March 2017 Blog Posts (23)

It's that time of year again and the date for Photographic 2017 is closing fast, as usual it will take place at the regular venue The  Royal Horticultural Society's Lindley Hall, 80 Vincent Square, London SW1P 2PB on the 21 May 2017. Public entry is from 10am-4.00pm and admission is £5. This year there will be more than 100 stalls selling user and collectable…

The V&A is the world's leading museum of art, design and performance. We enrich people's lives by promoting the practice of design and increasing knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of the designed world. The Conservation Department has a worldwide reputation for the excellence of its practical work, for innovative ideas, for pioneering the scientific and ethical…

The following announcement by the PMG-AIC may be of interest to some; at the end is a link which contains a full Table of Contents and list of contributors, as well as ordering information:-

The Photographic Materials Group of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works is proud to announce advance sales of

Platinum and…

The Royal Photographic Society’s Historical Group held a series of talks at the V&A Museum on 25 March. One of these provided the first opportunity for the Society and the public to hear about the museum’s plans for the RPS Collection which has now been relocated to the V&A. Martin…

A new display celebrating the life and artistic legacy of Olive Edis officially opens at Cromer Museum on Wednesday 29 March, following the success of of a major exhibition at Norwich Castle. The same day a new touring exhibition, The Road to Ypres, exploring Edis’ war photography opens at the North Norfolk District Council offices, the first stop in an extensive tour…

Smile! The Nation's Family Album is a BBC TV documentary which was shown earlier this week looking at the family photograph album. Gil Pasternak was academic consultant and the programme aso features Colin Harding. It is available to watch on iPlayer or more freely on Youtube here: …

The new National Science and Media Museum website and new branding will be revealed on the 23 March. The website holding page can be seen here: www.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk. BPH can also reveal that the museum's new website domain name was first registered on 18 November 2016. 

UPDATED. The website is now live.…

This is a real puzzle. a 10 x 10 inch silver print of an early illustration of Mars. At the bottom,  "H. Spencer Jones". He was the British Royal Astronomer from 1933-1955 at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich.  

I have no Idea why his name would be printed below a clearly earlier illustration of Mars. My Idea is that because this is a square image, it may be a copy…

I am a curator currently researching half-plate size (approx. 4.75 x 6.5 inches) cameras and accessories available in Sydney, Australia, from the early 1920s that might have been used to create a series of portraits on dry plate negative held in our collection.

While half-plate was a common size, I am wondering how the photographer might have exposed two different…

I am currently writing an article on the history of the exhibition of paper negatives, to present in a conference late this year. One of my goals is to evaluate which light sources conservators are using, especially when the negatives are backlit.

Although it can be relatively easy to find information on…

I am trying to find out more about the camera Spanish photographer Rafael Castro y Ordóñez, member of the Comisión Científica del Pacífico, used during his expedition to America (1862-1865). He used a Dallmeyer lens of his own but the camera was purchased in London by British photographer Charles Clifford in early 1862. References suggest that it was a state of the art field stand camera. The plates produced are 26 x 31 (10 x 12") and 16 x 21 (6 x 8 "). The lens was probably a…

Sit. Pose. Snap. Brisbane Portrait Photography 1850–1950 explores the phenomenon of portrait photography in Brisbane, and shows how the process of capturing and sharing a portrait evolved from the formal studio sittings of the 19th century through to more candid and relaxed photographs of the 20th century.

Featuring hundreds of Brisbane residents captured in…

There are several exhibitions of the work of British photographer Roger Mayne taking place. His vintage London and Paris photographs to be shown at Quaritch in May and will comprise small-format vintage prints, from iconic images of children playing to views of Paris photographed the year before his renowned Southam Street series. The exhibition will run Wednesday 10 to…

BPH publicised the International Conference Stereo & Immersive Media 2016 last year. The conference organisers have made the presentations available on Youtube and you can delight in, enjoy, and learn from…

Barry Lane, who has died aged 72, was the first, and only, photography officer at the Arts Council and was later Secretary-General of the Royal Photographic Society between 1995 and 2001. As a champion for photography at the Arts Council Lane played a pivotal role in supporting a new wave of emerging British photographers. After he left the Arts Council as Head of…

and as a reminder...

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National Science and Media Museum is the new name of the former National Museum of Photography, Film and Television (June 1983) and National Media Museum (December 2006), according to the Guardian newspaper.

The re-named museum is due to reveals it's new website and branding later this month. 

In addition, the museum is opening…

Barry Lane, who has died aged 72, was the first, and only, photography officer at the Arts Council and was later Secretary-General of the Royal Photographic Society between 1995 and 2001. As a champion for photography at the Arts Council Lane played a pivotal role in supporting and exhibiting a new wave of emerging British photographers through funding and exhibitions. After…