Blogs

The Royal Photographic Society is hosting an exclusive 3D presentation and lecture on 1 November in London to celebrate the publication of the London Stereoscopic Company's Diableries: Stereoscopic Adventures in Hell by Dr Brian H May CBE, Denis Pellerin and Paula Fleming.  

The authors - led by Queen guitarist, astronomer and photo-historian Brian May - will present a Gothic Victorian underworld of temptation, seduction, retribution and devilish fun brought alive in colour and 3D. Learn about the origins and hidden meanings of these rare 1860s French photographs which depict an imaginary underworld populated by devils, satyrs and skeletons. 

Put on your 3D glasses and prepare to be surprised! 

The evening will also provide an opportunity to buy copies of the book and to have them signed by the authors.

This will be the first opportunity to hear the fascinating story of the diableries and to purchase the book which is published on Halloween, 31 October. The book is 280 pages with 500 photographs in colour and black and white and comes complete with an OWL stereo viewer designed by Brian May. 

Read more here or buy tickets online from The RPS shop here priced £15. 

The Royal Anthropological Institute is pleased to announce that a conference ‘Anthropology and Photography’ will take place at the British Museum, Clore Centre, in conjunction with the museum’s Anthropology Library and Research Centre between 29-31 May 2014. The aim of the Conference is to stimulate an international discussion on the place, role and future of photography.  Panel proposals are therefore welcome from any branch of anthropology.

More information is here: http://www.therai.org.uk/conferences/anthropology-and-photography/

Call for Panels and Papers

We welcome contributions from researchers and practitioners working in museums, academia, media, the arts and anyone who is engaged with historical or contemporary production and use of images.

Panels can draw upon (but are not limited to) the following themes:

• The use of photography across anthropological disciplines
• The changing place of photography in museums and exhibitions
• Photography and globalisation
• Photography, film and fine art
• Revisiting and re-contextualising archival images
• Photography and public engagement
• Ethics, copyright, access and distribution of images
• Technological innovation and its impact
• Regional photography practices
• Visual method and photo theory

The call for panels opens on 1 August 2013 and closes on 31 October 2013

The call for papers opens on 27 November 2013 and closes on 8 January 2014

CONFERENCE FEE:

Non-Fellow: £170
RAI Member: £150
RAI Fellow: £90
Concessions: £70
RAI Student Fellow: £50

 Victoria Hall, Settle, North Yorkshire, is hosting Stereoscopic Adventures in Hell, a lecture by Brian May and fellow authors. The 3D presentation and lecture celebrates the publication of the London Stereoscopic Company's Diableries: Stereoscopic Adventures in Hell by Dr Brian May CBE, Denis Pellerin and Paula Fleming.

The authors - led by Queen guitarist, astronomer and photo-historian Brian May - will present a Gothic Victorian underworld of temptation, seduction, retribution and devilish fun brought alive in colour and 3D. Learn about the origins and hidden meanings of these rare 1860s French photographs which depict an imaginary underworld populated by devils, satyrs and skeletons.

Put on your 3D glasses and prepare to be surprised!

The evening will also provide an opportunity to buy copies of the book (published in hardback by The London Stereoscopic Company, October 2013, £40) and to have them signed by the authors.

More information: http://www.settlevictoriahall.org.uk/prog/2013/nov_brianmay.html

The Royal Photographic Society is hosting the first showing of the 3D presentation in London on 1 November. See: http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lecture-diableries-stereoscopic-adventures-in-hell

ARK PRESS is a publishing platform and website which seeks to save and promote vernacular photographs relating to all areas of British social history. We will be having a mini-pop-up show of images from the ARK at Bristol's Parlour Showrooms this Friday and Saturday. Come down anytime between 10am and 8pm or join us on Friday night from 5pm for a drinks and social reception at 31/31a College Green Bristol BS1 5TB

“I love saving things that are ephemeral, because if they don’t get saved they will be lost. I like the fact that these snapshots were important to someone at some point in time, and then became un-important. Found objects are often trash.  Perhaps I feel that there’s something archeologically satisfying in the process of finding something that was lost or buried in a heap of paper ephemera at a flea market, and to then present it as something that deserves to be saved, looked at, and learnt from.”

Interview with Frank Maresca, ‘Now Is Then: Snapshots From The Maresca Collection’, Princeton Architectural Press, 2008, p.165

www.arkpress.co.uk

www.parlourshowrooms.co.uk

A new photography exhibition, open from 22 October 2013 – 30 May 2014, at the Royal Engineers Museum, Library and Archive will show a different and intimate side of the Museum’s collection.

‘Encounters: Photograph albums and their stories’ presents unseen photographs and photo albums, dating back to the 1850s, which have been chosen from a collection of over 600 photograph albums at the Royal Engineers Museum. Supported using public funding by Arts Council England, the exhibition explores the narratives that are told through photograph albums, scrapbooks and their intriguing mixture of private photography and commercial prints and postcards.

Cate Canniffe, Director, South East, Arts Council England, said: ‘This is a really fascinating project set in a venue that is really quite different for this type of exhibition. We are very pleased to be able to support this project, providing audiences with an opportunity to enjoy the story that this collection has to tell. It is a wonderful addition to our collection of photography in the South East, bringing something a little different to our current offering.’

The photograph albums also offer the opportunity to discuss the varying colonial relations as seen through pictures. This aspect is central to the photography collection, which largely exists due to the expansion of the British Empire. Explorers, travellers and Royal Engineers were active all over the globe and used photography as a key documenting tool. Challenging climates did not hinder them but inspired many Royal Engineers to develop new photographic methods – one of the most well-known figures being Sir William de Wiveleslie Abney.

 Alongside the exhibition, the Royal Engineers Museum, Library and Archive will also launch its collections website. This will make over 2000 photographs accessible online as well as a substantial part of the Museum’s wider collection.

About the Royal Engineers Museum, Library and Archive (REMLA)

The Royal Engineers Museum is Kent’s largest military museum, and holds it’s only Designated Collection of historical and international importance. The many galleries tell the story of Britain’s military engineers from the Roman period to the modern Corps of Royal Engineers. The millions of items in its collection tell a sweeping epic of courage, creativity and innovation and the stories of individuals of great renown (General Gordon, Lord Kitchener, John Chard VC) and the average Sapper who has helped the British Army move, fight and survive for over 200 years.

Open: Tuesday – Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm; Saturday – Sunday & Bank Holidays: 11.30am to 5.00pm; CLOSED MONDAYS

Admission: Pay once: get in for 12 months!

Adult: £8.00    Family: £21.50    Concession: £5.50   Children under 5, Students and Serving Royal Engineers: Free

Website: www.re-museum.co.uk, Twitter: @REMuseum, Facebook: The Royal Engineers Museum

The National Media Museum, Bradford are looking for a confident, flexible and highly skilled Curator to join their Collections & Exhibitions team. This is an exciting opportunity to develop your curatorial career by leading the content team for our 2014 summer exhibition. You will also manage two Associate Curators and take responsibility for all aspects of our Film and Broadcast collections.

The museum holds the national collections of Cinematography and Television, which include some of the most important objects in the history of the moving image. You will champion these collections; developing, shaping and interpreting them in creative and innovative ways. You will bring your enthusiasm and experience to the leadership of the team developing a major exhibition, to be held at the museum in 2014, on the challenges of natural history filmmaking. This will be the centrepiece of our summer programme for family visitors.

Closing date Monday 2nd September
Interviews will be held on Friday 13th September.
To find out more, please visit: 
https://vacancies.nmsi.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx?MenuID=6Dqy3cKIDOg=

Viviane Sassen is one of the most exciting figures in contemporary fashion photography. In celebration of her first retrospective, In and Out of Fashion, on show at the Portrait Gallery, Sassen will be in conversation with Anne Lyden, International Photography Curator at the National Galleries of Scotland on 19 October 2013. 

See: http://www.nationalgalleries.org/whatson/events-calendar/opening-lecture-viviane-sassen-in-conversation-with-anne-lyden

Hello, I am looking for information about this 1859 photo of a soldier,  It's an albumen print, 20.5 x 15.5 cm, ink inscription under the print; Harvey Bruce, LT, 1859.

Any information, even about the uniform or sword would be appreciated.

Thanks, David

It is always interesting to see how a photographic genre persists over time. I recently had the opportunity to see how one genre - ‘The important overseas visitor tours a factory’ remained constant over about 85 years. The first photograph shows a Western man in business suit being shown around a railway factory in China. It was one of a group of images found in an old suitcase in a junk shop. Papers in the collection identify the man as British and the date late 1920s – early 30s. When I sold the collection the helpful and knowledgeable Chinese buyer identified the factory as the Tangshan Railway Vehicle Company. And there on their website I found a modern day equivalent – a group of Western visitors being given a guided tour of the modern factory. Interesting to play spot the difference. In 1920 they brought in a local studio photographer to the factory and the images were presented on his embossed mounts. For the modern photograph someone probably just used their mobile phone.

and now:

We at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts have been investigating the early London career of British photographer Florence Vandamm, who worked in NYC from 1924 to her retirement in 1962.  We discovered that she opened her first studio in London in 1908.  This site has been very helpful at providing resources and links. 

The exhibition (Pioneering Poet of Light: Florence Vandamm & the Vandamm Studio) will open in mid-September and runs through the end of February.  Please visit. Click here: http://www.nypl.org/events/exhibitions/poet-light-florence-vandamm-vandamm-studio

We are blogging about Vandamm's work on the Library's www.nypl.org.  You can find them in he Vandamm channel or under my name.

Image: Re-discovered image from a glass negative of the Theatre Guild's 1928 production of Faust, NYPL. 

With crimes ranging from theft to child cruelty and rape, these photographs capture Victorian criminals immediately after arrest, and provide fascinating detail of their wretched existence – with charge sheets going as far as listing missing fingers or hands and any diseases the delinquents suffered from.

Previously unseen by the general public, the images were all captured between 1877 and 1930, and published in the Police Gazette trade magazine. They are believed to be among the first mug shots collected in Britain.

The Prevention of Crime Act 1871 made it a legal requirement that all people arrested for a crime must have their photographs taken.

Temporary Exhibition at The Prison & Police Museum,St Marygate, Ripon
until 30th November 2013. Details can be found here.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York will host an exhibition of Cameron's work starting 19 August 2013 until 5 January 2014.

This will be the first New York City museum exhibition devoted to Cameron's work in nearly a generation, and the first ever at the Met. The showing of thirty-five works is drawn entirely from the Metropolitan's rich collection, including major works from the Rubel Collection acquired in 1997 and the Gilman Collection acquired in 2005.

Info here: http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2013/julia-margaret-cameron

LOS ANGELES—The Getty announced today that it was lifting restrictions on the use of images to which the Getty holds all the rights or are in the public domain. Getty President and CEO Jim Cuno made the announcement in a post on The Iris, the Getty’s blog.

"As of today, the Getty makes available, without charge, all available digital images to which the Getty holds all the rights or that are in the public domain to be used for any purpose," wrote Cuno, citing the new program. 

As a result, there are roughly 4,600 images from the J. Paul Getty Museum available in high resolution on the Getty's website for use without restriction—representing 4,689objects (some images show more than one object), including paintings, drawings, manuscripts, photographs, antiquities and sculpture and decorative arts. The Getty plans to add other images, until eventually all applicable Getty-owned or public domain images are available, without restrictions, online. 

The Getty Research Institute is currently determining which images from its special collections can be made available under this program, and the Getty Conservation Institute is working to make available images from its projects worldwide.

"The Museum is delighted to make these images available as the first step in a Getty-wide move toward open content," said J. Paul Getty Museum Director Timothy Potts. "The Getty’s collections are greatly in demand for publications, research and a variety of personal uses, and I am pleased that with this initiative they will be readily available on a global basis to anyone with Internet access."

Previously, the Getty Museum made images available upon request, for a fee, and granted specific use permissions with terms and conditions. Now, while the Getty requests information about the intended use, it will not restrict use of available images, and no fees apply for any use of images made available for direct download on the website.

"The Getty was founded to promote 'the diffusion of artistic and general knowledge' of the visual arts, and this new program arises directly from that mission," said Cuno. "In a world where, increasingly, the trend is toward freer access to more and more information and resources, it only makes sense to reduce barriers to the public to fully experience our collections."

"This is part of an ongoing effort to make the work of the Getty freely and universally available," said Cuno.

I am astounded by the generosity and knowledge of members here. Thank You.  So here is a puzzle: a photograph of the interior of the Guernsey Court House, 1859. On the back is a typewritten description listing the names of all present, titled "Figure 9" with an ink inscription:  "photograph kindly lent by Wm. Ingham" I am assuming this was lent to be published, but can find no record of it.

Would anyone know who the photographer might be?

This post is based in Collections Group within the team that is responsible for the National Collection of Aerial Photography (NCAP) at the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.
With financial support from Creative Scotland, RCAHMS is making a film in partnership with the Scottish Documentary Institute – http://aerial.rcahms.gov.uk/news/news130626.php - that will be screened at major events around Scotland leading to and during the Commonwealth Games.

As Manager of Design and Exhibition Services at the National Media Museum in Bradford you will lead exhibition design and production at the museum ensuring all galleries meet our high standards of design and interactivity. Providing strategic direction for the planning and scheduling of gallery replacement and life-span, you will have a direct impact on the quality of our visitor experience. 

Demonstrable experience of delivering effective and innovative 2D and 3D design solutions across multi-media and AV displays is essential, preferably gained in a museum or gallery environment. We're looking for a talented, creative individual who can lead and manage Gallery Media Developers, Designers and Photographers. 

You need proven project management skills and the vision to understand museum audiences and contribute to world-class exhibition experiences. You'll have the intellectual capability to analyse data, negotiate contracts and manage resources, delivering outstanding results across multiple projects. 

The National Media Museum is part of the Science Museum Group (SMG) which is devoted to the history and contemporary practice of science, medicine, technology, industry and media. Incorporating the Science Museum, the National Railway Museum, the National Media Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry, we are a unique family of museums offering truly unique career opportunities. 

To find out more, please visit: https://vacancies.nmsi.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx?MenuID=6Dqy3cKIDOg=

Job ref: 36071; Closing date: 16/09/2013; Salary: £26,627

In the 1840s and 1850s, "Brady of Broadway" was one of the most successful and acclaimed Manhattan portrait galleries. Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Dolley Madison, Henry James as a boy with his father, Horace Greeley, Edgar Allan Poe, the Prince of Wales, and Jenny Lind were among the dignitaries photographed in Mathew Brady's studio. But it was during the Civil War that he became the founding father of what is now called photojournalism and his photography became an enduring part of American history.
The Civil War was the first war in history to leave a detailed photographic record, and Mathew Brady was the war's chief visual historian. Previously, the general public had never seen in such detail the bloody particulars of war--the strewn bodies of the dead, the bloated carcasses of horses, the splintered remains of trees and fortifications, the chaos and suffering on the battlefield. Brady knew better than anyone of his era the dual power of the camera to record and to excite, to stop a moment in time and to draw the viewer vividly into that moment.
He was not, in the strictest sense, a Civil War photographer. As the director of a photographic service, he assigned Alexander Gardner, James F. Gibson, and others to take photographs, often under his personal supervision; he also distributed Civil War photographs taken by others not employed by him. Ironically, Brady had accompanied the Union army to the first major battle at Bull Run, but was so shaken by the experience that throughout the rest of the war he rarely visited battlefields, except well before or after a major battle. The famous Brady photographs at Antietam were shot by Gardner and Gibson. 
Few books about Brady have gone beyond being collections of the photographs attributed to him, accompanied by a biographical sketch. MATHEW BRADY will be the biography of an American legend--a businessman, an accomplished and innovative technician, a suave promoter, a celebrated portrait artist, and, perhaps most important, a historian who chronicled America during its finest and gravest moments of the 19th century.

You can pick up a copy using the Amazon link on the right.

I am looking for any information on this British photograph. I believe it to be an albumen print, 22 x 12.5 cm. The only identification is a pencil inscription on the reverse which I can't quite make out "Tower, Mold ? Jan.7, 1856

I love the interplay of light on the fence lower right. 

Does anyone recognize this location?

Thanks in advance, David

This Thursday the 8th August see the inaugural meeting in what hopes to be a regular event exploring the history of photography and the application of alternative photographic processes, taking place at Double Negative Dark Rooms, 178A Glyn Road, Hackney, E5 0JE.

At 7pm, there will be informal talks from;

• Seb Sussman, founder of the Double Negative Darkrooms. http://www.sebsussmann.co.uk/ Processes Explored: Cyanotype Rex, Salt Printing, Gum, Copperplate photogravure, Lith Print, Pinhole, Slit Screen
• Gavin Maitland, photo historian, writer and curator who sometimes works at The Victoria and Albert Museum and Christies on digitization/catalogue projects. Gavin also runs the online social history archivehttp://www.arkpress.co.uk/ and http://photohistoryrulesok.blogspot.co.uk/ Processes Explored: Wet Plate Collodion.
• Constanza Isaza Martinez, visual artist and researcher working primarily with photography, with a particular interest in historical photographic processes. Constanza recieved a first class BA degree in Photographic Arts from the University of Westminster. http://www.constanzaisaza.com/  Processes Explored: Salts, Cyanotype

The event is organised by Melanie K, visual artist experimenting with photographic processes. Melanie recently graduated from an MA in Art and Science at Central Saint Martins. http://www.melaniek.co.uk/ Process explored: Cyanotype, Silver Gelatin, Daguerreotype

Following the controversy generated by the news that Barnardos was looking to divest itself or destroy its photography archive following digitisation the charity has issued a press release setting out its own position and intentions. BPH reproduces it below without comment and welcomes the level of interest shown in ensuring that the archived is preserved. BPH looks forward to a successful conclusion of those discussions. 

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Barnardo’s is digitising more than 200,000 images from its unique photographic collection - dating back to the 19^th Century - in a move to make it more accessible and protect its historical value.

This forms part of a bigger preservation project through which the charity ultimately intends to bring the entire archive, which has around 500,000 original images, together in one location.

The children’s charity is currently working with the National Archives to determine how best to do this and is also exploring where the archive might be housed in future.

The move is part of a regeneration scheme to modernise the charity’s headquarters in Barkingside, Essex. Until a decision is made on the permanent new home for the whole archive, Barnardo’s is seeking an arrangement with the company which is digitising its oldest images, that need to be kept in a climate controlled environment, to look after them in the short term. The remainder of the archive, which does not need special storage, will stay with Barnardo’s archive team for the moment.

Senior assistant director of children’s services Sara Clarke said:“Barnardo’s has a proud heritage of transforming the lives of some of the most vulnerable children in the UK which reaches back nearly 150 years. 

“Our photographic archive is an important piece of social history which we want to make more accessible whilst protecting its historical value.

“We are excited to be making use of 21^st Century technology and we have been inundated with offers to host the precious originals following the digitisation process, the most promising of which we are now exploring with interest.”

The prints are thought to represent the largest private collection of images in the country and is unique as it concentrates on one subject matter; children in Barnardo’s care. It includes a very rare ambrotype image of Dr Barnardo with children.

Barnardo’s will be having discussions with some prestigious organisations which have expressed interest in hosting its archive; a decision on its final destination will be announced next year.

Notes to editors

The earlier albumen prints were, according to records, likely to be the photographer’s own reference files as many were annotated with a number and in many cases, the child’s name.  The prints were pasted chronologically in a ledger, the binding of which disintegrated.  In addition Barnardo had his own narrow albums with three images per page.  He kept these for personal use to show visitors, parents and police.

The archive is currently available to researchers, academics, descendants of people in the photos and Barnardo’s children who are featured in the pictures. The archive is not available to the general public and some images are subject to privacy restrictions.

Ambrotype photographs are typically shiny in appearance and are created as negatives on a piece of glass and then transferred to a black background.

For more information on the history of Barnardo’s and the work we do today click here.