The Glory of Our West: Part 5: Esther Henderson
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| Esther Henderson from Arizona Highways January 1968 edition dedicated to her. |
She was born in 1911 and died in 2008. She lived in Tucson Arizona until 1963 when she moved to Santa Cruz California. She gave up acting back east and studied photography and became a freelance photographer after moving to Arizona. When she was a child her family took a road trip to Arizona to see the grand Canyon and Monument Valley. This seems to be what propelled her career to Arizona.
The Arizona Historical Society has this about her.
Born July 24, 1911, Esther Henderson, professional photographer, came to Arizona in 1935 after completing a course in professional photography at the New York Institute of Photography. She set up her own photo studio in Tucson. She married Charles “Chuck” Abbott in 1940 and they worked together as a photographic team. With their two sons, they traveled all over the West and photographed for various travel publications. Way Out West with Esther Henderson was a photographic feature in the Saturday edition of the Tucson Citizen newspaper. They moved to Santa Cruz, California in 1963, where Charles Abbott died in 1973.
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| Thunder Retreat by Esther henderson (Painted Desert) from Arizona Highways January 1968 Issue |
She says this about herself in Arizona Highways January 1968 edition dedicated to her. (The issue can be downloaded here with more of her writing and photographs.) Growing up in Arizona this magazine was one of my early memories of landscape photography. It was published by the Arizona State Department of Transportation to encourage tourism in the state. It became a minor star of landscape photography publishing with many top names appearing in its pages.
OF HERSELF THE PHOTOGRAPHER WRITES:
"After seven years in show business, I chose photography for a career because it seemed to promise freedom with creativity. I chose the Southwest because of Horace Greeley's historic advice! "I found that owning one's business has its price: one is never 'free.' I found that freedom of the free lance photographer has its price: ,one is never 'secure.' I found the Southwest has its price: a never-ending search to more accurately translate its majesty into human terms. I'm still pursuing the tumbleweed in
the wind - the last puff of dust down the road. I've never yet reached the goal but I've enjoyed the journey all the way to here. "In my first year in business, when I was wondering where my next customer was coming from, Raymond Carlson, then newly-appointed editor of ARIZONA HIGHWAYS, rang the front door bell and came into my studio wanting to buy photographs of scenic Arizona for his magazine, which he did. Oddly enough, I met my husband, Chuck Abbott, the same way. The moral to this is: be sure to answer the doorbell - you never know what editor, or what husband, may be on the doorstep! "I feel pride and honor in being part of this anniversary issue with Ye Olde Ed, but more than that, an intangible bond of love for this Arizona heritage has hitched both of us, together with many others, to the star-wagon, bound to forever glorify this glorious land.''
OF HER PHOTO EQUIPMENT:
"My photographic equipment," the photographer says, "consists of the following: a 5x7 Deardorff View Camera mounted on a Davis and Sanford floating action tripod. I use Eastman Ektachrome film exclusively, no filters, a Weston exposure meter and five lenses of these focal lengths: 4, 6, 8, I z and 19 inches, respectively. The Deardorff camera closes tightly enough to accommodate a 4,inch lens and opens far enough, without attaching an auxiliary board, to handle a I 9,inch lens. Anyone
who has struggled in haste with an auxiliary board will appreciate the easy collapse and expand of the Deardorff. The Davis and Sanford tripod is light and has all tilts available almost instantly in a broad, sturdy head. Total equipment, plus a complement of plateholders in case, weighs about 40 pounds. I'm good for about a half-mile hike on the level; farther than that, I need help!"
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