Richard Avedon

“Sunday by the River Marne, France, 1938″ by Henri Cartier-Bresson (click for larger version)

Summing up Avedon’s career, someone fairly nailed it when they said, “Although his work could be unflattering, at times brutally honest, there was never a shortage of subjects willing to be photographed.” Working at first for Harper’s Bazaar and then Vogue, it was Avedon’s idea to eschew careful lighting, delicate compositions, and choreographed poses in favor of rather drastic authenticity. Photography should be directed by the artist’s vision and not the subject, or so went his theory. It was a groundbreaking, phenomenally successful exercise in style over finesse, and the obvious physical flaws he captured seemed not to disturb his subjects, who might be pop stars, writers, social butterflies, the super rich, or someone famous for being famous. And then there were the supermodels.

Avedon was also the visual consultant for the film Funny Face, the story of a fashion photographer and his muse starring Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn (two guesses as to whom that movie was based on). Avedon also published award-winning collections of his unique coverage of the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam War, and the Trial of the Chicago Seven. For an unflinching visual tour of that tumultuous era, Avedon the Sixties is a required study.—David Pelfrey

Richard Avedon (click for larger version)

Helmut Newton

No doubt about it, Newton turned most of us into Charlotte Rampling fans, and he did so with a single shot. That’s Charlotte, the lithe, ice-cold goddess reclining on the big desk. In the nude. She’s extremely appealing and scary as hell, which seems to be the general theme in Newton’s work. His photographs were quick, disturbing glances into the realm of bondage, sadomasochism, rough trade, voyeurism, and unbridled decadence. Something very naughty or very dangerous (or both) seemed to be taking place, but being mere glances, these shots only suggest narratives rather than provide them. Even in his more straightforward shots of scantily-clad über-babes, Newton seamlessly meshes glamour with sleaze, at least implying that there’s a sordid backstory for every image. Further analysis of Newton’s photography is superfluous. If ever anyone crafted pictures worth a thousand words (the kind of words appropriate for a locked diary, a criminal investigation, or a Velvet Underground song), Newton certainly did. —D.P.

Eddie Adams

Helmut Newton (click for larger version)

A Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist and combat photographer, Adams’ (71) snapshot of a South Vietnamese officer shooting a Viet Cong infiltrator in the head from two feet away was one of the war’s more riveting images. The photographer defended the South Vietnamese Brigadier General’s contention that the Viet Cong had murdered a friend, his wife, and six children, insisting that anyone would react the same way in retribution. Adams’ images of Vietnamese boat people, refugees who were turned away when seeking asylum in neighboring countries, prompted the United States to accept up to 200,000 refugees. “I wasn’t out to save the world,” Adams once said. “I was out to get a story.” Adams covered 13 wars. —Ed Reynolds