Jane Bown (1925-2014) joined the Observer in 1949 and over the course of the next six decades created a remarkably singular body of work that straddled all areas of photojournalism. It is, however, for her insightful, intimate and deeply respectful portraits that she is best remembered. Her working method was legendary – speed and simplicity. She used Olympus OM1s from the early 1970s, liked to expose no more than two films, never used a light meter, never had an assistant, used natural light only, and worked, almost exclusively, in black and white. She was very proud of the fact that she never returned from a shoot empty-handed. She used her diminutive stature and self-effacing nature to put her subjects at ease and had an instinctive understanding when she had captured the 'jackpot snap'. Famously reluctant to talk about her working method, Jane once admitted that for the brief moment when she looked at somebody through a lens, what she felt could best be described in terms of an intense love.
A new Jane Bown gallery looks back at some of the strike action covered by Jane Bown over the last sixty years. The series has been selected from the Jane Bown archive as well as the book Jane Bown: A Lifetime of Looking, edited by Luke Dodd. The book celebrates the late Observer photographer’s powerful reportage work, revealing the faces, conflicts and changes of British social history across six decades.
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How long will this print be available for?
Until 23:59pm BST on 24th December 2024.