Eliot Porter

Born 6 December 1901, Porter took up photography in 1930. He taught biochemistry at Harvard University until 1939, when he became a professional freelance photographer in Cambridge, Massachusetts, after being encouraged by Ansel Adams and Alfred Stieglitz. In 1940, Porter began to specialize in colour photography. From 1944 to 1946, Porter worked as a freelance landscape and wildlife photographer in Winnetka, Illinois. In 1946, Porter settled in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he photographed birds for Audubon Magazine. In 1955-1956, Porter travelled to Mexico with photographer Ellen Auerbach to photograph Mexican churches. From 1967 to 1971, Porter took three photographic trips to Greece and Turkey. Porter undertook three expeditions to photograph in Antarctica from 1975 to 1977. Many of his nature photographs are firmly linked with the Sierra Club and its promotion of conservation causes. He died 2 November 1990. (ULAN)