Mary Ellen Mark

I rented a few books out from my local library to browse through and look at other photographers work and form my own opinions on them. I’ve also been using the internet to look at different sets of work and shooting styles to try and compare them to my own.

One photographer that has really struck me is Mary Ellen Mark; more specifically her “Exposure” photography set.
The following, copied from wikipedia, is a little bit about her background.
Mary Ellen Mark (born March 20, 1940) is an American photographer known for her photojournalism, portraiture, and advertising photography. She has had 16 collections of her work published and has been exhibited at galleries and museums worldwide. She has received numerous accolades, including three Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards and three fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Her photography has addressed such social issues as homelessness, loneliness, drug addiction, and prostitution. She works primarily in black and white.

The very first photo that I came across by her was a picture of a homeless family in their run down car, taken outside of a motel.

The Damm Family in Their Car, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 1987

Something about this photo drew me in without me even knowing any of the story surrounding it, and this led me to research further and look at more of her work.
In my opinion, I think her photographs are amazing. Each picture that I’ve seen feels so real and personal and quite shocking at times, almost like I shouldn’t be looking at it. I’m not very easily inspired, but looking through her pictures makes me want to dive into photojournalism and try taking pictures like this myself.
Below are a few more of my favourite photographs from her “Exposure” collection.