Michael Pritchard's Posts

January / St Andrews Library

Posted by Michael Pritchard on January 24, 2009 at 20:21

There's doesn't seem too be too much happening in the UK now other than the events already posted. One website which is worth taking a look at is http://special.st-andrews.ac.uk/saspecial/ which will take you to the University of St Andrews Photographic Archive. Lots of fascinating material from Sir David Brewster to Valentine and later material, too. Recommended! Please feel free too add anything to this site that is relevent to the overall subject area of British photographic history. Remember, this isn't a one-man show - the more contributions the better and there are some very illustrious members... Michael Pritchard

English Heritage aerial survey

Posted by Michael Pritchard on January 18, 2009 at 12:22

Although not strictly history of photography, more the photography of history, English Heritage has identified almost 1,000 new archaeological sites along the North East coast, including ship wrecks, wartime defences and remains of medieval salt factories. A team of English Heritage-funded archaeologists examined thousands of aerial photographs of the coastline, stretching from the Scottish border to Whitby, and pieced together the most up-to-date record of the wealth of historical sites scattered along the coast. Click here to read more.

British photographic history in the 1970s

Posted by Michael Pritchard on January 12, 2009 at 9:28

I would draw readers attention to a one day conference on British photographic history in the 1970s being held on 14 March in Birmingham. Speakers include Colin Ford, Jane Fletcher, Paul Hill, Peter James, Carolyn Bloore and others and promises to be a fascinating day. Full details are in the 'Events' section.

MA in Photographic History - feedback needed

Posted by Michael Pritchard on January 12, 2009 at 9:11

Professor Stephen Brown is asking for feedback on the proposed title of a new MA photographic history course which launches at De Montfort University in October 2009. He writes..."We want to make sure the title conveys as accurately as possible what the course is about. So would you mind mailing me (sbrown@dmu.ac.uk) with a few words or a sentence summarising what this title means to you please? "MA Photographic History and Practice". Full details of the course which is being led by Kelley Wilder will be circulated in due course.

The Education of the Eye

Posted by Michael Pritchard on January 6, 2009 at 9:00

The education of the eye. History of the Royal Polytechnic Institution 1838-1881. Brenda Weeden Cambridge: Granta Editions, 2008. The Polytechnic Institution in London plays an important part in the early history of photography being the place where Richard Beard established his daguerreotype portrait studio in 1841. This was Europe's first commercial photographic studio. The Institution was one of a number of commercial enterprises presenting science to popular audiences and is now known as the University of Westminster, still occupying its original premises in Regent Street, London. This new book, which is one of a series telling the history of the Polytechnic and includes a chapter 'Photography at the Polytechnic'. It's involvement started with lectures and demonstrations soon after photography was announced and by October J. T. Cooper was delivering popular lectures in October 1839. William Henry Fox Talbot made early use of the Polytechnic's resources and licensed it to demonstrate his process. Europe's first photographic studio was built on the roof of the Polytechnic and opened on 23 March 1841 and was operated by Cooper and another chemist, John Goddard. The first Polytechnic photography school opened in Spring 1853. Many will recall learning photography at 'the Regent Street Poly' in the 1950s and 1960s. Although a general history the book it covers well the Polytechnic's involvement with popular science, photography and other optical media such as the magic lantern. It is written in a lively style and is well illustrated.

Kraszna-Krausz Awards renamed And/or Awards 2009

Posted by Michael Pritchard on January 6, 2009 at 7:30

The winners of the 2009 And/or Book Awards, the UK’s leading prizes for books published in the fields of photography and the moving image, are to be announced on Thursday 23 April 2009. The awards ceremony will take place at the BFI Southbank, London, and is supported by the British Film Institute and Sight & Sound magazine. Established in 1985, the And/or Book Awards seek to celebrate excellence in photography and moving image publishing. Two separate prizes are given for photography books and for moving image (including film, television and new media) books published between 1 January and 31 December 2008. Winners will be selected from two shortlists to be revealed in March 2009. Between them they will share a total prize fund of up to £10,000. All books submitted will also join the Kraszna-Krausz collection of photography and moving image books held in the National Media Museum in Bradford. The judging panels, chaired by Martin Parr (Photography) and Mike Dibb (Moving Images), are looking for works which make a significant contribution to photographic and/or moving image scholarship, history, research, criticism, science and conservation. A necessary condition is that they use photographs as more than a means of illustration. Previously known as the Kraszna-Krausz Awards, from this year the two prizes are to be known by the Christian name of their founder, the prolific Hungarian publisher and dedicated founder of Focal Press, Andor Kraszna-Krausz. A new logo has been hand-drawn by David Hockney (see below). More details can be found at the K-K website. http://www.kraszna-krausz.org.uk/

National Media Museum on Flickr

Posted by Michael Pritchard on January 5, 2009 at 9:30

The National Media Museum comes to Flickr™! The museum debuted in The Commons on the photo-sharing website recently, joining other world-renowned institutions in showcasing their collections. There are some wonderful images on there as a starting point; a major showcase of Peter Henry Emerson's work in the late 19th century, some fascinating images from the first Kodak camera, the No.1, from the 1880s, and some hilarious, bizarre and totally engrossing photos from a Lancashire-based "medium and physic" William Hope (taken - and doctored - in the early 20th century, some 70 years before Photoshop). Members of the Museum’s collections team worked with Flickr to make three initial groups of images available online; museum curators Colin Harding, Philippa Wright and Greg Hobson made the selections and provided contextual commentary. The Museum will be posting selections of thematically-grouped photographs that it hopes will give some sense of the surprising breadth and diversity of it's Collection. The museum's Flickr pages started here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalmediamuseum/

Tate Curator of Photography job

Posted by Michael Pritchard on January 5, 2009 at 8:30

London's Tate Gallery is advertising a new curatorial position of Curator (Photography and International Art). The purpose of the job is to work on the acquisition and research of works for the Tate Collection. In addition you will contribute to the photography exhibition programme at Tate Britain and Tate Modern. The closing date for applications is 9 January 2009. The full job description can be seen here: http://www.tate.org.uk/about/workingattate/8140_curator-photography-and-international-art.pdf

National Media Museum name change

Posted by Michael Pritchard on January 1, 2009 at 14:00

On Dec 1 2006 the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television became National Media Museum. The re-branding was undertaken by Thompson Brand Partners. Thompson has written more about the changes and the rationale behind them here. http://thompsonbrandpartners.com/agency/our-work/?casestudy=33&PHPSESSID=313e5bab2e307227eb200b5cb8accd89

Exhibition: Historic Photography Uncovered

Posted by Michael Pritchard on November 30, 1999 at 12:00

This exhibition traces the evolution of photography, as a scientific process, as a social record and a medium for artistic expression. The photographic material on display dates from the mid-19th to mid-20th century and shows how the history of photography relates to our own collections and the visual history of Wales.

Discover the story of the Dillwyn Llewelyn family who were based at the Penllergare estate near Swansea in the mid-19th century. Their pioneering experiments in the new medium created astonishing images of the south Wales landscape and of their family life and social activities.

Part of the display will also look at how photographic processes actually work, exploring the chemistry behind the images. You will also%