John Loengard: See Photos from New Book 'Moment By Moment'

December 6, 2016 8:30 AM EST

In the preface to his new book Moment by Moment, former LIFE photographer John Loengard notes that the thing about a good photograph is that it cannot be repeated. What it captures will never happen again, though now it is frozen in time by the image.

“That may explain why an image of a brief moment, an instant in time, can hold our interest forever,” he writes.

Loengard’s latest book is a survey that takes a closer look at a variety of the many iconic images he has created during the last 60 years. It is filled with quiet, intimate moments, from a laughing Marilyn Monroe to a young boy turning his head at the sound of his mother calling. All of his subjects, whether famous or unknown, are treated with the same careful, thoughtful eye — catching the moments in between.

Pictured on the cover is the famous photo of the Beatles in a swimming pool at Miami Beach in 1964. This photo in fact never ran on the cover of LIFE magazine – although as illustrated here, it is certainly cover worthy — but ran in the back of the book as a Miscellany. (“I never thought it was a terrific photograph,” Loengard told LIFE.com a few years ago. “It’s not a very expressive picture at all, in my opinion. But given the history and the appeal of the people in it, it keeps cropping up, year after year.”)

John Loengard Moment by Moment book cover. — Courtesy Thames & Hudson

John Loengard was a staff photographer for LIFE magazine from 1961 to 1971 and went on to be the Picture Editor from 1978-1987. Moment by Moment is available now, published by Thames and Hudson.

Louis Armstrong at his neighborhood barbershop in Queens, Louis Armstrong gets a beer and a haircut. New York City, 1965. — Louis Armstrong at his neighborhood barbershop in Queens. Louis Armstrong gets a beer and a haircut. New York City, 1965.John Loengard

Marilyn Monroe blesses the cornerstone-laying ceremony at the Time-LIFE building with her presence. New York City, 1957.John Loengard

England’s Queen Elizabeth II and Duke of Edinburgh wait with their hosts, Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia and his son, the Crown Prince, before they enter the New Cathedral of St. Mary of Zion. Axum, Ethiopia, 1965.John Loengard

The boy turns his head as he hears his mother’s call from down the street. Manchester, England, 1968.John Loengard

Dr. Timothy Leary, forty-nine, believes in the personal use of psychedelic drugs and lives in a commune near Palm Springs with his wife, Rosemary. He is running for governor of California. California, 1969. — Dr. Timothy Leary, 49, believes in the personal use of psychedelic drugs and lives in a commune near Palm Springs with his wife, Rosemary. He is running for governor of California. California, 1969.John Loengard

Buckminster Fuller, champion of geodesic domes, ferries houseguests to Bear Island, which his grandmother bought in 1904. It remains his family’s summer seat. Penobscot Bay, Maine, 1970.John Loengard

Builder Victor Westphall has constructed a chapel in memory of his son David, a Marine lieutenant killed four years earlier in Vietnam. Eagle Nest, New Mexico, 1972.John Loengard

At twenty-two, Twiggy is quitting modeling for acting. “You can’t be a clothes hanger for your entire life,” she says. Outside New York City, 1972. — At 22, Twiggy is quitting modeling for acting. “You can’t be a clothes hanger for your entire life,” she says. Outside New York City, 1972.John Loengard

Tom Nesbitt tends his bar. Doheny & Nesbitts Pub, Dublin, 1987.John Loengard

Richard Avedon sits in his studio before a wall of miscellaneous clippings and his portrait of oil field worker Roberto Lopez. New York City, 1994.John Loengard

The Beatles, Marilyn Monroe and More: Photographs by John Loengard

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