Carol M. Highsmith | Through the Shattered Lens

Ever since the 1980s, Carol M. Highsmith has been exploring America and taking photographs of what she finds. Starting in 2009, Highsmith has been donating her life’s work of more than 100,000 images to the Library of Congress. Highsmith’s photographs emphasizes the corners and parts of America that are in danger of disappearing in the face of progress and development. By donating them royalty-free, Highsmith has provided people everywhere with the chance to see parts of America that they might not otherwise have the chance to experience. As a photographer, she’s been a huge influence on my own work.

I first wrote about Carol Highsmith and her work in 2012. This year, for the 4th of July, I’m going to share more of Highsmith’s American photography. The first 10 pictures below were taken in Texas. The rest were taken elsewhere.

Oregon

Arizona

Missouri

Wyoming

This artist profile is an important one to me because Carol M. Highsmith and her work are the biggest influences on my photography. If not for Carol Highsmith, I probably never would have picked up a camera.

Carol Highsmith is known as “America’s photographer” and it’s easy to see why. For the past 30 years, Highsmith has devoted her life to taking pictures in every corner of the United States and she has captured everything from small town life to the monuments of Washington D.C. Her work has inspired countless other photographers and I’m one of them.

Highsmith has donated her entire life’s work (over 100,000 images!) to the Library of Congress and has also released them into the public domain. For this reason, Highsmith has been called “the most generous artist of our time.”