When Mary North Allen passed away in 2011, she left behind dozens of versions of her memoir, "Falling Light and Waters Turning: Adventures  in Being Human" as well as hundreds of  photographs of trees, people, and her signature color photos. She also left boxes of old family papers, some dating back to the 1600's.

Mary North Allen was a pre-med student who loved biology.  Later she became a professional nature photographer and photography teacher. She had a life-long love affair with trees.

This photo, "Migrant Mother," is one of the most famous Depression-Era photographs.  "Dorothea Lange" Grab a Hunk of Lightning," by Elizabeth Partridge, tells the story behind this and many other famous and lesser known works by Dorthea Lange.  Perhaps most fascinating of all is the story of how Lange became a photographer.  Join us this week on Writers' Voices, as Partidge, Lange's goddaughter, talks about producing this companion book to the PBS American Masters episode on Lange which will air in 2014.  

Partridge was an acupuncturist for 20 years before she closed her practice to focus on writing.  She has written over a dozen books and is on the core faculty of Vermont College of Fine Arts, MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults.

I love taking pictures of food.  Anyone's food.  On a street cart, in a pan, in someone's mouth, on my plate-food entrances me.  One problem-I'm not too good at it.

One day I decided to take a photography class from Carolyn Waksman.  Maybe I could learn a few things; possibly take better pictures.  A whole new world opened up to me, and what was really fascinating is that it's no different than cooking. 

"Photograph with your mind and heart," Carolyn said.  "Nourish the viewer."  "A good picture stays with you (as does a good meal).  Nothing you can add or subtract to make it better."

I was in the right class with the perfect teacher.  On GREAT TASTE this week get your camera ready because Carolyn is going to present a brief, but wide-ranging introduction to photography with an emphasis on using that lens to capture your food memories.

Our discussion will include how to treat the subject of your shot, and what it needs to say, the law of thirds, elements of design, and hints for taking shots when you are in a restaurant setting.

In 1939, just before graduating from high school in the small town of Ridgeway in northeast Iowa, Everett Kuntz spent his entire savings of $12.50 on a 35mm Argus AF camera. He made a camera case from a worn-out boot, scraps from a tin can, and a clasp from his mother's purse. For the next several years, he clicked the shutter of his trusty Argus all around the quiet town.

People got so used to it that they became relaxed around the camera, and even began to count on him saying, “Where is Everett? We need a picture.” Everett never had the money to print his photographs. More than two thousand negatives stayed in a box while he married, raised a family, and worked as an electrical engineer in the Twin Cities.

Former Fairfielder Galen Saturley speaks with Writers' Voices host Monica Hadley about his offerings in Blue Tree Publishing's Portrait of a Restaurant series (www.thebluetree.com). These beautiful books break new ground by combining

art photography and recipes, focusing on the best restaurants in a specific town. Galen recently published Portrait of a Restaurant: Cambridge and is working on two more books in the series.

Writer's Voices airs Friday at 1 pm and is rebroadcast Monday morning at 8 am.