Maggie the Indestructible

Margaret Bourke-White photographed on top of the Chrysler Building, New York, 1931

While browsing through the images on Tumblr, I came across this portrait of Margaret Bourke-White. I think it's a fabulous image. A vaguely glamorous photo of the youthful and talented photographer, and yet it seems to also perfectly capture the persona of a jobbing photographer, hard at work high up above New York.

Of all the posts i have placed on the blog over the years, Margaret Bourke-White's remains the most popular by far. I even received comments thanking me for profiling the photographer's work, such was the admiration for this woman and her work. Forty years after her death, she still inspires new generations of photographers.

The skill and diversity of talent she had as a photographer is obvious to anyone who sees her work. How many people could photograph Joseph Stalin's great aunt and capture the beautiful architectural lines of a dam? Commercial, industrial, documentary, portraiture, war - Margaret could shoot it all. 

Life produced a great page to commemorate Margaret Bourke-White's birthday last week, featuring some of her best images including a number I'd never seen before. It also explains why she was called Maggie the Indestructible :) The excellent Margaret Bourke-White LIFE article and gallery can be found HERE