Great Black and white photographers, part 2

Gordon Parks

My favorite black and white photographer is Gordon Parks. His full name is Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks, he was born November 30, 1912 in Fort Scott, Kansas and died March 7, 2006 at age 93. He attended a segregated elementary school. The town was too small to afford a separate high school that would facilitate segregation of the secondary school, but blacks were not allowed to play sports or attend school social activities. In 1929, He briefly worked in a gentalme He was a photographer, music, writer, and film director. In the 1950's, Gordon worked as a consultant on various Hollywood productions. He later directed a series of documentaries on black ghetto life that were commissioned by National Educational Television. In 1971, Parks directed a film starring Richard Roundtree, called "Shaft". It became a major hit that had a series of films. He made several of films for television and composed music and a libretto for Martin, a ballet tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. Which premiered in Washington, D.C. during 1989. It was on National television on King's birthday in 1990. His first job was a piano player in a brothel when he was a teenager. He also performed as a jazz pianist. Parks composed Concerto for Piano and Orchestra at the encouragement of black American conductor. These are two of my favorite pictures that he created.