Post 1960 photographers
 

During the past few years I seem to have been focusing my efforts on collecting original photographs (Type 1) more than anything else. Although half the images in my modest collection were taken prior to 1949 there are a few photographers post 1960 whose work I really enjoy. Recently there was a poll here regarding pre-war photographers. Although I am not posting such a poll I was curious if there are any post 1960 photographers that any photo collectors look for other than Malcolm Emmons?

Below are a few of my favorites. Original images shot by Walter Loos Jr. (Jim Bunning), John W. McDonough (Rickey Henderson), Ronald C. Modra (Robin Yount) seem very tough to find. Ken Regan’s work (Orlando Cepeda) seems to be more plentiful and readily available. The final image is by Phillipe Halsman (Reggie Jackson). I posted this one to enquire if anyone has seen any other baseball image taken by Halsman who is famous for his portraits of celebrities such as Monroe and Dali. This baseball portrait by him is the only one I have ever come across.

One commonality that these artists share is that much of their work has appeared primarily in magazines. Perhaps this would account for my difficulty finding original examples of their work?

I like the photos. As a collector I like modern photos.

In photographs, modern doesn't always mean more common. A lot of modern stuff, including famous photographers, can be scarce.

I think that's definitely part of the scarcity, especially if the publications that they primarily worked for are still active. Another factor would be if the photographer is still alive. In both cases, it would mean that their photographs are much more likely to be housed in archives that have not been sold off, broken down, or otherwise released into the hobby. Until they are, unless the photographer actively sold his prints elsewhere, the few examples you find may have been gifts or prints sent out for other purposes. Whatever the case, it means fewer examples available for collectors.

I don't know which if any of those apply to the photographers you mentioned, but it goes to show how "scarcity" of such things can change.

Mike K
 

Your photos are great. Congratulations!
My collection of baseball cards,packs and photos until very recently has been limited
to the years 1900-39. I have found myself wanting to pick up one example of some of the key post-war photographers and have had some of the difficulty you have indicated in your post. As you know, I picked up quite a beauty
by Emmons of Brock (thanks to you!!!). I have also picked up a Dorrill photo of the
44 Yankees; a 42 Stein photo of Herman Franks; a late 50s Wingfield photo
of Bobby Morgan. Finding an original has been much tougher than I anticipated
but am pleased with what I've acquired thus far.
I am thinking, as suggested above, that there will be a day in the distant future when we'll see many more available---perhaps akin to all the recent auctions of the Conlon pieces.
all the best in your quest,
barry

Scarcity in the market sometimes means some huge archive has yet to be unloaded on the market.

Thanks Barry, I have a Stein and Dorrill as well and both were tough to come by. The photogoraphers I mentioned initially Looss Jr, McDonough, and Modra were employed by Sports Illustrated. Looss has 300 SI covers to his credit. He sells prints (Koufax for $2000-$4000) http://walteriooss.com/portfolios/8. Ron Modra has 70 SI covers much of his work there appears to be primarily related to baseball. He published a very cool book featuring his baseball photography. It is titled Reflections of the Game. John W. McDonough still shoots for SI. Below I pasted one of his recent photos. I love his use of color unfortunately the only original I have is the B&W Rickey Henderson. Ken Regan http://www.kenregan.com/#/portfolio seems to have been published in virtually every major periodical. Most of his originals that are in the hobby seem to have been released by his own photo agency Camera 5. Halsman http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/halsman/index.htm is famous for his work in Life magazine. It appears that the image of Reggie was his only baseball subject. I found one other example of the Jackson photo I posted in a gallery and the asking price was $450. That's certainly not as painful as a Looss but still a bit excessive in my opinion. Neil Leifer and Arthur Rickerby are also incredible. Their work is scare and far out of my income bracket. I hope you, DRC, and the Cat's PJs are correct in predicting that the work of these modern artists will become more readily available/affordable in the future.

Halsman was a famous non-sport photographer.

David,
Your knowledge in this area far outweighs my own and I will defer to you. I absolutely understand that Halsman was a famous non-sports photographer. However, I think that who is behind the camera far outweighs who is in front of it. I saw some Ali shots by Halsman that are very impressive. Although I wish he had ventured more into baseball than the one subject I have been able to find his talent is undeniable. Nonetheless, I bet he could have made Alfred E. Neumann look like the Mick given the assignment to do so.

As a baseball photo collector I focus on members of the HOF. I occasionally forgo this preference if the artist behind the camera is identifiable or transcends his subject. In all honesty many of the popular prewar photographers such as Bain bore me as does Paul Thompson. Conlon is in a different category. In my humble opinion he is the Ansel Adams of baseball photography. Can you imagine what Adams would have done with depictions of Fenway Park in the winter?

As I stated earlier I have a modest baseball photo collection. Unfortunately, it is limited by the subject matter rather than artist. I wish that that the artists were as readily identifiable as their subjects but unfortunately with vintage news photography that does not seem to be the case.

The other night I purchased a photo of Musial's last game taken by Bob Kurt (see below). I think it is a beautiful image. Especially considering how African American players felt about Stan the Man. I also always wondered where that scarf came from that he was wearing during the ceremonies. Unfortunately I doubt I will ever be able to find a Bob Kurt image by searching for his name.

Stan the Man
 

Mike,
I really love all of the photos that you post. You have a genuine eye for picking out some great images!

In studying your image of Stan the Man, I believe that the scarf that he is wearing may be a gift given by the Cub Scouts and presented by the boy in the image that's wearing the Scout uni. At least that's the way I see it, but I guess we will never know.

BTW, isn't Walter Iooss' last name spelled with an "I", not "L"?
Also, I've always heard that his last name is pronounced "Yous". Does anyone know if that is correct? The spelling of his last name is pretty unusual, but his camera work is spectacular!

You are absolutely correct in the spelling of his last name. Perhaps if I learned to spell names correctly I could have more success in finding images:o I have seen many images from Musials last day. I had always wondered about the origin of that scarf. I was unaware that the scarf was from the Boy Scouts. Nor had I ever seen a picture from that day of him with the scouts. He was, and is, such a classy dignified player/and man. I have been looking for the right Musial photo for my own taste. There was a Musial photo absent in my collection. 1940s and 50s images of him were 5x more expensive than this one and didn't feel as personal. I wish I could find other shots by Bob Kurt but doubt I will. I don't think he was a sports photographer as his photo credit stamp has Ralston Purina below his name.

It is spelled Iooss and pronounced Yous (rhymes with "close")
A few of my friends assisted him in the '80's, all said he was an incredibly nice guy to work for.
For photographers that are still active like Iooss why not contact him directly about possible sales? While some will refer you to their gallery, I know a lot of photographers that sell directly and bypass galleries, cutting out the middle man.

mike k and anthony n
 

very helpful tips.
I'm going to check them out.
all the best,
barry

Photo collecting
 

Collecting a player from a smaller market is tricky as far as photographers
are concerned. I find Nancy Hogue, Richard Philling. This one is by Gary
Weber. I have several by Burke. All kinds of names, just happy to find
the photos. (George Brett for those who don't know who it is :)Attachment 74813

That Brett is Awsome. I don't have one of him in my collection yet. That one would be hard to improve upon. I have seen Nancy Houge's work and she is very talented.

Mike,

My favorite Phillipe Halsman photograph used for the August 18, 1961 cover of Life. The image of Ruth in the background was shot by William C. Greene. I'm fortunate to own the original Type 1 print of this super image.

Cheers,

Craig

Thanks for sharing the information. I had no idea that was a Halsman image. You have an incredible photo there!

Mike

Didn't Ozzie Sweet (?) do a lot of the 60ish color work for SPORT magazine? I may be misremembering.