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Rangefinder
Magazine Insight/ On the Cover by Bill Hurter The word “editorial” has many different meanings. It can mean the point of view of a publication’s editors and/or publishers. The word can also encompass the entire genre of periodical publishing, as in “anything not advertising is editorial.” But when you use the term to define a photographer’s work, you have a very special meaning. Take Diane Arbus (1923–1971), for example. The Encyclopedia of Photography says of her, “A pivotal figure in contemporary documentary photography.” Anyone who has studied her work will acknowledge that her contribution as an artist and social visionary goes well beyond the role of documentary photographer. I prefer her own explanation of her talents, which appears in the article by Judith Bell (page 50), “Diane Arbus: Revelations.” Arbus said, “I really believe there are things which nobody would see unless I photographed them.” Therein lies the definition of the contemporary editorial photographer, who brings to a subject or assignment all of their concentrated skills, education and insight in order to make visible the invisible. Steven Katzman (page 32), whose desire to understand what lies beneath the surface has taken him on a series of journeys, often into what is considered our modern-day underworld, says of his craft, “I have always used the camera as my passport, allowing me personal access behind closed doors.” Sometimes a photographer’s great passion for a subject leads to new and unique levels of meaning. Such is the case with the incomparable sports photographer Walter Iooss. In his profile of Walter (page 8), author Peter Skinner says that Iooss “gets as much, if not more, satisfaction from shooting sports at the most basic level—in the street, on the beach or in dimly lit gyms where kids and unknowns are the stars.” Skinner continues, “His excitement is reflected in photographs that capture the very essence of these unheralded contests.” These are but three of the great editorial minds featured in this month’s Rangefinder.
Bill Hurter
For more on Sporting Life: The Journals see Peter Skinner’s profile of Walter Iooss, which begins on page 8.
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PHOTOGRAPHER: Walter Iooss