ABSTRACT
In this chapter the author describes her first assignments for the American picture magazine Life, which, more than any other, elevated photojoumalists from journeymen to influential commentators on world events. In ‘Life Begins’, she recollects the excitement and pace of these formative months in the history of photojournalism and her position as a woman working in a very male profession. A few weeks before the beginning, Harry Luce called the author up to his office and assigned her to a wonderful story out in the Northwest. Luce was very active editorially in the early days of the magazine, and there was always that extra spark in the air. Harry’s idea was to photograph the enormous chain of dams in the Columbia River basin that was part of the New Deal program. In the beginning of Life there were only four photographers, and with the magazine coming out every week, there was a great deal to be done.
