John Edwin Mason: Documentary, Motorsports, Photo History

Memorial Day, 1943: Esther Bubley, Photographer

Esther Bubley is one of my favorite photographers. (I've written about her, here and here.) On Memorial Day, 1943, she was all of 22 years old and working for Roy Stryker's legendary documentary project, which had recently moved to the Office of War Information [OWI] from the Farm Security Administration... Read more →

How Photography Lies, Even When It's Telling the Truth: FSA Photography & the Great Depression

Think about the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, and images like the one below will spring into your head -- a photograph of a homeless mother and her children who appear to have nothing to cling to but their clothes, their car, and each other. It seems to sum... Read more →

Esther Bubley's Untitled Film Stills

Esther Bubley had a flair for the dramatic. Throughout her career, her best photos are powerful, evocative, sometimes decidedly off-center, and seem to be telling a story. Esther Bubley: Washington, D.C. Small boys watching the Woodrow Wilson high school cadets. 1943. (Click directly on any of these photos to see... Read more →

Esther Bubley’s Documentary Photography: Buses, Boardinghouses, and Afterthoughts

This is one of Esther Bubley’s (1921-1998) best known photographs. It’s a moment of grace, strength, and great beauty, and, even though she was still in her mid-twenties when she made it, it’s the work of a fully mature artist. Esther Bubley: Greyhound Terminal, West 50th Street, New York City,... Read more →

Esther Bubley’s Erotic Photography

This must be the only photograph in the vast archives of the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information [FSA/OWI] that can be described as dreamy, romantic, and frankly erotic. Esther Bubley made it in January 1943, when she was just 21. (The young woman in the photo is very possibly... Read more →