sam haskins

I read last night that the photographer Sam Haskins died last week at the age of 83. I discovered his work back when I'd just entered college and was absolutely in awe of it. Sure, it didn't hurt that it was full of naked young women, but his sense of design, his stunning use of high contrast black and white printing and purposeful graininess, and his layouts combining multiple images (a quarter century before the advent of Photoshop), continue to influnce photographers and art directors to this day.

Maybe more tomorrow, but in the meantime, here are a couple of spreads from his hugely influential book Cowboy Kate & Other Stories from 1965.