Sixteen years ago, today, the unthinkable happened. Terrorists turned passenger filled airliners into flying bombs they used to attack the Pentagon in Washington D.C. and destroy the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. A fourth hijacked jet was crashed by its passengers into a field in Shanksville, PA rather than let it strike another innocent target. Almost two decades later, One Freedom Tower has risen from the ashes to take its place near where the original towers stood. In their place are two memorial waterfalls that … [Read more...] about Remembering 9/11
History
History of Photography: Oscar Rejlander
The battle for photography's place in the fine art world is a road that is long and seemingly never ending at times, even today. In the 1800's especially, photography struggled for a place at the table and one man, in particular, pushed the envelope: Oscar Gustave Rejlander. During the Victorian Era, photographic standards of art were mostly based on comparisons to painting. In other words, the photo had to look real, but not too real. Many photographers chose to use sub standard lenses, smudge the lenses or plates, and even introduce camera … [Read more...] about History of Photography: Oscar Rejlander
History of Photography: Is Photography Art?
Is photography art? This seemingly simple question is anything but. Since the earliest days of photography, critics and photographers themselves have questioned if it's purely a mechanical, commercial process or one that is intrinsically woven as another thread into the totality of the arts. In the 1850's, the patents on photography held by William Henry Fox Talbot were relaxed. The photography industry saw an influx of professionals seeking to meet the needs of an ever growing public's demand for photos and portraits. These professionals … [Read more...] about History of Photography: Is Photography Art?
History of Photography: Brady, Gardner, and The Civil War
It's odd to think of war as a way for photographers to hone their skills. In the Spring of 1861 when the American Civil War broke out, it presented photographers with just such an opportunity. Initially, people thought the war would be won quickly (particularly those in the North.) Photographers figured they could make images of heroic soldiers and easily sell them to collectors and the media to mark the historic occasion. As we now know, the American Civil War was anything but swift and bloodless. It incurred over 620,000 deaths, making it … [Read more...] about History of Photography: Brady, Gardner, and The Civil War
History of Photography: Muybridge and Marey
Between the 1850's and 1880's two men, Eadweard Muybridge and Etienne-Jules Marey both were using photography to further the study of locomotion (or movement) of humans and animals. However, they both had different approaches and motives. The Running Horse Muybridge was commissioned by the builder of the Central Pacific Railroad, Leland Stanford, to provide proof that when a horse galloped, there is a point at which it has all four feet off the ground. The quest was difficult. Initial use of a wet plate was too slow for to get a sharp … [Read more...] about History of Photography: Muybridge and Marey
History of Photography: Stereoscopic Photography
Stereostopic photography is yet another blip in the history of photography where the photograph was still working to find its' true identity. It's based on binocular vision, which is the action of the brain associating two slightly different images (each one through a separate eye) as one image which in turn creates an effect of depth. Given it's introduction in the early 1800's, you can imagine the novelty of this early "virtual reality" that people experienced! We owe the beginning of stereoscopic photography to a man by the name of Sir … [Read more...] about History of Photography: Stereoscopic Photography
History of Photography: Retouching & Enlarging Makes Waves
In today's world, it's hard to wrap our heads around a time when retouching and enlarging photos wasn't not only accepted, but expected! However, as photography was in its infancy, and was still bopping around finding its real place in the the world, retouching especially, was not always met with open arms. While hand painting a print was widely accepted, retouching the negative, or retouching the print in a way that would alter a person's appearance (minimizing characteristics on the body, blemishes, etc.) was often deemed fraudulent. Add that … [Read more...] about History of Photography: Retouching & Enlarging Makes Waves
History of Photorgraphy: Studio Forefathers Push Photography Forward
The collodion process in general was fairly inexpensive, which in and of itself helped propel photography forward. It also encouraged the expansion of photo studios. In 1851 there were less than a dozen portrait studios in London, but that exploded to more than 200 just 10 years later in 1861. Noteworthy portrait maker Gaspard Félix Tournachon came to photographing portraits by way of his past as a caricature artist. He later became known by the nickname Nadar, a shortened version of "Tourne à dard" meaning "one who stings". Apparently he … [Read more...] about History of Photorgraphy: Studio Forefathers Push Photography Forward
History of Photography: The Cabinet Photo
The carte-de-visite reigned supreme in the public's taste until around 1866. Cartes were great, but rather tiny. Soon, demand for a larger format became more loud. People also wanted more detail in their photos (which a larger format would provide). In 1862, Marion & Co. first introduced the cabinet card. Sized at 6.75 x 4.25 inches, it met the growing demands of the public. As more and more studios adopted the new format, popularity soared. The exact origin of the name "cabinet" is somewhat unclear, but it might be a reference all … [Read more...] about History of Photography: The Cabinet Photo
History of Photography: Lillian Bassman, Fashion & Commercial Photographer
I'm filling in for Lisa Robinson's History of Photography column this week. I'm jumping forward in time to highlight groundbreaking work in fashion photography by Lillian Bassman. She was born in Brooklyn, New York on June 15, 1917, a hundred years ago. She was an independent, unconventional woman with an eclectic background living a bohemian lifestyle. She worked as a textile designer, became a fashion illustrator then moved on to be an assistant to the legendary art director of Harper's Bazaar magazine. Manipulations Lillian worked … [Read more...] about History of Photography: Lillian Bassman, Fashion & Commercial Photographer
History of Photography: The Carte-de-Visite
In 1854, a photographer by the name of André Disdéri patented a new take on the collodion process called the Carte-de-Visite (or Carte, for short). Though they could be a singular image, Cartes were often multiple exposures taken onto a single sheet of paper, creating almost a collage effect. A multi-lens camera had tubular lenses (i.e. no shutter) so the different focal lengths could be covered and uncovered for exposures (allowing different poses) but all the exposures fell onto the same wet plate. The images could be cut apart for individual … [Read more...] about History of Photography: The Carte-de-Visite
Rise of The Wet Plate Process
After Talbot introduced the calotype (see my previous article here), the world was in search of something photographic in between the calotype's unique paper characteristics and the daguerreotype's pristine, crystal clear detail. In the 1840's photographers began making the move to glass plates instead of a silvered plate as it was much less expensive and completely smooth. In 1847 a man by the name of Claude Félix Abel Niépce de Saint-Victor (Nicéphore Niépce's cousin) had a breakthrough. You see, using glass was cheaper and produced excellent … [Read more...] about Rise of The Wet Plate Process
The Calotype: An Overview
In my last history of photography article, I talked about William Henry Fox Talbot, the inventor of the Calotype. Here, I want to explore how the calotype evolved within photography and how it evolved the photographic world. In the 1840's, Daguerreotypes were still hugely popular. Their "look" was unlike anything else, and society was not convinced of the calotype's prowess. After all, it has not been politically vetted (Daguerre had received a pension and high honors from the state for his invention) and financial backing was lacking. … [Read more...] about The Calotype: An Overview
William Henry Fox Talbot: An Overview
William Henry Fox Talbot was an English scientist and scholar in the early 1800’s. Although he was a contemporary of Daguerre, his contributions to photography were independent of what was going on with Daguerre and in mainland Europe. In 1834, Talbot was able to create a different camera based image process that utilized the photosensitivity of silver salts, called the salted paper print. In a salted paper print, Talbot took ordinary paper and coated it with sodium chloride, let it dry, then recoated it with silver nitrate. The result … [Read more...] about William Henry Fox Talbot: An Overview
Lasting Impacts of the Daguerreotype
Lasting Impacts of the Daguerreotype In the past few articles of this series, we’ve seen how the daguerreotype came about but we haven’t really taken a moment to look at just how far-reaching the effects of its “birth” were. For starters, the daguerreotype put an end to the portrait making business as it was known to the world. Skilled painters, who previously were the only means of creating a likeness of one’s self, were suddenly squeezed by the faster and cheaper process. Not only was the daguerreotype literally faster and easier to create … [Read more...] about Lasting Impacts of the Daguerreotype
The Daguerreotype
As is often the case with history, it seems that time moves slowly until it explodes in a flurry of invention and then seemingly all at once everything changes. To me, this feels especially true in photography. In my previous articles, the sheer expanse of time from the first inklings of photographic concepts to the actualization of recording images by chemical reactions of light is astounding. It takes ages. Yet, once the daguerreotype appears all at once, things begin to change. First things first. What exactly is a daguerreotype? It’s not … [Read more...] about The Daguerreotype
Niépce, Daguerre, and Herschel: The Essential Founders of Photography
The history of photography is vast and fascinating. It didn’t develop like other art forms and comparatively, photography is in its’ infancy. Looking at where our craft came from is a great way to find new appreciation and inspiration for your work in the future. While not a complete history of photography, this weekly column aims to introduce Photofocus readers to some of the aspects of this often overlooked part of learning photography and inspire them to think about their work in new and different ways. Niépce, Daguerre, and Herschel: … [Read more...] about Niépce, Daguerre, and Herschel: The Essential Founders of Photography
The Beginning & Camera Obscura
The history of photography is vast and fascinating. It didn’t develop like other art forms and comparatively, photography is in its’ infancy. Looking at where our craft came from is a great way to find new appreciation and inspiration for your work in the future. While not a complete history of photography, this weekly column aims to introduce Photofocus readers to some of the aspects of this often overlooked part of learning photography and inspire them to think about their work in new and different ways. The Beginning & Camera … [Read more...] about The Beginning & Camera Obscura
