5 Amazing Documentaries on Photography

Photographers play a major role in documenting the everyday life. Whether its war, vanity or wildlife, the frozen frame defines the moment and the expression of the subject which gives you an escape from your reality. Here are some documentaries we would like to recommend that release the same emotion.

FINDING VIVIAN MAIER

This Oscar nominated, critically acclaimed documentary is about a nanny, who was a part-time nanny as well as a ghost street photographer who took almost 100,000 photographs which were hidden away in a storage locker and were discovered decades later. The negatives that were found later were developed and processed and what came after that was broadcasted around the world were some never before seen photographs that broke the 20th century.

From directors John Maloof and Charlie Siskel, Vivian Maier is reborn and how her work has made an impact on the world and changed the life of a man who championed her work and showcased it to the public eye.

CHASING ICE

Q. What else can you expect from a national geographic photographer risking his life to capture images to help tell the story of the Earth’s changing climate?
A. Absolutely mind-awakening images that will change your perspective about life itself.

Photographer Jason Balog, is on a mission to change the tide of history by gathering undeniable evidence of our changing planet. It all started in the North Atlantic, in a small island named Iceland. Jason Balog wants to document to unfold a powerful piece of history. The initial goal was to put out 25 cameras for three years and shoot every hour as long as it was daylight which would show how the landscape would change.

MCCULLIN

Don McCullin is considered to be the best war photographer and cited as an inspiration for today’s generation of photojournalists. McCullin speaks about his career and how he covered wars and humanitarian disasters all over the globe, photographing what is now defined a historic moments. McCullin became what the French call a baroudeur, a man obsessively drawn to combat, but not in an exploitative, sensationalist way.

Annie Leibovitz - A Life Through A Lens

This documentary will definitely help you understand her. This film basically defines the arc of Annie’s photography career, her aspirations to artistry and how she grew as a artist, photographer and a human being. Barbara Leibovitz's attempt to portray her elder sister doesn’t only just pay off but it defines Annie as more than a person behind a camera. It closes with her reflections on life, children, and the the wake of her relationship with Susan Sontag. The archival material presented here is invaluable for framing an understanding of this immeasurably influential visual artist.

THE MEXICAN SUITCASE

In 1997 a Mexican filmmaker by the name of Benjamin Tarver discovered, in the possessions of his late aunt, three battered boxes of negatives. They had once belonged to her friend General Francisco Aguilar González, the Mexican ambassador to the Vichy government in 1941–42 and they would turn out to be one of the most exciting photographic rediscoveries of the 21st century, containing 4,500 negatives by Spanish Civil War photographers Robert Capa, Gerda Taro and David Seymour (better known as "Chim").

You can know more or get the documentaries use the links given below.

Finding Vivian Maier
Chasing Ice
McCullin
Annie Leibovitz - A Life Through A Lens
The Mexican Suitcase

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