Friday, January 3, 2014

The Incredible Versatility Of Photographer John Dominis

Photographer John Dominis died Monday at age 92 and left behind one of those archives that are hard to comprehend. Over the course of a few decades at Life magazine, Dominis not only worked in just about every photographic genre but also seemed to have mastered them.

The underpinning to his wildly variegated archive (fashion, war, architecture, poverty) is a sensibility: a way of reconciling the gravity of life with its in a single frame; an intuitive understanding of light and shadow; an enviable way of adapting to any situation.

Here is a very limited look at those moments, both iconic and quotidian, that Dominis witnessed and preserved:

Sports (But Lyrically)
Yankee Mickey Mantle flinging his batting helmet away in disgust during bad day at bat, 1965
Yankee Mickey Mantle flinging his batting helmet away in disgust during bad day at bat, 1965
John Dominis/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image

Animals (As A Taxonomist Might See Them)
A "portrait" of Santa Gertrudis bull at King Ranch, 1952
A "portrait" of Santa Gertrudis bull at King Ranch, 1952
John Dominis/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image

Things Organized Neatly (Before It Was )
An array of pots and pans used for cooking, 1968
An array of pots and pans used for cooking, 1968
John Dominis/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image

Portraits (In Really Creative Ways)
Butterfly breeder Carl Anderson with monarch butterflies on his face, 1954
Butterfly breeder Carl Anderson with monarch butterflies on his face, 1954
John Dominis/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image

Food (, Anyone?)
Argentinian matambre, a slice of beef rolled with vegetables and chilies, 1966
Argentinian matambre, a slice of beef rolled with vegetables and chilies, 1966
John Dominis/Getty Images/Time & Life Picture

War
Helicopter ambulance taking off on a flight to Seoul, Korean War, March 1951
Helicopter ambulance taking off on a flight to Seoul, Korean War, March 1951
John Dominis/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image

Technology And Innovation (And Interesting Light)
Farmer Bob Chickering at dusk driving lamp-studded lettuce harvester he invented, 1955
Farmer Bob Chickering at dusk driving lamp-studded lettuce harvester he invented, 1955
John Dominis/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image

Politics (From Eisenhower To Nixon)
President Richard Nixon and Chinese Premier Chou En Lai watching a pingpong match during Nixon's visit to China, 1972
President Richard Nixon and Chinese Premier Chou En Lai watching a pingpong match during Nixon's visit to China, 1972
John Dominis/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

Wildlife (As In, Life And Death)
Leopard about to kill a terrified baboon, South Africa, 1965
Leopard about to kill a terrified baboon, South Africa, 1965
John Dominis/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

Celebrities (And Good Times)
Frank Sinatra singing during a performance in Las Vegas, Nev., April 1965
Frank Sinatra singing during a performance in Las Vegas, Nev., April 1965
John Dominis/Time Life & Getty Images

Not Celebrities (And Hard Times)
Girl with cala lilies, Mexico, 1951
Girl with cala lilies, Mexico, 1951
John Dominis/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image

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