Lola Alvarez Bravo (by Elyssa Marcus)

Lola Álvarez Bravo was a female Mexican photographer.  She played a huge role in Mexico's post-revolution renaissance.  Her husband, Manuel Alvarez Bravo (one of Mexico's most famous photographers) taught her everything about photography including work in the darkroom.  With the knowledge she gained as his assistant, she was able to autonomously became an equally successful photographer.  Her work is sometimes overshadowed by her husband's, but she became revolutionary in Mexico for bravely choosing the path to become a photographer in her own right, fighting against  Mexican protocol on women.

© Lola Alvarez Bravo
© Lola Alvarez Bravo
© Lola Alvarez Bravo

Linda Wolf (by Elyssa Marcus)

Linda Wolf has become widely known as an artist, author, and fine art photographer.  She co-found the Daughters Sisters Project; and the Teen Talking Circle Project.  Wolf has also co-wrote several books including: Daughters of the Moon, Sisters of the Sun; Global Uprising; and Speaking and Listening From the Heart.  Linda is currently spending her time, creating a DVD called Full Woman, photos of women world-wide.  Wolf is clearly a prominent spokesperson for Women of the world as well as a great photographer.  To combine these two passions she created the Woman in Photography International organization in 1981 to encourage women to start learning and practicing photography.  

© Linda Wolf
© Linda Wolf

Masumi Hayashi (by Elyssa Marcus)

Masumi Hayashi is a female Japanese-American photographer who photographed uncomfortable spaces such as prisons and relocation camps.  Her most widely known work is a series of panoramic photocollages.  These are huge prints that are composed of many small boxes of color (usually 4x6) arranged  in order for them to look like the main photograph, like mosaic tiling.  This type of work requires painstaking attention to small details and a lot of patience.  Hayashi's photocollages combine the qualities of art and photography into a very striking image.

© Masumi Hayashi

Manzanar Relocation Camp, Guard Gate,1993, panoramic photo collage, 27"x 65"

© Masumi Hayashi

Manzanar Relocation Camp, Tree View, 1995",panoramic photo collage, 27"x 63".

© Masumi Hayashi

Manzanar Relocation Camp, Monument, 1995, panoramic photo collage, 48"x 80".

Annie Leibovitz (by Elyssa Marcus)

Annie Leibovitz is probably the most well known modern day female photographer.  Leibovitz was born in Conneticut but moved around because her father was a colonel in the Air Force which led to her first experience with photography was when she was residing in the Philippines.  She gained fame by being the last person to ever photograph John Lennon, he was shot 5 hours later.  Leibovitz's famous last photograph of Lennon was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone and became legendary.  Recently she photographed the controversial Vanity Fair cover of Miley Cyrus with her back exposed.  She has created many photography books and taken many magazine and album covers over the past few decades.  Annie Leibovitz became the first ever female chief photographer of Rolling Stone magazine and became the 'go to' celebrity photographer.

© Annie Leibovitz
© Annie Leibovitz
© Annie Leibovitz

 

Mary Ellen Mark (by Elyssa Marcus)

Mary Ellen Mark was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1940.  Her success in photography comes from her huge body of work.  She has published over 16 books and traveled to several countries to photograph the culture through portraiture.  These portraits are visually charismatic.  Mark photographs famous figures as well as atypical things she encounters in her travels.  Three of her collections feature the Circus, each in a separate country (Mexico, Vietnam, and India).

Indian Circus

© Mary Ellen Mark

Mexican Circus
© Mary Ellen Mark

Vietnam Circus
© Mary Ellen Mark

Celebrities
© Mary Ellen Mark
© Mary Ellen Mark