THE ENGLISH
Posted by Harry Feng on
The British Magnum photographer Ian Berry is counted among the most important representatives of humanistic photography. It was the pictures he took in South Africa that first drew the attention of the general public. He had emigrated there in 1952, where his photo journalistic work was published in various newspapers and magazines, including the renowned Drum magazine. At the same time he began working on his own, personal projects. He left South Africa in 1962 and moved to Paris, where Henri Cartier-Bresson invited him to join Magnum Photos. He became a full member of the agency in 1967. In 1964 he moved to London, where he became the first commissioned photographer for the Observer magazine. It was at this time that he began to focus very intensely on his homeland, resulting in the publication of the photo book, The English, in 1978. We spoke with him about the series.