Earliest wildlife photography?

Derek Bousé in his book Wildlife Films (2000) says that the earliest known photograph of wildlife (in this case, penguins) showing "real behavior in a natural setting" was taken during the Challenger Expedition of 1872. I suppose that the definition of "real behavior in a natural setting" might be debated, and therefore I'm wondering if anyone knows of an earlier image that might fall under this definition.

Further, I've been unable to find an online reproduction of the penguin photograph from the Challenger Expedition, and I would be very appreciative if someone could point me to that image. There are quite a few online examples of illustrations of penguins from that expedition, but so far I have not found the photograph to which Bousé refers.

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  • Timothy,

    I'll also dig into my database  further as well. .There's lots on Livingstone, though that early very few printed halftone images in the journals.None actually!

    --DickSullivan

  • Very interesting. I'll have to see if there is anything further available without diving into original research. Thanks for alerting me to it.

    Richard Sullivan HonFRPS said:

    Sorry this may be a repeat but my cat landed on my keyboard.

    This 2/28/1858 The Journal of Photography RPS

    The collodion sent is made by Mr. Hardwich [also a noted author of an early handbook on photography]

    expressly for the purpose. It is intended to use
    the wet collodion process only, as Dr. Livingstone
    is desirous of obtaining pictures containing im
    mense herds of wild animals, and also portraits
    of the various tribes, &c, as well as special
    objects of natural history and botany.
    The next meeting of the Society will be held
    on Tuesday, March 2

    This from wiki:

    Zambezi expedition[edit]

    The British government agreed to fund Livingstone's idea and he returned to Africa as head of the Zambezi Expedition to examine the natural resources of southeastern Africa and open up the River Zambezi. Unfortunately, it turned out to be completely impassable to boats past the Cahora Bassa rapids, a series of cataracts and rapids that Livingstone had failed to explore on his earlier travels.[20]

    The expedition lasted from March 1858 until the middle of 1864. 
    There are a number references around 1864-1867 of a Mr Haes doing wet plates of animals at a zoological Garden. In Tthe BJP and Photography Journal.
    I wasn't aware the Livingstone did any photography work or if any has survived. 
    --Dick Sullivan
    Update:
    PhD Dissertation, Royal Holloway University 
    PHOTOGRAPHY, GEOGRAPHY AND EMPIRE, 1840-1914
    James R. Ryan
    "Oliver Ransford has noted that although Charles Livingstone's photographs are 'now almost entirely 

    lost', they appear to have been reasonable and there is good evidence that his scientific work was
    satisfactory'. O. Ransford, David Livingstone (1978) p. 143."

  • Sorry this may be a repeat but my cat landed on my keyboard.

    This 2/28/1858 The Journal of Photography RPS

    The collodion sent is made by Mr. Hardwich [also a noted author of an early handbook on photography]

    expressly for the purpose. It is intended to use
    the wet collodion process only, as Dr. Livingstone
    is desirous of obtaining pictures containing im
    mense herds of wild animals, and also portraits
    of the various tribes, &c, as well as special
    objects of natural history and botany.
    The next meeting of the Society will be held
    on Tuesday, March 2

    This from wiki:

    Zambezi expedition[edit]

    The British government agreed to fund Livingstone's idea and he returned to Africa as head of the Zambezi Expedition to examine the natural resources of southeastern Africa and open up the River Zambezi. Unfortunately, it turned out to be completely impassable to boats past the Cahora Bassa rapids, a series of cataracts and rapids that Livingstone had failed to explore on his earlier travels.[20]

    The expedition lasted from March 1858 until the middle of 1864. 
    There are a number references around 1864-1867 of a Mr Haes doing wet plates of animals at a zoological Garden. In Tthe BJP and Photography Journal.
    I wasn't aware the Livingstone did any photography work or if any has survived. 
    --Dick Sullivan
    Update:
    PhD Dissertation, Royal Holloway University 
    PHOTOGRAPHY, GEOGRAPHY AND EMPIRE, 1840-1914
    James R. Ryan
    "Oliver Ransford has noted that although Charles Livingstone's photographs are 'now almost entirely 

    lost', they appear to have been reasonable and there is good evidence that his scientific work was
    satisfactory'. O. Ransford, David Livingstone (1978) p. 143."

  • I have an image from Scotland in the 1890s that shows kittiwakes and guillemots on the rocks, labeled as such. Not sure if the photographer set out to capture the birds, or if it was a lucky chance. Here's the listing on my sale site:
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/GUILLEMOTS-KITTIWAKES-ORKNEY-ISLANDS-Scotla...

  • Thank you very much for this information, Dr. Cooper. I appreciate your taking the time to look this up and reply. The Natural History Museum does not list anything by C, Newbold on their website, but I have now contacted them to see what holdings they may have.

    Timothy

    Dr Anthony H. Cooper said:

    According to the very interesting book Early Wildlife Photographers by C A W Guggisberg, 

    On page 14 he notes: "One of the oldest surviving photographs of a 'wild' bird was found in the nineteen-thirties; it is of a stork perched on it nest, taken in Strassburg in May 1870 by Charles A. Hewins of Boston."

    (Guggisberg notes that earlier records were mainly of shot animals or animals in zoos.)

    He goes on to say: "For her 1872 to 1876 world cruise which was to put the new science of oceanography on a solid basis, HMS Challenger was equipped with a light- and dark-room for the photographic work. The technical side of this was taken care of by C.Newbold a corporal of the Royal Engineers and a very skillful photographer. Among the negatives brought back by the Challenger expedition were pictures of penguin rookeries and of breeding albatrosses. These photographs are preserved, but if you look for them in publications prepared shortly after the expedition's return, you will find them printed in the form of wood engravings. Half-tone reproduction not yet having been invented ...... On page 15 he has a photogarph titled "Challenger expedition: Photograph of rockhopper penguins on Inaccessible Island (British Museum of Natural History). 

    I attach a copy of this photograph from the book and trust that the author and the BMNH will see this as an advertisement of their publication and collections respectively, presented for research purposes, rather than a breach of copyright.

    From this reproduction and acknowledgement you should be able to track down the photograph at the BMNH, which may also have the other photographs referred to. I hope this helps.

    Kindest regards,

    Dr Anthony Cooper

  • According to the very interesting book Early Wildlife Photographers by C A W Guggisberg, 

    On page 14 he notes: "One of the oldest surviving photographs of a 'wild' bird was found in the nineteen-thirties; it is of a stork perched on it nest, taken in Strassburg in May 1870 by Charles A. Hewins of Boston."

    (Guggisberg notes that earlier records were mainly of shot animals or animals in zoos.)

    He goes on to say: "For her 1872 to 1876 world cruise which was to put the new science of oceanography on a solid basis, HMS Challenger was equipped with a light- and dark-room for the photographic work. The technical side of this was taken care of by C.Newbold a corporal of the Royal Engineers and a very skillful photographer. Among the negatives brought back by the Challenger expedition were pictures of penguin rookeries and of breeding albatrosses. These photographs are preserved, but if you look for them in publications prepared shortly after the expedition's return, you will find them printed in the form of wood engravings. Half-tone reproduction not yet having been invented ...... On page 15 he has a photogarph titled "Challenger expedition: Photograph of rockhopper penguins on Inaccessible Island (British Museum of Natural History). 

    I attach a copy of this photograph from the book and trust that the author and the BMNH will see this as an advertisement of their publication and collections respectively, presented for research purposes, rather than a breach of copyright.

    From this reproduction and acknowledgement you should be able to track down the photograph at the BMNH, which may also have the other photographs referred to. I hope this helps.

    Kindest regards,

    Dr Anthony Cooper

    Challenger exhibition photograph by C Newbold from Guggisberg 1977.jpg

  • You  might want to look at works by John Dillwyn Llewelyn ca 1852. Note, these are re-creations and the animals are stuffed!

This reply was deleted.