--- description: Margaret Bourke White, the first Western photographer officially able to cover the Soviet Union, was born on June 14, 1904 title: LIFE Photographer Margaret Bourke-White and Her Cameras image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a15018483d1ab35/6988960a656a3f33bfbcbc67/160602-margaret-bourke-white-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See the Classic Cameras Used by LIFE's First Female Staff Photographer by [Liz Ronk](/author/liz-ronk/) and [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/) Jun 14, 2016 12:00 PM CUT  LIFE photographer Margaret Bourke-White and her camera. LIFE photographer Margaret Bourke-White and her camera.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images by [Liz Ronk](/author/liz-ronk/) and [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/) Jun 14, 2016 12:00 PM CUT Legendary LIFE and _Fortune_ photographer Margaret Bourke-White—who was born on this day, June 14, in 1904—had plenty of superlatives to her name. After being brought on by TIME Magazine founder Henry Luce to cover industry and business for _Fortune_ in 1929, a position that gave her a front-row seat to the aftermath of the stock-market crash, she was hired as LIFE magazine’s first female staff photographer. In fact, she shot the image of Fort Peck Dam in Montana on the cover of the magazine’s inaugural issue, dated [Nov. 23, 1936](http://time.com/3764198/lifes-first-ever-cover-story-building-the-fort-peck-dam-1936/ "undefined"). She worked her industry connections to receive unprecedented access from the Soviet embassy to cover the 1930s [industrial revolution](http://time.com/4004889/soviet-union-margaret-bourke-white/ "undefined") in the USSR, making her the first Western photographer accredited to enter the Soviet Union. She then took her field to new heights as the first female photographer accredited to cover World War II combat zones. She also literally _took to_ new heights, whether she dangled from one of the Chrysler Building’s gargoyles or from a [“whirlibird”](https://books.google.com/books?id=9FUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA129&lpg=PA129&dq=%22whirlibirds%22+margaret+bourke-white&source=bl&ots=u99pfjymg5&sig=o8cKYKbuRfH9364Kb7V4YGFsBSE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiFwaSlr5nNAhXJWSYKHeRvA14Q6AEIRjAL#v=onepage&q=%22whirlibirds%22%20margaret%20bourke-white&f=false "undefined") (helicopter) to photograph a [Navy rescue](http://time.com/3879628/air-america-picturing-the-united-states-from-above/photo/22%5F00735829/ "undefined"). **_(Gifts:_** [**_The 100 Most Influential Images of All Time)_**](http://shop.time.com/storefront/subscribe-to-time/link/1039114.html?xid=cm-TIMEShopscTIMEArticle "undefined") She is believed to have been [the only photographer in Moscow](http://www.iphf.org/hall-of-fame/margaret-bourke-white/ "undefined") in 1941 during the World War II German raids of the Kremlin, which allowed her to take Soviet Leader Josef Stalin’s portrait. In Europe, she shadowed the Air Force, photographed Nazi atrocities and even survived a torpedo attack en route to cover the North African Campaign. After the war, she documented the final years of [Mahatma Gandhi](http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2019712%5F2019711%5F2019680,00.html "undefined")‘s life, producing the iconic image of the proponent of nonviolent protests[ with his spinning wheel](http://time.com/3639043/gandhi-and-his-spinning-wheel-the-story-behind-an-iconic-photo/ "undefined"). In the 1950s, as she started to develop Parkinson’s Disease, she continued to photograph the Korean War, and wrote her autobiography _Portrait of Myself_ until she officially retired from _LIFE_ in 1969. But, as the above photos show, there was at least one area of life where she had a harder time establishing a superlative: rather than ranking her various cameras, she loved each for its own abilities. As she wrote in _Portrait of Myself_: “People often ask me, ‘What’s the _best_ camera?’ That is like asking, ‘What is the best surgeon’s tool?’ Different cameras fill different needs. I have always had a special affection for the larger-than-miniature cameras.” Bourke-White died in 1971. **_Gifts:_** [**_The 100 Most Influential Images of All Time_**](http://shop.time.com/storefront/subscribe-to-time/link/1039114.html?xid=cm-TIMEShopscTIMEArticle "undefined")  LIFE photographer Margaret Bourke-White and her camera. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Margaret Bourke-White's photographic equipment. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  LIFE photographer Margaret Bourke-White and her camera. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Margaret Bourke-White's photographic equipment. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  LIFE photographer Margaret Bourke-White and her camera. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Margaret Bourke-White's photographic equipment. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  LIFE photographer Margaret Bourke-White and her camera. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Margaret Bourke-White's photographic equipment. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4355162/margaret-bourke-white-cameras/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4355162/margaret-bourke-white-cameras/"},"headline":"See the Classic Cameras Used by LIFE's First Female Staff Photographer","datePublished":"2016-06-14T12:00:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:50:28.518Z","description":"\"Different cameras fill different needs,\" said the photographer, born June 14, 1904","url":"https://time.com/4355162/margaret-bourke-white-cameras/","keywords":["photography","alfred eisenstaedt","margaret bourke-white"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a15018483d1ab35/6988960a656a3f33bfbcbc67/160602-margaret-bourke-white-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Liz Ronk","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. Waxman","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a15018483d1ab35/6988960a656a3f33bfbcbc67/160602-margaret-bourke-white-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Margaret Bourke-White Cameras","caption":"LIFE photographer Margaret Bourke-White and her camera.","creditText":"Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4355162/margaret-bourke-white-cameras/","name":"See the Classic Cameras Used by LIFE's First Female Staff Photographer"}}]}] ```