He became a full member of Magnum Photos in 1949, the first new photographer to join its original founders.
[1]: 454 At that time Magnum was composed of just five other photographers, its founders Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger, David Seymour, and Ernst Haas.
[1]: 454 The focus of much of Bischof's post-war humanist photography was showing the poverty and despair around him in Europe, tempered with his desire to travel the world, conveying the beauty of nature and humanity.
Of photography, Bischof said -[3] I felt compelled to venture forth and explore the true face of the world.
In 1954, he travelled through Mexico and Panama, before flying to Peru, where he embarked on a trip through the Andes to the Amazonas on 14 May.