Eli Reed facts for kids

Eli Reed (born in 1946) is a famous American photographer and photojournalist. He was the first full-time Black photographer to join the important Magnum Agency. Eli Reed has also written several books, including Beirut: City of Regrets and Black In America.

Early Life and Learning

Eli Reed grew up in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. He took his very first photo when he was just 10 years old. It was a picture of his mother by the Christmas tree.

He studied illustration and earned a degree in 1969 from the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts. However, he often says that his mentor, Donald Greenhaus, helped him become a photographer more than his school studies did.

Later, in 1982–83, he was chosen as a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. This special program allowed him to study political science and urban affairs at the Kennedy School of Government.

Eli Reed's Photography Career

Eli Reed started working as a freelance photographer in 1970. This means he worked for himself and took photos for different clients.

After taking pictures of military conflicts in Central America, he joined Magnum Photos. He made history as the first full-time Black member of this famous photography group.

While working for the San Francisco Examiner newspaper, he was almost awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography in 1982. This was for his amazing photos showing life in a public housing project.

Photographing World Events

During his time as a Nieman Fellow, Eli Reed traveled to Beirut for the first time. He went there to photograph the Lebanese Civil War. He returned many times and even faced danger, once being mistaken for a fighter and kidnapped. In 1988, he published a book about his experiences called Beirut: City of Regrets.

He also covered other important events around the world. These included the 1986 change of power in Haiti against "Baby Doc" Duvalier. He also photographed the 1989 U.S. military action in Panama and unrest in Zaire in 1992.

Focus on African-American Life

Eli Reed has also focused his camera on life in the United States. He photographed the Million Man March, a large gathering in Washington, D.C. He also documented many aspects of African-American life across the country.

His book Black in America was published in 1997. This book also includes poems written by Reed himself. Many photos from this project have won awards and been shown in art exhibitions.

Working in Film and Teaching

Besides photojournalism, Eli Reed has worked as a still photographer for the film industry. This means he takes photos on movie sets. He is a member of the Society of Motion Picture Still Photographers.

In January 2005, Reed became a professor of photojournalism at The University of Texas at Austin. He has also taught at many other well-known places. These include the Maine Photographic Workshop, the Smithsonian Institution, Harvard University, Columbia University, and New York University. He even teaches a special workshop for the United States Department of Defense.

Eli Reed mainly uses Olympus cameras like the E-3, E-30, and EP-1 for his work. He is also a Sony Global Imaging Ambassador. In 2015 and 2016, he was invited to speak at important events, including the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and National Geographic Magazine's Photography Seminar.

Awards and Recognition

Eli Reed has received many awards for his photography:

• 1992 W. Eugene Smith Grant in Documentary Photography
• 1992 Kodak World Image Award for Fine Art Photography
• 1988 World Press Photo award
• 1988 Leica Medal of Excellence
• 1983 Overseas Press Club Award
• 1982 Nieman Fellowship at Harvard
• 1981 Mark Twain Associated Press Award
• 1981 Pulitzer Prize, runner-up
• 2011 Lucie Foundation Award for Documentary Photography

Exhibitions of His Work

Eli Reed's photographs have been shown in many exhibitions around the world:

• 1973, The Black Photographer, Syracuse University
• 1973, New Jersey Photographs
• 1975, New Jersey Prisons, Newark Museum of Art
• 1975, The Whole Sick Crew, Newark-Rutgers University
• 1993, Visa pour l'image, Perpignan, France
• 1996, Bruce Museum, Greenwich, Connecticut (his first major solo show)
• 1997, Leica Gallery, New York
• 1997, Magnum World exhibition and catalogue
• 1999, Black New York Photographers of the 20th Century Exhibition, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
• 2000, Indivisible
• 2000, Reflections in Black, and A History of Black Photographers 1840 to the Present, Smithsonian Museum, Washington, D. C.
• 2014, Eli Reed Retrospective, A Long Walk Home, Leica Gallery, New York
• 2014, 2015, Visa pour l'image Festival Du Photoreportage, Perpignan, France

Books by Eli Reed

• A Long Walk Home, Austin: University of Texas Press, 2015. ISBN: 978-0292748576
• Beirut: City of Regrets, New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1988. ISBN: 978-0-393-30507-4
• Black in America, New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1997. ISBN: 978-0-393-03995-5
• Homeless in America, 1987.
• Tom Rankin, Local Heroes Changing America, New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2000. ISBN: 978-0-393-05028-8
• John Singleton, Poetic Justice: Film Making South Central Style. United States: Delta, 1993. ISBN: 978-0-385-30914-1

Film Work

Eli Reed has also worked on films in different ways.

Films He Directed or Produced

• 1992 Getting Out, director, produced for Tokyo TV, shown at the New York Film Festival
• 1988 America's Children: Poorest in the Land of Plenty, photo essay for NBC.

Films as Still Photographer

Eli Reed worked as a still photographer for many movies, taking pictures on set. Some of these include:

• 2017 Natasha
• 2014 One Hundred Years of Freedom
• 2005 Stay
• 2003 2 Fast 2 Furious
• 2002 Two Weeks Notice
• 2002 8 Mile
• 2001 A Beautiful Mind
• 2001 Baby Boy
• 2000 Shaft
• 1998 One True Thing
• 1996 Day of the Jackal
• 1996 Ghost of Mississippi
• 1996 Rosewood
• 1995 Kansas City
• 1994 Higher Learning
• 1992 Poetic Justice
• 1991 The Five Heartbeats