Margaret Bourke-White never thought that she would become a famous photographer. In 1921, when Margaret was 17, she went to college to study herpetology (the study of snakes and reptiles). That same year her father died leaving her family with little money. To stay in college Margaret got a job taking and selling pictures of the college campus using her father's broken camera. That summer she got a job as the photographer and counselor at a summer camp. Even though she liked taking pictures, for Margaret, photography was still a hobby. But architects and other photographers were impressed with her photographs and encouraged her to use her talent. When she graduated in 1927, Margaret turned down a position at the Museum of Natural History and went to Cleveland to open her photography studio.
             Margaret had courage and talent from the beginning. At first, she did advertising work for schools and other businesses but never stopped working on her artistic skills. For example, as she was walking by, she noticed a preacher speaking in a square with only a group of pigeons to hear. Margaret wanted to take his picture, but she didn't have her camera with her. She ran into a camera store and asked to rent or borrow a camera. The picture became one of her first works of art, and the owner of the store became one of her best friends. One of Margaret's early dreams was to photograph the inside of a steel mill, but women weren't allowed inside. Being a woman didn't stop her, and the pictures were a success. Her shots were published in magazines all over the country and got Margaret her first big job, at Fortune magazine in New York. With Margaret's photos, Fortune became one of the leading photography magazines. The magazine had also made her a star, but Margaret still kept her studio, which had grown to a staff of eight and moved to the Chrysler building.
             In 1930, Fortune sent Margaret on one of her most prominent assignments, to Germany to ca...