Its A Hard Life
Slim Aarons · 1955
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About this work
Its A Hard Life, Hawaii 1955
A tanned, shirtless man cycles along a concrete quay, two cameras on straps around his neck and a small box on the back of the bike. He laughs at the lens. At right a man in a white hat leans against a black-and-yellow bollard, while men in uniform and work clothes walk by at left. Beyond them lie a long pier, blue water and cumulus clouds.
The caption shows Slim Aarons himself, on a Huffy bicycle along the quay with his cameras slung round his neck, during the filming of Mister Roberts in Hawaii in 1955. The photographer is thus in front of the lens rather than behind it. What makes the image strong is the contrast between him and his surroundings: workers and uniforms everywhere, and in the middle of the quay one man taking a relaxed spin.
- Photographer
- Slim Aarons
- Collection
- Slim Aarons
- Country
- USA
- Year
- 1955
- Reference
- 2695077
The photographer
Photographing attractive people who were doing attractive things in attractive places.
George Allen Aarons, born in New York, served as a military photographer in World War II and subsequently transitioned to print journalism. Whereas he previously documented the war, he deliberately chose the opposite subject: the leisure time of the rich and famous, in breathtaking settings.
His most famous photograph, The Kings of Hollywood (1957), encapsulates what he sought in all his portraits: glamour, charisma, and celebrity, captured in a relaxed manner.
Aarons won the trust of the people he photographed, thereby gaining access to some of the most intimate and candid portraits of the twentieth century. In 2007, Getty Images published the book Poolside With Slim Aarons , crowning his legacy.
- Born October 29, 1916 , New York
- Died May 29, 2006 , Montrose, NY
- Hulton Archive / Getty Images
