I received sad news. A fellow photographer and colleague died of a heart attack Wednesday. He was a long time (over 40 years) chief photographer for one of my local newspapers. I worked with him as a staff and freelance photographer under the heading of the same newspaper chain. He was a good man and a fine photographer. In January of 2014 he took his well-earned retirement; his passing in the same year is too soon.
I worked for a smaller sister newspaper in the next county over for about ten years. It was common for us to collaborate. I was laid off in the spring of 2007. Oddly enough, that left my chief photographer working alone for another year before management closed the photography department permanently. He had also worked for his newspaper for over forty years and died of a heart attack six months after his retirement.
I’m making some a huge generalizations. It seems when I hear that a photographer died, they had lived a long life– often dying in their nineties. When I hear of a photographer retiring — they soon die. There seems to be a pattern. Does being a photographer help people live longer? If a photographer stops photographing or retires from the craft, do they die soon after?
Obviously, some photographers die by their own hand such as Diane Arbus, killed in the field like Robert Capa or faced an early death due to disease such as Robert Mapplethorpe and Herb Ritts.
It still seems to me that a large percentage of photographers live long lives. Ansel Adams, one of the worlds most famous photographers died at the age of 82. Another famous photographer Richard Avedon was 81 when he passed. The New York street photographer Helen Levitt was 95. The father of photojournalism Henri Cartier-Bresson died just before his 96th birthday. The great Gordon Parks lived until the age of 93. Plus, we still have a host of iconic photographers still alive and well such as Steve McCurry, Annie Leibovitz, James Nachtwey, Mary Ellen Mark and Robert Frank; 89 as of the writing of this post.
Take a look at the list below of some of the worlds greatest photographers. Not all the photographers on this list lived to an old age, but the average seems higher than the average human.
- Edward Weston 71
- Ansel Adams 82
- Alfred Stieglitz 82
- Edward Steichen 94 (died two days before his birthday)
- W. Eugene Smith 59
- Richard Avedon 81
- Gordon Parks 93
- Man Ray 85
- Irving Penn 92
- Helen Levitt 95
- Weegee 69
- Arnold Newman 87
- Dorothea Lange 69
- Andre Kertesz 90
- Yousuf Karsh 94
- Horst P Horst 92
- August Sander 87
- Lewis Hine 65
- Walker Evans 71
- Eve Arnold 100
In case you are curious the average age from the list above is 82.9.
I know my theory comes from circumstantial observation, is full of holes and speculation. Honestly, I don’t even know if all these photographers worked to the end. With that said, how often do you really hear of a photographer retiring? That makes me think of my two chief photographers who did retire and how they sadly died within a year. I can’t forget the other photographers I’ve known who died before their time; Susan Carr being one that immediately comes to mind.
Maybe this article is a personal reflection. Possibly it’s my odd way of looking at my own mortality in the face of another fellow photographers death.
I don’t think I will ever fully retire. I plan on my last day to contain the click of a camera and the awe of a beautiful image created. Photographers should never retire.
What do you think? Share your thoughts.
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