America in Pictures: The Story of Life Magazine by Rankin on the BBC

I missed this on TV last night but thanks to the BBC iplayer it is available to watch whenever you want. Rankin celebrates the work of Life magazine’s legendary photographers, who shot the big moments in American history – from the assassination of Robert F Kennedy to the Vietnam War. Rankin is just one of the coolest photographers working today but what makes this man important is that he actually is interested in photography and in this documentary he reveals the story of the illustrated magazines that populated the newsagents shelves and stands in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. If you don’t know what I mean have a look at this earlier post here

If you want to watch this programme at your leisure here is the link to the BBC page with the iplayer

Slightly out of focus

Slightly out of focus is an on-line bookshop specialising in vintage, original illustrated magazines featuring 20th century photography and photojournalism. This is a great site that sells those fantastic illustrated magazines and papers from the 40’s and 50’s the magazines that gave life to the work of some of the greatest photographers, go and have a look at the pages of Life Magazine and see W Eugene Smith’s “Country Doctor” picture essay

Or the Picture Post edition with Bill Brandt. “Bill Brandt’s dark and brooding landscape of Stonehenge under snow takes on a stark resonance when it is used on the cover of Picture Post. Austerity Britain is gripped by rationing and in the middle of it’s worst winter (1946-47) for over a century. The magazine is dedicated to the questioning of the future of Britain. Brandt’s Stonehenge symbolises some hope and belief in the future.
The article also features Brandt’s unemployed Durham miner from 1936.”

I don’t know about the title, Slightly Out of Focus, I think they are right on the money, here is a link to the site