This fascinating film portrays the life and work of five outstanding women photographers, born around the turn of the century, who perfected their craft in an era when photography was a man s domain. Using examples of their photography with clips from news of the day, their on-camera interviews are woven together to tell a story about life for professional women living in turbulent decades of the middle of the twentieth century. Gisele Freund, a reporter-photographer describes her harrowing escape from Nazi Germany with negatives taped to her body. Fashion photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe recalls her evolution from a young art student to the creator of Harpers Bazaar covers. Maurine Loomis was a little known but highly successful photographer of Hollywood stars. Lisette Model, the teacher of Diane Arbus, reveals her method for making a successful photograph. Eiko Yamazawa practiced her art in Japan for over seventy years with the elegant eye of an abstract painter. These dedicated women share their successes and struggles with candor and warmth.