Karsh Yousef - a Biography in Images Pdf

FREE KARSH YOUSEF - A BIOGRAPHY IN IMAGES PDF

After a voyage of twenty-nine days, her most excited passenger in the steerage class must have been a seventeen-year-old Armenian boy who spoke little French, and less English. Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images was that boy. My first glimpse of the New World on a steely cold, sunny winter day was the Halifax wharf, covered with snow. I could not yet begin to imagine the infinite promise of this new land. For the moment, it was enough to find myself safe, the massacres, torture, and heartbreak of Armenia behind me. We went up from the dock to the station in a taxi, the likes of which I had never seen — a sleigh-taxi drawn by horses. The bells on their harnesses never stopped jingling; the bells of the city rang joyously to mark a new year. The sparkling decorations on the Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images of shops and houses, the laughing crowds — for me it was an unbelievable fantasy come true. The train stalled in a deep snowdrift; we ran out of food; this Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images, at least, was no novelty for me. I was born in Mardin, Armenia, on December 23,of Armenian parents. My father could neither read nor write, but had exquisite taste. He traveled to distant lands to buy and sell rare and beautiful things — furniture, rugs, spices. My mother was an educated woman, a rarity in those days, and was extremely well read, particularly in her beloved Bible. Of their three living children, I was the eldest. My youngest brother, Salim, born later in Aleppo, Syria, alone escaped Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images persecution soon to reach its climax in our birthplace. It was the bitterest of ironies that Mardin, whose tiers of rising buildings were said to resemble the Hanging Gardens Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images Babylon, and whose succulent fruits convinced its inhabitants it was the original Garden of Eden, should have been the scene of the Turkish atrocities against the Armenians in Cruelty and torture were everywhere; nevertheless, life had to go on — albeit fearfully — all the while. My recollections of those days comprise a strange mixture of blood and beauty, of persecution and peace. I remember finding brief solace in my young cousin relating her Thousand and One Nights tales of fantastic ships and voyages and faraway people, and always, solace Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images the example of my mother, who taught me not to hate, even as the oppression continued. One day, I returned from school, my forehead bleeding. I had been stoned by Turkish boys who tried to take away my only playthings, a few marbles. However, if you must retaliate — be sure you Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images She took into our home a young Armenian girl, shared our few morsels of food with her, and encouraged her to use her hands instead of her eyes, which had been cruelly mutilated. My mother herself seemed tireless. She had to go every day to the distant mountain spring which was the one source of water for the whole community. Allowed only one small pail, she would wait patiently in line for hours to get enough water for her children. Running water, to me, is still a great blessing. Inour family was allowed to flee. We had to leave our doors open — with us we took no baggage, only our lives. And we had to flee on foot. During our month-long journey with a Bedouin and Kurdish caravan, which would have taken only two days by the forbidden train, my parents lost every valuable they had managed to save. In the safety of Aleppo, Syria, my father painstakingly tried to rebuild our lives. Only those who have seen their savings and possessions of a lifetime destroyed can understand how great were the spiritual resources upon which my father must have drawn. Uncle Nakash was a photographer of established reputation, still a bachelor when I went to live with him, and a man of generous heart. If my first day at Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images High School proved a dilemma for the teachers—in what grade did one place a seventeen-year-old Armenian boy who spoke no English, who wanted to be a doctor, and who came armed only with good manners? They not only played with me instead of stoning me, but allowed me to keep the marbles I had won. My formal education was over almost before it began, but the warmth of my reception made me love my adopted land. In the summer ofI went to work for Uncle Nakash at his studio, burying my original desire to study medicine. While at first I did not realize it, everything connected with the art of photography captivated my interest and energy — it was to be not only my livelihood but my continuing passion. I developed the pictures myself and showed them to him for criticism. I am sure they had no merit, but I was learning, and Uncle Nakash was a valuable and patient critic. It was with this camera that I scored my first photographic success. I photographed a landscape with children playing and gave it to a classmate as a Christmas gift. Secretly, he entered it in a contest. To my amazement, it won first prize, the then munificent sum of fifty dollars. I gave ten dollars to my friend and Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images sent the rest to my parents in Aleppo, the first money I could send to them. Shortly afterward my uncle arranged my apprenticeship with his friend John H. Garo of Boston, a fellow Armenian, who was recognized as the outstanding portraitist in the eastern states. Although I never learned to paint, or to make even a fair drawing, I learned about lighting, design, and composition. At the Public Library, which was my other home in Boston, I became a voracious reader in the humanities and began to appreciate the greater dimensions of photography. Originally, I had been sent to Boston for six months, but Garo took so kindly to me and was so encouraging that, in the end, I spent a total of three years with him. The complicated procedures demanded great skill, intuitive judgment, discipline and patience. My first gum arabic print took me eighteen days; it had to be sensitized, coated, and resensitized many times. Learning these processes made me strive for perfection; time meant nothing, and only the final result counted. But Garo taught me something more important than technique alone — Garo taught me to see, and to remember what I saw. He also prepared me to think Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images myself and evolve my own distinctive interpretations. Art is never fortuitous. An air of cultured informality surrounded Garo. Since sittings in the studio were by available light, we stopped long before dusk. That hour was the beginning of many a happy and often spontaneous gathering of his artist friends — men and women of great talent — who would come to be with Garo and each other. During those days of Prohibition, my extracurricular activities included acting as bartender for the hospitality that flowed, delivered to the studio in innocent-looking paint cans. There I set my heart on photographing those men and women who leave their mark on the world. Those last months impressed me with what I have come to hold as a general truth: It is rarely possible to repay directly those who have rendered us great personal kindnesses. But it is also futile to rationalize and say that the time for sacrifice, to repay just moral debts, is past — for I do not believe that time ever passes. Nature does not Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images collaborate with men to permit simple repayment, whether the debt is from son to father, from soldier to comrade, or from pupil to master. We may never be able to pay directly for the gifts of true friendship — but pay we must, even though we make our payment to someone who owes us nothing, in some other place and at some other time. I left Boston in My interest lay in the personalities that influenced all our lives, rather than merely in portraiture. With all my possessions packed in two suitcases, I moved Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images Ottawa. In the capital of Canada, a crossroads of world travel, I hoped I would have the opportunity to photograph its leading figures and many foreign international visitors. Within a short time I was fortunate to meet B. Sandwell, the learned editor of the prestigious and elegantly illustrated periodical Saturday Night; a civilized, warm attachment grew up between us. While my career seemed to be well launched, I had few friends in Ottawa during those early months, and I welcomed an invitation to join the Ottawa Little Theatre, an enthusiastic group of amateur players. The casual invitation was to have lasting effects on my life and career. The experience of photographing actors on the stage with stage lighting was exhilarating. The unlimited possibilities of artificial light overwhelmed me. In this new situation, instructions about lighting effects were given by the director; he could command the lighting to do what he wished. Moods could be created, selected, modified, intensified. I was thrilled by this means of expression, this method of interpreting life; a new world was opened to me. One of the leading actors at the Little Theatre was Lord Duncannon, the handsome twenty-one-year-old son of the then Governor General, Lord Bessborough, and Lady Bessborough, who were themselves avidly interested in stage production and had a miniature theater in their own castle in Scotland. Lord Duncannon prevailed upon his parents to sit for me, and soon the Governor General, in full regalia with sword and decorations, accompanied by his elegantly gowned, statuesque French wife, was climbing the steps to my studio. In my eagerness and delight I became too excited. My mistakes in English frustrated me; I did not even focus the camera correctly; not surprisingly, this first photographic attempt was disastrous. Something more important than my introduction to incandescent lighting came out of the Little Theatre. My first night there I was ushered into the dressing room of the leading lady, the spirited and independent Solange Gauthier, from Tours, France. From our marriage some years later, to her death inshe was a source of encouragement, understanding, and inspiration. Because of the grim circumstances of my child-hood, I had missed experiencing the arts; Solange was acquainted with music, literature, drama, and the dance, which Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images shared with me. After the searing grief of her death, I felt the most fitting tribute to her would be a living memorial at the Ottawa Little Theatre, and I established the yearly Solange Karsh Award for the Best One-Act Play in Canada, the cash stipend accompanied by a medal based on a photograph I had taken of her one carefree day, dancing under the willow trees. But all this was still Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images the future. He was the most informal of men, impatient with the strict protocol his position sometimes demanded. The resultant photograph was not only my Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images foray into photojournalism, but also the occasion when I first met Prime Minister King. From then on, we were not strangers in the world of Ottawa, and he would in time become my patron and friend. A year after the Churchill photograph, early inI was on my way to England on a slow Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images frightening voyage on a Norwegian freighter, part of a ninety-three ship convoy. In wartime London, as I photographed one exhilarating personality after another — among them George Bernard Shaw, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the British royal family — I felt once again the excitement of my apprenticeship days in Boston, drinking in the conversation of Garo and his colleagues. It would set a pattern of working away from my studio. Any room in the world where I could set up my portable lights and camera—from Buckingham Palace to a Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images kraal, from miniature Zen Buddhist temples in Japan to the splendid Renaissance chambers of the Vatican — would become my studio. Through my photography I have not only become Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images with some of the most celebrated personalities of our era but have had the opportunity to visit fascinating parts of the world I might not otherwise have known. On an off-the-beaten-track movie assignment in the Moroccan desert between Casablanca and Marrakesh, I put to use the Arabic I had learned as a small boy, and photographed some of the principal actors in the film Sodom and Gomorrah. The royal family of Morocco was intrigued by the presence of the film company and invited ten members of the crew on a most unorthodox deer hunt. Photographs – Yousuf Karsh

Karsh at his exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, London, By Phil Weedon. By Malak Karsh. By Jean-Marc Carisse. Skip to content MENU. Inquiries Search for: Home. Yousuf Karsh with his mentor, John Garo, Self-Portrait, Karsh's late wife Solange, Self- Portrait, s. Solange with John Garo, With his brother Malak Karsh, Ottawa, s. With his mother,by Malak Karsh. Solange Karsh, s. Self-Portrait with negative of Peggy Cummins, With his mother, Bahiyah, and brothers Salim, Malak, and Jamil, Karsh's parents, Massih and Bahiyah Karsh, in Ottawa, With Albert Einstein, Princeton, Portrait with camera,by Ben Hill-Tout. Paris, s. Canada, With his printer of 40 years, Ignas Gabalis, With Hemingway at home in Havana, Solange Karsh, Rome,by Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images Miller. Morocco,by Marc Riboud. Yousuf and Estrellita Karsh, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Karsh in conversation with his subject, s. Karsh by Man Ray, With niece, Mary-Anne, Yousuf and Estrellita Karsh, by Edward Steichen, Yousuf and Estrellita with Edward and Joanna Steichen, Yousuf and Estrellita at Little Wings, their home in Ottawa, s. With sculptor Jacques Lipchitz, Tuscany, Estrellita Karsh, With Cliquot, Yousuf and Estrellita, With Ansel Adams, Yosemite, Karsh in Boston, late s. Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images Lauren Shaw. Karsh by George O'Neill, s. Ottawa, s, by Malak Karsh. Yousuf and Estrellita enjoying a joke with President Reagan, Paris, By Manuel Litran, Paris Match. With Assistant Jerry Fielder, Paris, Photographing President Mitterand, Paris, Photographing President Giscard d'Estaing, Paris, With Gerard Depardieu, Paris, With Secretary of State Alexander Haig, With a young friend, New York, s. With Kermit and Jim Henson, By Charles Britt. Karsh: A Biography in Images by Yousuf Karsh, Paperback | Barnes & Noble®

Armenian-Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh is considered one of the greatest portrait photographers of the 20th century. Schooled in the Hollywood glamour tradition and specializing in classical portraiture, Karsh traveled all over the world to photograph political and military leaders, as well as celebrated writers, entertainers, and artists. By the end of his career, Karsh of Ottawa, as he was called, had achieved a rare stature: His portraits had become the images by which many politicians and cultural Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images are best remembered — Winston Churchill as an indomitable wartime leader; Albert Einstein with his hands clasped together; Humphrey Bogart with a burning cigarette in hand. In his lifetime, Karsh held a remarkable 15, sittings and produced more thannegatives, leaving an indelible record of the women and men who helped shaped the twentieth century. Within every person a secret is hidden, and as a photographer, it is my job to reveal it if I can. The revelation may come in a fraction of a second in the form of an unconscious gesture, a gleam of the eye. In that fleeting moment, the photographer must act or lose his prize. Inat the age of 16, his parents sent him to stay with his uncle George Nakash, a photographer who lived in Quebec, Canada. After barely six months of high school, Karsh left formal education and began working full-time with his uncle, providing him with income to support his family back in Syria. After a few years assisting his uncle, Karsh, who by now was twenty, was sent to Boston to apprentice under the respected portrait photographer John H. Garo in While assisting Garo, Karsh learned about the importance of light, shadow, and form. These three elements would become key to his work. InKarsh returned to Canada and opened a studio in Ottawa, close to the Canadian Parliament building. He initially undercut his competitors, charging one dollar for a finished print with his much of his early work mainly consisting of passport photos, family portraits, business events, and weddings. He also photographed actors at the Ottawa Little Theatre, where he was introduced to the potential of theatrical lighting, as well as to the elite classes of Ottawa. While working with the theatre, Karsh met the French actress, Solange Gauthier, who he would later marry in His first major commission came from the Governor-General and Countess of Bessborough, who he first met at the Little Theatre. Karsh was quickly acquiring the reputation as an outstanding portrait photographer whose lighting magic flattered his subjects. In demand, his client list included many high-achievers in politics, the arts, and the world of show business. My chief joy is to photograph the great in heart, in mind, and in spirit, whether they be famous or humble. InKarsh was invited to photograph President Roosevelt, the first American president to officially visit Canada. He traveled to Quebec for the sitting, where he also met Prime Minister Mackenzie King who would facilitate the famous portrait of Winston Churchill. Inat the age of thirty-three, Karsh immortalized the great Sir Winston Churchill on film. Churchill was visiting Washington D. Unaware of the planned sitting and in no mood to have his portrait taken, Churchill marched into the room Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images with a cigar stuck between his teeth. He allowed the Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images just two minutes to get his photograph. Karsh asked him to remove the cigar and when he refused, the photographer instinctively walked up to the great man and removed the cigar himself. Churchill scowl deepened, and he thrust his head forward in anger and Karsh got his photo. The image captured Churchill and the British spirit during World War II perfectly — defiant, tenacious, and unconquerable. It was a spontaneous act on my part removing the cigar. It was similar to picking a piece of thread off your shirt. It was done with respect and appreciation. But he responded. His expression, although not planned on my part, fit the need of the hour. Impressed with the audacity of the Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images, Churchill allowed Karsh to take one more photograph for which he smiled. It should be the aim of every photographer to make a single exposure that shows everything about the subject. I have been told that my portrait of Churchill is an Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images of this. To show that Canada was playing a part in the war, Karsh sent to London by the Canadian government in to photograph the other leaders of wartime Britain. By the end of the war, Karsh was known throughout the world as a sympathetic portrayer of the famous and powerful. For the project, Karsh traveled throughout the country to photograph the cities and workers. By the late s, Karsh had become just as famous as his sitters. The same year his mother died and his wife Solange was diagnosed with cancer — she would die two years later. Karsh re-married inthis time to a historian and medical writer, Estrellita Machbar, who he met during a portrait session in Chicago. InKarsh Yousef - A Biography in Images sold his archive, including all his negatives, to the National Archives of Canada, where his former apprentice, Jerry Fielder, became the curator of the collection. Karsh continued to work throughout the s Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images into the early 90s. One of Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images most successful photographs from his later career is a double portrait of the American president, Bill Clinton, and his wife, Hillary. The Karsh studio closed inby which time the legendary photographer had snapped portraits of every Canadian prime minister since Mackenzie King, every British prime minister since Sir Winston Churchill, every French president since Charles de Gaulle, and every U. Karsh and Estrellita moved to Boston intaking up residence in an apartment close to the Museum of Fine Arts. Karsh was the only Canadian, and the only photographer, on the list. Many of his great portraits can be viewed on the official Yousuf Karsh website. Karsh was a master of the formally posed, carefully lighted portraits. He often said that the most important lesson he learned early in his career was that the art of photography was a combination of observation and intuition. Here are 3 more lessons from Yousuf Karsh, which everyone can Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images to take their portrait photography to the next level:. On the day of the shoot, despite being focused on the technical side of his work, Karsh used the information he had learned to keep the conversation between him and his subject flowing. To make a significant photo of someone, you have to know a great deal about them —their accomplishments, mission in life, or contribution to their fellow man. All this information and observation plays an important part so that the photographer can make a sensitive image. Usually, these great men and women, are in the habit of giving much of themselves to you, so that much of your preparation may totally be unused at the time but you feel you are well-armed. Karsh preferred to photograph his subjects in their own environment, with many of his portraits shot against simple backgrounds frequently black. He only used props that would enhance the image and help tell the story of the subject. The merit is, what is the final result. Karsh was in charge, no matter his subject, and he chose the locations and set-ups and even placed all of his sitters himself. To help build a better rapport, Karsh worked with only one assistant, whether traveling to location or in the studio — there were no hairstylists, make-up artists, Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images managers allowed — it was only him and his subject. Once the lighting see the section below and composition were to his satisfaction, he would leave the camera and engage with his subject, ready to squeeze the shutter release in his hand and capture the moment of truth. This is the moment to record. I am satisfied that no purpose would be served if I were consciously seeking to convert what would be a portrait of greatness into a moment of weakness. Such moments are not worthy of recording. Of all the technical aspects of photography, Karsh was the most interested in lighting. His mentor, John Garo worked only with natural light in his studio in Chicago. Karsh found artificial lighting both fascinating and challenging; he wanted Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images master it and make it work for him. Karsh always had an assistant set-up the lighting and camera equipment for him. First, the assistant checked all bulbs, and placed the main and fill lighting units in a standard arrangement. Hidden between the screens or directly behind the subject was a small one bulb light that illuminated the background and separated it from the subject. The backlight came with two fiberglass cloths. One or both cloths, fitted on a metal diffuser, were placed over the light to soften it as required. Close to the spots were two stands, which supported handmade, black cardboard cards. These cards were fitted with a hook, which resembled a coat hanger, and revolved degrees on the stand. These were Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images used to block light from shining into the camera lens. Once all the lights were set up, Karsh would check everything for himself and examine the stage. He would then test the lighting Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images, with his assistant standing in as the subject. I would always set up the lights and camera in the same way so he knew instinctually where everything was. It was like an artist who places paints in the same order on his palette to concentrate fully on the canvas. Yousuf would then make adjustments as the sitting progressed — sometimes minor, sometimes major, but never the same. After his initial test, Karsh would re-arrange the lights. He might switch the main and fill units around, with the main on the left side, and the fill on the right of the sitter, or he might remove the fill light altogether. He might turn on one spot light, or keep both off during the entire session. Likewise, he applied different light formulas for both men and women. When Karsh photographed women, he always used softer light and turned the main and fill units slightly away from the subject, directing the spot lights on the hair or shoulders to reduce the appearance of wrinkles or facial lines. Karsh always placed two lights behind his subject on both sides — to act as either fill or rim lights — which Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images in light bouncing off the side of the subjects face and towards the camera. Depending on the sitter, Karsh might also place another light to act as fill on the opposite side to the key light on the left side of the camera. He also found Tungsten lights to be less disruptive than the flash of strobes, which allowed him to build a better rapport with his subjects. Although he had a dislike for flash lights, he could also see the benefits and used them on assignments in Europe and the U. Karsh experimented with cameras early on in his career before settling on Calumet large format Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images in the s. The Calumet was typically used by Landscape photographers of the day and rarely seen inside portrait studios. Karsh mixed developers to his own formulae. When it came to working with negatives, he used specialist chemicals that allowed a faint green light to reveal the deepening densities so he could judge each one individually. For prints, he had two developers: hard and soft. Although many times, he would use both on the same photograph — one to bathe Karsh Yousef - A Biography in Images print and the other applied carefully in specific areas with a cotton bud. Look and think before opening the shutter.