WWII Women

PhotoTalk 2020/20

This weekend, some antic or the other had my daughter mentioning the “woman with the muscles” poster. This got me to thinking about the Rosie the Riveter Posters and the images during World War II, yes, before my time, but still relevant.

During times of conflict, times of dramatic change, photographs (and video) provide a record of people, events, environment, etc. The Rosie the Riveter campaign was responsible for women entering the American workforce in unprecedented numbers, and they were crucial to the war-effort (despite being paid far less than their male counterparts).

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This post is not about Rosie the Riveter nor the campaigns and illustrations of that time, in our April 03, 2020 PhotoTalk #6, we spoke about Margaret Bourke-White, today we show another of her images taken during the war-effort, of women in the work-force. As an image it is powerful, and it should also be said that Bourke-White was one of the first photographers hired for LIFE Magazine and the first female war correspondent.

Even today, it is still a male-centric world, and seeing images like this impresses me, not because I can’t see women doing these things, but maybe because I don’t see it often enough.

So, what’s the importance of a photographic record, in journalism and in art, during times of change, such as our current time? What are your thoughts of the similarities or differences between photographers of different genders and the photos they produce? Lets Talk!


The original comments and discussion can be seen on the Guyana Photographers’ Facebook Group’s post.


Ghandi – Margaret Bourke-White

PhotoTalk 2020/06

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Let’s talk about a famous female photographer, but not necessarily about her famous photo.

Margaret Bourke-White is known for her famous photograph of Ghandi and the Spinning Wheel; it is a notable photo for several reasons, among which are the fact that its a photo of Mahatma Ghandi, she was the last person to do his portraits before his assassination (and interview him, a story in itself), it captured Ghandi as never before, the simple man at his then infamous charkha, she was the first woman to break into the photojournalism field, her photo was the cover of the very first TIME magazine, and the list of her accomplishments goes on.

The amazing thing to me is that she became famous for doing something she originally didn’t want to do, photograph people, especially those in politics. She started out shooting waterfalls to make ends meet, then into a bit of architecture, until she got to shoot subjects she was passionate about, machinery, things in industrial America (and the wider world), then into photojournalism, the war, etc.

I could go on, but you should check our her story yourselves, as well as photos from those earlier periods.

So let’s talk, got opinions? got questions, let’s chat!


Original post to the Guyana Photographers’ Facebook group was done on April 3rd, 2020. Original comments and discussion can be seen on that post.


Bloody Murder – The Story behind the Photo

The Story behind “Bloody Murder” from the Guyana Photographers’ Facebook Page.


One of the greatest things about a photograph is that each person will always have their own interpretation of it and a different feeling about the image. This particular composition that I put together, with great difficulty I might add, was perhaps the most risky thing I have done thus far in my photography endeavours. However, being a hobbyist with a dSLR and a rather vivid imagination, risks should be something routine to me – I assure you, it is not.

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Tips and Tricks – The Glowing Silhouette


In our recent Q&A with Fidal Bassier, we had omitted a question submitted by Professional Photographer Salim October, who operates as Foto Melange out of Trinidad and Tobago.  It was thought that the question deserved some special consideration, as the subject matter was very specific to an image.  Fidal has graciously answered the question and supplied us with a  photographic progression on the image. Continue reading