Study the Masters: Elliott Erwitt | David duChemin
Elliott Erwitt (1928 – present) is one of my favourite photographers. A photojournalist and commercial photographer, he is known for his black and white photographs of ironic and absurd situations within everyday settings. A master of timing, Erwitt has an incredible eye for juxtaposition. Born in France in 1928 to Russian émigré parents, Elliot spent his formative years in Italy, his family immigrating to the US, fleeing the nazis, when Erwitt was ten years old. They first settle in New York, then two years later moved to LA. While attending Hollywood High School, Erwitt worked in a commercial darkroom that processed prints of movie stars for fans, and he went on to study photography and filmmaking at Los Angeles City College and the New School for Social Research. In 1949 began his professional career when he travelled to Europe, photographing Italy and France. In the 1950s he served as a photographer’s assistant in the US Army while stationed in France and Germany, eventually moving back to New York, where he met, and was heavily influenced by, Edward Steichen, Robert Capa, and Roy Stryker, all of whom became mentors to him……
Source: davidduchemin.com