Photographers You Should Know: Fritz Henle; The Search for Beauty

White Sands, New Mexico

Utter simplicity, utter beauty.

"One thing an artist can do in this world is to remind people that there is so much beauty that you only have to see it." (Henle, The Search for Beauty)

Henle's daughter Tina says “My father’s three mantras were ‘beauty,’ ‘truth,’ and ‘freedom’. . . Those three words motivated my father’s life,”

Although he recognized that there is much ugliness in the world and he was not unrealistic about it, Henle felt that there were plenty of photographers who could cover that aspect of life. He believed, however, that there were also many good and beautiful things in life and his role was to make photographs that were life-affirming and positive.

Georges Braque, Cubist Painter

In my opinion one of the all-time great portraits.

 "Probably the pictures that stand out strongest in your memory, from books, magazines, or exhibits, are those which struck a responsive chord in you -- reached across the distance to command your sympathy, curiosity, or understanding. This is photography's grandest achievement:: to reach what is most human in us. These are the documents that endure because they contain a human truth." (Henle, Photography for Everyone)

"If you make photographs that are deeply felt and honestly seen, have faith in them and in yourself. . . (The photographer) may on occasion, record the ugly and document grief and pain. These are a part of the universe; but they are not all of it if we see life whole. . . A really great photographer is a searching and inquisitive eye. We see the world more clearly, more fully, mirrored in his pictures. The foundation of his vision is honesty. Its strength is his sympathy and understanding, and in his deep love for all of life." (Henle, Fritz Henle's Guide to Rollei Photography)

Chemist, Cities Service Company (now Citgo)

One of my favorite pictures and a great example of Henle's

framing and use of the three planes -- near, middle, and far.

A picture to study and learn from.

 Very sadly indeed, the life-affirming photography that Henle did so beautifully has become passé in today's art world. The optimistic humanism reflected in his work has been greatly eroded in this post-modern era. There has been a crashing loss of faith in man. Instead of being seen as an heroic figure with unlimited potential for progress (the twin-lens reflex camera, by the way, was the perfect instrument for expressing this heroism because the viewpoint was usually one of looking up at the subject), he is now seen as a threat to the environment and a creature for which we can have, at best, only tentative hopes. Man has been deconstructed, and this is the reason nature, landscape, and environmental photography, although they have always been with us, have now come to the fore. The idea that "the proper study of man is man" has been largely abandoned.

As a Christian, I believe modernism and optimistic humanism to be flawed philosophies, but they nonetheless created a climate in which much of our greatest photography was produced. 

Caribbean Beauty

from his U.S. Virgin Islands portfolio.

 Henle published many books in his lifetime, beginning with This Is Japan in 1937 and ending with Casals in 1975. Most of them are still available from sellers like amazon.com and abebooks.com. Prices vary widely. You might also check your local used book store if you're fortunate enough to have one.

In 1979 the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas began collecting Henle's photographs. He passed away in 1993 and the Center now has his entire archive. In 2009 the Center mounted a massive exhibit of his work and published a (also massive) book of his photographs titled Fritz Henle: In Search of Beauty with text by Roy Flukinger. This is the definitive volume about Henle's life and work, with hundreds of his photographs (although I'm sorry to say they left out some of my favorites.)

Caribbean Sunset

from his U.S. Virgin Islands portfolio.

(Photographs copyright Fritz Henle Estate, 2020)

Soli Deo Gloria

To the glory of God alone