Evelyn Hofer

This week I found out that Evelyn Hofer had passed away at the age of 87. For me it wasn't all that sad considering I was not enlightened that she was alive in the first place. Yet it did tickle my fancy to see what her work was all about.
She was an interesting photographer who focused mainly on portraits but also took a tangent in her 6 decade career to focus on still lifes.
She was born in Germany and moved to Mexico in 1942 then moved to New York in '46. The remainder of her life was spent moving between the two places. It was pretty interesting. She was an apprentice before she went into fashion photography but soon came to find she'd rather photograph real people in real events.
Her works are quite good. They do have a somber feel to them. But it was her style people liked it and I'm sure some people didn't find it good at all.
Looking at her work and reading her story has helped me to realize even more how many doors there are to be opened by photographers. Every event needs to be photographed. Every company needs a photographer. It's just a matter of finding what you love doing, what you love shooting and getting out there and taking the job. Evelyn had a 6 decade career. She obviously found something she loved doing. Reviews said that she should be considered one of the top photographers from the 20th century, yet I didn't see what was so extremely great about her work. It goes to show that beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. And if you get enough people to agree with you that something is beautiful then you can make a career for yourself.