Shirley C. Burden (b. 1908, New York City; d. 1989, Los Angeles, California), a descendent of Cornelius Vanderbilt, began photographing for the Pathe News in 1926, worked with Merian C. Cooper in Hollywood, and opened his own photography studio in Beverly Hils after World War II, specializing in still shots for advertising and architectural firms. From there, he expanded into publishing photo essays concerning various topics. For example, Burden’s “God Is My Life” is a photo-essay about the Trappist monks at the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani in Tennessee, and“I Wonder Why,” which depicted incidents in a young black girl's life, particularly her dealings with racial prejudice.
