A review by jchant
Dorothea Lange: Grab a Hunk of Lightning by Elizabeth Partridge

5.0

I recently saw the American Masters film on the life of Dorothea Lange on PBS, and I knew that I had to read and view (view definitely being the operative word) this companion volume. The book consists of a short biographical essay, followed by many of Lange's most memorable photographs. Her most famous, Migrant Mother is here, of course, but there were others that tell other devastating stories: unemployed men in San Fransisco, Japanese children in internment camps, black sharecroppers in the South.

The photographs are all visually stunning, but this quote of Lange's resonated with me the most:

One should really use the camera as though tomorrow you'd be stricken blind. To live a visual life is an enormous undertaking, practically unattainable. I have only touched it, just touched it.

Update: I read this book again In 2020 after reading [b:Learning to See|40042520|Learning to See|Elise Hooper|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1536787876l/40042520._SY75_.jpg|57738383], because I wanted to refresh my memory on the actual details of her life and immerse myself once again in her photography.