Walter Edward Bennett is a photographer who is known for his collection of pictures on presidents, politicians, and other notable figures. He was born in England and discovered his passion for photography when he went to high school in Los Angeles. He was a photographer for the Los Angeles Time and became the first salaried paid photographer. He then went to work in Washington D.C where he stayed for 30 years taking pictures.
Bennett’s photos provide snippets of major historical events that occurred during the 1960’s to 1970’s. As the saying goes, “pictures are worth a thousand words”. With these photos, many stories can be told of what life was like in the US at the time the pictures were taken. For instance, there were photos of anti-war demonstrators protesting against the Vietnam War outside the capital in Washington D.C on May Day. There were also pictures of the Beatles and astronauts Gus Grissom and John Young, all of who are notable people that revolutionize US culture in their respective field.
Based on Bennett’s photo collection, he seems to focus his attention on United State’s presidents. More specifically, he has lots of pictures of President Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon. All these pictures can tell the story of presidential life as the Unites State leader. For instance, one can infer that there is a good relationship between President Lyndon B. Johnson and Upper Voltian President Maurice Yamego with the photo of them smiling at one another. This would indicate a good relationship between the two countries.
Although Bennet’s photo illustrated and narrated the United State culture and possible presidential legacy, the archives have excluded a possible category in the list of metadata to tell stories of the photographer himself. For what reason is the photographer taking these photos? What is Bennet’s goal/ mission? Is taking picture of notable figures something he does as a passion or for work? To answer this, a good category to include in the metadata are a list of sources that legally uses Bennet’s photos with his permission. In other words, where did Bennet’s publicize his photos? Online? Magazine? Newspaper? Having this information can give audience an idea as to why Bennet’s are taking the photos that he has taken. Understanding the reasoning behind taking photo and publicizing it in certain media can give us insight into the minds of the photographer.
