page_title: Alfred Eisenstaedt
section_title: Martha's Vineyard
hierarchical_section_title: Alfred Eisenstaedt / Professional photographer / Martha's Vineyard
caption_attribution_description: English: Alfred Eisenstaedt taking last photographs of his life.English: When Alfred Eisenstaedt photographed the Clinton family in August 1993 - no one realized these would be the last photos he would take in his life's journey as a photojournalist. This photograph's location is of the outside courtyard of the Granary Gallery in the town of West Tisbury on Martha's Vineyard, USA. Eisie is seated because he had difficulties walking without assistance. Also, due to arthritis in his hands, he was incapable of changing the lens on his Leica camera. Eisie's friend, William Waterway Marks, who was the only photographer Eisie allowed to document the photo session with the Clinton's, helped Eisie make one lens change. Eisie shot only one roll of 35mm color film during this session. The day before the shoot - Eisie listened to the weather report. The forecast was for another sunny day. Based on telephone conversations with Clinton's advance team, Eisie had an idea as to the window of time he would be photographing the Clintons. With this information, Eisie, and his friend, William Waterway, visited the courtyard the day before the actual shoot to figure out the session's choreography and to take light readings. With meticulous detail, Eisenstaedt had William set up the chairs so he could take various light readings. The loveseat chair was chosen by Eisie because he wanted a photo of Bill and Hillary sitting intimately close. Eisie's plan worked - as Bill and Hillary were seated and looking into each others eyes - Hillary placed her right hand on Bill's right knee. Also, in the practice session the day before the shoot - Eisie noticed that the art hanging on the walls was "too noisy," and detracted from the simplicity of the scene he was seeking. On the day of the shoot, Eisie had the art removed from the walls by the gallery's owners before the Clinton's arrived. This photo was published in "People" magazine's "Star Tracks" section on Page 11, on September 13, 1993. This photo is one of a many taken by William Waterway (AKA, William E. Marks) to document Eisenstaedt photographing the Clinton's. For a period of over ten years, William Waterway did a photographic study of Eisenstaedt's life. William photographed Eisie signing his VJ photo on the day Eisenstaedt died. On the night of his death on August 23, 1994 - Eisie's sister-in-law, Lucille Kaye, and William Waterway Marks were with Eisie at his Menemsha cottage. Eisenstaedt died with his eyes open. With Eisie's sister-in-law standing nearby, William Waterway reached out and closed the eyes that had seen and photographed so much, for the last time.
context_page_description: Alfred Eisenstaedt was a German-born American photographer and photojournalist. He began his career in Germany prior to World War II but achieved prominence as a staff photographer for Life magazine after moving to the U.S. Life featured more than 90 of his pictures on its covers, and more than 2,500 of his photo stories were published.
  Among his most famous cover photographs was V-J Day in Times Square, taken during the V-J Day celebration in New York City, showing an American sailor kissing a nurse in a "dancelike dip" which "summed up the euphoria many Americans felt as the war came to a close", in the words of his obituary. He was "renowned for his ability to capture memorable images of important people in the news" and for his candid photographs taken with a small 35mm Leica camera, typically with natural lighting.
context_section_description: Eisenstaedt, known as "Eisie" to his close friends, enjoyed his annual August vacations on the island of Martha's Vineyard for 50 years. During these summers, he would conduct photographic experiments, working with different lenses, filters, and prisms in natural light. Eisenstaedt was fond of Martha's Vineyard's photogenic lighthouses and was the focus of lighthouse fundraisers organized by Vineyard Environmental Research Institute (VERI).
  Two years before his death, Eisenstaedt photographed President Bill Clinton with wife Hillary and daughter Chelsea. The session took place at the Granary Gallery in West Tisbury on Martha's Vineyard and was documented by a photograph published in People magazine on September 13, 1993.
caption: Eisenstaedt photographing the Clinton family on Martha's Vineyard.
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