Grand Canal and the church of Santa Maria del Salute, Venice in 1955 by Inge Morath. This was the first time she had ever taken her own photos and she used an old Contax which was a gift from her mother who had been using it for microscopy. Her raw talent is immediately evident.

“It was raining in Venice. The light was incredibly beautiful, and suddenly I was convinced of the need to photograph it...I called up a few photographers. No-one was interested. Bob (Robert) Capa in Paris simply said, “Why the hell don’t you take a picture yourself, you idiot?”

“I was excited. I went and stood in the spot where I wanted to take my photographs, a street corner where people went past in a way I found interesting. I adjusted the camera & pressed the release as soon as everything was exactly the way I wanted it. It was like a revelation”

“To realize in an instant what had been simmering away inside you for so long, capturing it the moment it took on the shape I felt was right. After that, there was no stopping me. I went everywhere, standing on bridges, in church entrance, on corners that looked promising...”

“... and then there was no film left. I bought another and decided there and then to become a photographer.”
Inge Morath

When you look at these photographs, the first ones she ever took, it gives some insight into just how good she was and how she had an innate talent for composition and timing. I never tire of her photography.