favorite early baseball photographer

[Bicem]

Aside from Carl Horner who did mostly studio portraits, who is your favorite early (20th century) baseball photographer?

[drcy]

Love Bain. He did great non-sport photography as well. Below is an old column I wrote that gives some examples of his talent and scope.

Looking at the Photos of George Grantham Bain

[JoeyFarino]

Van Oeyen or Conlon for me

[doug.goodman]

I have to go with George Burke, with half credit to his assistant George Brace.

Doug

[Bicem]

Burke is a good choice too, I forgot about him.

Voted for Bain too David, his work has a "haunting" look to it that I love.

[perezfan]

I voted for Paul Thompson, but like Bain a lot as well. He was the best at capturing interesting backgrounds and unique stadium scenes.

But those early Thompson photos of the Babe are probably my all-time favorites.

[Huysmans]

All masters of the lens, Van Oeyen's work always stood out for me. I especially love the Van Oeyen Lajoie portrait postcard.... the clarity, shadowing, details of his high collar jersey and his overall countenance... It's a stunning image.

[Bicem]

Thanks!!!

[Huysmans]

Yes!
Thanks for posting Jeff!

[gnaz01]

[drcy]

I like variety, so, while I have my favorite, it's nice to see the different styles. I like Bain's movie still or candid shots-- and as noted, they have a distinct Gothic style--, but Burke's formal poses are great too.

[PSACJ]

Charles M. Conlon for me 100%

[Forever Young]

My vote is Sir Charles. He rarely missed.. most likely because he was the actual photographer. Burke was consistent too. Conlon, however, is KING.

At one point I loved bain the most.. but mostly because of the "look" of paper and editorisl marks ect. There are some masterpieces but many not so great ones.. imo..�� The greats are off the charts though.

Below was the first thread of its kind 5 years ago. It is weird reading my own comments and seeing how my taste and collection has changed since.

Either way.. the great /top tier photos of everyone listed are bomb.

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthr...e+photographer

[Bicem]

That's funny, never saw that thread and in my poll I listed the same photographers in the same order!

[nolemmings]

The first Burke--Francis Burke. Some notables off hand:

[nolemmings]

[Leon]

me too

Originally Posted by perezfan

I voted for Paul Thompson, but like Bain a lot as well. He was the best at capturing interesting backgrounds and unique stadium scenes.

But those early Thompson photos of the Babe are probably my all-time favorites.

[thecatspajamas]

I go Conlon first, then George Burke. Both were truly talented photographers who happened to train their lenses on baseball players. I also appreciate the volume of quality material that each produced, especially Burke, making their work now more approachable from a collector's standpoint. The primo shots and key players still command high prices, but any collector can pick up an 80+ year old photo of an average player and enjoy the same quality photography they employed for Hall of Fame subjects.