Overview
Brian Brake travelled widely in the late 1950s, chasing one magazine assignment after another. While much of his time was spent in Asia, he also frequently photographed in Europe or followed European personalities to other parts of the world.
Much of this ‘European’ material was shot in black and white, as it was news-oriented. Magazines tended to reserve colour only for more pictorial subjects. This work was classic photojournalism, although Brake never ventured into the areas of war and conflict that are often seen as the diet of the stereotypical photojournalist.
At the same time, Brake also kept his hand in as a colour photographer, making attractive images for magazines such as National Geographic. By the early 1960s, he had ceased shooting black and white photojournalism almost entirely in favour of this type of work.