ImogenCunningham

Imogen Cunningham (1883-1976) was born in Portland, Oregon. Much of her work was done in Seattle, WA, San Francisco, CA, and Dresden, Germany. She was the first women to make her living as a photographer. She is most famous for her portraits, still lives, and nude images. When Imogen started photographing in 1901, while she was attending the University of Washington, she used a 4x5 inch view camera. She sold this camera because she quickly lost interest in it. Then in 1906 while studying at the University of Washington in Seattle, she had an encounter with Gertrude Kasebier. This inspired her to take up photography for the rest of her career. Later, she bought a 5x7 inch view camera that she used for the remainder of her career. There were three people in particular who inspired her the most. Firstly, Gertrude Kasebier inspired her to take up photography again after initially giving up. The others are Alvin Langdon Coburn from London and Alfred Stieglitz who she met in America when she was returning from Germany. When she came back from Germany she opened her own studio. One of the things that Imogen Cunningham contributed to photography was her optimistic view of the photographic world. It was said that she brought new wit, originality and freshness to the photography world for many years to come. She believed that her best photograph would be made tomorrow. She also gave her dedication, love for photography, and distinctive photographic perspectives to the art world. She also pushed photography forward when she developed techniques to create sepia tones in her prints. When she was 87, she got the Guggenheim fellowship to print many of her old negatives.

Famous photographs: http://masters-of-photography.com/C/cunningham/cunningham_2callas_full.html
 * Two Callas:**

http://masters-of-photography.com/C/cunningham/cunningham_magnolia_full.html
 * Magnolia Blossom:**

Sites Used: http://masters-of-photography.com/C/cunningham/cunningham_articles1.html http://www.photo-seminars.com/Fame/imogen.htm http://www.globalgallery.com/artist.bio.php?nm=imogen+cunningham http://imogencunningham.com/BIO/Mozley.htm