Erling mandelmann

René Burri

Photographer

Swiss·b. 1933

Known for:

his 1963 portrait of Che Guevara; Magnum photojournalism

Education:

Kunstgewerbeschule Zürich (1949-1953, under Hans Finsler and Johannes Itten)

René Burri joined Magnum Photos in 1959 and over the following decades photographed in Cuba, China, Brazil, and throughout the Middle East. His 1963 photograph of Che Guevara smoking a cigar in Havana - taken during a brief and unplanned encounter in the minister's office - became one of the most widely reproduced political portraits of the twentieth century. He was also the author of a significant monograph on the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer.

René Burri's Gear List(2)

Kodak Kodachrome 64

Kodak

Connection note

Burri shot on Kodachrome for his color work at Magnum Photos; the film was standard among Magnum photographers working in color from the 1960s onward.

Product description

Kodachrome 64 is a color reversal (slide) film discontinued by Kodak in 2010 after more than seven decades of production. Its dye-based structure produced colors with exceptional stability and saturation, and it was the predominant film in professional color photography for much of the postwar period.

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Leica M3

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Last updated March 20, 2026

Connection note

Burri used a Leica rangefinder for his 1963 portrait of Che Guevara and throughout his career at Magnum Photos. His use of Leica M cameras is documented in retrospective Magnum accounts.

Product description

Introduced in 1954, the M3 was Leitz's first camera to use the M bayonet mount. Its combined viewfinder and rangefinder, with 0.91x magnification, set a standard for 35mm rangefinder design that every subsequent Leica M followed.