In Wichita Kansas, William Eugene Smith was born on December 30, 1918. His love of photography was inspired by his mother who loved photography despite the fact that she was not a professional. At a young age, Smith became the photographer for his local newspaper. His senior year of high school, he suffered a devastating loss when his father committed suicide. Afterwards, he began college at Notre Dame on a photography scholarship, but soon left and settled in New York City. He held a number of jobs over his career and was a well-known war photographer. Throughout his career, he worked for such places as Life Magazine, the New York Times, Newsweek, and Harper’s Bazaar. Some of his photographs were also published in Japanese magazines. His career was put on hold though, when he was badly injured by a grenade at the invasion of Okinawa on May 22, 1945. It took Smith 2 year to recover from his injury. After his difficult recovery, Smith continued to prosper in his photography career. It was not until much later that Smith’s health began to decline. On October 15, 1978, Smith suffered and died of a stroke ("W. Eugene Smith").
By: SJL
By: SJL
The picture above was taken at the Battle of Iwo Jima in March of 1945 by William Eugene Smith.
Joe Rosenthal
On October 9, 1911, Joe Rosenthal was born in Washington D.C. It was not until his adult life that he developed an interest in photography. After moving to San Francisco, he was hired by the National Enterprise Association. Rosenthal applied for the Army after the war began. He was not accepted due to poor eyesight, but landed a job with a different company to photograph the war. Rosenthal was an excellent war photographer, but his most famous picture was named Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima. Although Rosenthal did not earn very much money for his picture, this famous photograph is an iconic image of American heroism and pride ("Joe Rosenthal").
When the war came to an end, Rosenthal took a job at the San Francisco Chronicle where he finished out his career. In 1996, he was named an honorary marine. Joe Rosenthal died in 2006 ("Joe Rosenthal").
By: SJL
When the war came to an end, Rosenthal took a job at the San Francisco Chronicle where he finished out his career. In 1996, he was named an honorary marine. Joe Rosenthal died in 2006 ("Joe Rosenthal").
By: SJL