Mary ellen mark

Mary Ellen could see a story in the ordinary that another person might walk by and not even see.

Mary Ellen Mark is one of the world’s greatest and most influential documentary photographers. Next month, 65 years after she took her first photograph, she will be the recipient of the Sony World Photography “Outstanding Contribution to Photography” 2014 Award. What is it that earns a photographer such an esteemed accolade? Let's take a brief look at her work to find out. I

Mary Ellen could see a story in the ordinary that another person might walk by and not even see.

Jack the Ripper is a name that will forever be associated with the East End of London. It is a name that has both fascinated and confounded generations of people

mary-ellen-mark

Boy with his Pet Cockatoo, Great Golden Circus, Ahmedabad, India, 1989 Photo Mary Ellen Mark

Mary Ellen Mark, 1975 | "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."

Mark often took personal interest in those she met and photographed. Learn about the photographer's relationships with several of her subjects, who she portrayed with empathy, humor, and candor.

"When it's cropped I think, 'God, it just doesn't make sense. The picture's no good any more. It's not what I shot.'" Interview by Constance Sullivan CS: You've been described as both a documentary photographer and a photojournalist. Do you make a distinction between the two? MARY ELLEN

Tiny in Pike Street Market with Keanna, 1990 by Mary Ellen Mark