6 Lessons Dorothea Lange Has Taught Me About Street Photography

[MattSh]

Dorothea Lange was born on May 26, 1898 in New Jersey, and traumatically contracted polio at 7 years old, which left her with a weak right leg and permanent limp. Regardless of this disability, she was able to pursue her photography with full zest. This is what she says of her disability:

“It formed me, guided me, instructed me, helped me and humiliated me. I’ve never gotten over it, and I am aware of the force and power of it.”

Lange ended up studying photography at Columbia University in New York City, and after her studies moved to San Francisco, where she opened up a successful portrait studio. For the majority of her life, she lived in Berkeley. In 1920 she married the painter Maynard Dixon and had two sons with him.

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In 1941, Dorothea Lange was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for excellence in photography. However after Pearl Harbor (when Japanese-American citizens were forced into internment camps), she gave up the award and dedicated her efforts to documenting the injustice of the Japanese-American internment.

Her images were very critical of the American government — so much that the Army impounded the majority of the images. Most of them haven’t been seen for the last 50 years. You can now see the images in the newly published book: “Impounded: Dorothea Lange and the Censored Images of Japanese American Internment”.

Complete story at - http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2015/03/09/6-lessons-dorothea-lange-has-taught-me-about-street-photography/