Why We Exist
Documentary Photographers and The Curious Society
By capturing the present, photography changes the future.
In 1871, William Jackson documented a place that many didn’t believe existed. A year later, because of his photographs, it became known as Yellowstone National Park. His images helped preserve the place that today, even when seen with one’s own eyes, is still hard to believe.
In 1908, Lewis Hines photographed the plight of child laborers working in factories and sweatshops across the United States. By shining a light on the conditions these children were working under he helped to eliminate the hellholes in which they were trapped.
In 1936, Dorothea Lange put a human face to those suffering through the Great Depression. Six years later George Strock brought the horror of a war raging thousands of miles away, into the homes of every American. A couple of years later, David Douglas Duncan showed that same audience exactly what a “thousand yard stare” looks like. A decade later, Eddie Adams, captured a street execution, and Nick Ut, defined the term “collateral damage” with an image of a little girl running down a road, on fire.
Most of these images were made before we were born, yet they still managed to impact our lives today. They’ll do the same for those who come after us. These…
