Masha Arms (1908-2005) was a well-known female photographer who pioneered 35 mm photography, mastering the art of light and composition. Born Clara Harriet Erickson in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, she adopted the name Masha early in her career. One of her students captured this image of Arms at work behind the camera in Washington, DC, in 1937. Masha Arms spent her early childhood in Norway before returning with her family to Fitchburg where she graduated from high school. She bought a Model G Leica camera in 1934, learned the technical aspects of photography, and began teaching photography at the King-Smith Studio School in Washington, DC. in 1936. Her work was exhibited that year alongside photographs by Ansel Adams and Margaret Bourke-White. After marrying married Willian Arms in Deerfield, Massachusetts, the couple moved to Franklin County, Massachusetts, in 1941 where Masha pursued photography in Leyden, Deerfield, and Greenfield for another thirty years. Candid or posed, Masha Arms’ portraits and figure studies reflect her interest in people’s personalities and her skill in capturing their inherent beauty.