RECOLLECTIONS OF A LIFE PHOTOGRAPHER

by Wallace Kirkland ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

These ""recollections"" of a photographer on Life Magazine, stand out from the pack of life-stories, because instead of adding up to rambling notes and name-dropping, Wallace Kirkland has produced a delightful group of full stories, each with a plot and a point. The author is distinct from most writer-photographers in that wars and catastrophes do not make up the sum of his experiences and assignments; instead he finds fascination in ""insignificant"" matters through his own wit and insight. His study of the social order among hens, his birth-record of a dragon-fly that rated him a box of cigars, his farmer in Wisconsin who advertised for a wife and other such visits within the 48 states make up the fun and interest. When Mr. Kirkland does bother with celebrities, it is the tell of how Ghandi made a fine joke, and how, after suffering frustration from the vanities of General Douglas MacArthur, he finally captured on film the gleaming baldness of that eminent General's usually shielded head. Kirkland pokes fun at the vagaries of his employers at Life Magazine, and incidentally gives a more informed picture than usual as to just how a photographic story is produced. Lots of fun in this one.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Houghton, Mifflin

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1954

Categories: NONFICTION