. A portion of his photographic archive––1,400 of his photographs––are at the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

“Creative photography does not have anything to do with location, projects or causes as such–yet it can involve any of them,” he said. “It is a need to express something within the photographer. A creative photograph is one seen through the photographer. The reason for making the photograph is often unexplainable.”

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