Blogs

The Great Exhibition 2012 will capture the true Spirit of Great Britain. With its origins based in the original 1851 Great Exhibition and the Festival of Britain 1951, it highlights and celebrates all that is “Great” about this country.

In 1851 we competed against the world in the exhibition of all nations with Britain as Host Nation In 2012 as the Host Nation for the largest sporting competition in the World and the platform from which the Queen will celebrate her Diamond Jubilee, 2012 truly is the year to remind ourselves and rejoice in all that is “Great” about Great Britain in the 21st Century.

This is an opportunity for us to promote our industries, our creative talents, our tourism and the people that make Britain “Great”. By actively encouraging participation online, we are asking people to celebrate all of our British achievements, in addition to the planned celebrations for sports & art that have been announced for 2012.

Fox Talbot, as of today, is only ranked 120th, with only 8 votes!, behind individuals like Pippa Middleston (at 68th!) and Simon Cowell (105th). So, he desperately needs your help. Vote for him here.

The Russian Museum has joined forces with the city’s History of Photography Museum as well as a number of archives and libraries in both St. Petersburg and Moscow to create a journey through the past 150 years, as documented by the country’s most talented photographers.

This new exhibit explores the history of photography as a technological process, and showcases a number of techniques used throughout the history of this art from the middle of the 19th century. Daguerreotypes, prints on silver paper, bromoil prints and early experiments with the use of color are all on show. It showcases 400 incredible prints, including fascinating views of serene city landscapes from the pre-revolutionary era by Karl Bulla, and shots taken by Alexander Chekhov, the elder brother of the writer Anton Chekhov.

Such an exhibition would be unthinkable without featuring Bulla, who is often referred to as the father of photography reporting in Russia. Bulla documented the lives of Russian aristocrats, gentry and merchants, and his vast collection of prints covers the most intricate details of life in St. Petersburg at the start of the 20th century.

The photo biennale embraces all imaginable genres of photography, from portraits and landscapes to chronicles. The oldest items on display are daguerreotypes dating back to the 1840s. In addition to fascinating historical images, the exhibition also showcases various models of cameras and photographic equipment that were in use during the course of the past 150 years. 

Further information can be found here, and details of the exhibition here.

Photo: The artist Vladimir Makovsky, photographed in his workshop by Karl Bulla in 1911, is on show at the biennale.

For those of you who might have missed the newsletter: E-Photo Newsletter Issue 185 11/4/2011

Fall auction coverage in New York, photo book reviews and more.

In the late 1800s, the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago undertook an impressive engineering project to reverse the flow of the Chicago River. To document this feat, photographers surveyed the river system shooting more than 20,000 photos using six-by-eight-inch glass plate—a process that involved great precision so that multiple images aligned to create one continuous scene.

A century later, author Michael Williams stumbled across the bulky negatives, buried in the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District archives. A sample of the collection—with text by Williams and Richard Cahan—is on display at the Notebaert Nature Museum. “The Lost Panoramas: Chicago and the Illinois Valley a Century Ago” features sweeping scenes of the riverbed and its state-of-the-art infrastructure and provides a fascinating view of a true city on the make.

You can purchase the book using the Amazon link on the right, if interested.

Explainers educate, entertain and inspire visitors, interpreting and communicating information about the Museum's subject matter in unique, engaging ways.

Skills required: Knowledge of media literacy, and/or aspects of photography, film, television, radio or new media. Good presentation/perfomance skills. Good communication skills, written and oral. Good organisational skills

Closing date for applications is 7th December. Further details can be found here.

Good luck!

An interview with John Myers, discussing his photography practice from the 1970s and the current Middle England exhibition at the Ikon Gallery, Birmingham - with thanks to Pete James for the information.

John Myers - Middle England from Ikon Gallery on Vimeo.

Photographs by two of Britain’s most accomplished photographers of the nineteenth century: Roger Fenton (1819-69) and Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-79) are on display at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter, from 15 December to 1 April 2012. Some were commissioned by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, others purchased directly from the photographer.  Together they demonstrate the royal couple’s involvement in the early photographic world.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were enthusiastic patrons of photography.  Between 1842, when the first photograph was taken of a member of the royal family and 1861 when Prince Albert died, the couple amassed a collection of works by the leading photographers of the day.  After Prince Albert’s death, Queen Victoria continued collecting.  By the time of her death in 1901 the collection was estimated at 20,000 photographs.

Victoria and Albert’s patronage helped foster this new art form.  They attended exhibitions, became patrons of the newly established Photographic Society of London, commissioned portraits and purchased the work of British photographers.  Queen Victoria preferred portraits, while Prince Albert acquired topographical views and fine art photographs. 

The exhibition is accompanied by a book by Sophie Gordon Roger Fenton & Julia Margaret Cameron: Early British Photographs from the Royal Collection.

The photographs have been generously lent by HM The Queen from the Royal Collection.

See: http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/microsites/fentoncameron/

As Assistant Exhibition Organiser for The National Media Museum, you will assist with the management and organization of the practical and administrative aspects of our temporary exhibitions programme. You will be part of a team that, each year, delivers content for up to six temporary exhibitions, six displays, one semi-permanent exhibition and all associated web content, multi-media and interactive exhibits. So over the course of the contract, there’s lots to get involved in.

Ideally, you will have a background in the museum or cultural sector, including collections management. If you come from a different sector, you must have outstanding project management skills with demonstrable proof that you can co-ordinate events, manage transport and delivery issues, organise essential documentation and communicate project requirements to colleagues, designers, drivers and contractors.

Award winning, visionary and truly unique, The National Media Museum embraces photography, film, television, radio and the web. It aims to engage, inspire and educate through comprehensive collections, innovative education programmes and a powerful yet sensitive approach to contemporary issues.

Together, the Science Museum, The National Railway Museum and The National Media Museum form a unique family of museums with a vision to provide outstanding visitor experiences. We aim to engage and inspire diverse audiences, while at the same time rewarding and developing the people who contribute to our success.

For a full job description please email recruitment@nationalmediamuseum.org.uk

Closing date: Wednesday, December 14th, 2011

Assistant Exhibition Organiser

Fixed Term Contract (until end Oct 2012), Maternity Cover

£16,606 - £18,000

National Media Museum, Bradford

Full-time 36 hours per week, office hours

The Directory was created by the Photography and the Archive Research Centre, University of the Arts London, London College of Communication, to help researchers to look for photographs relating to their interests. The project is led by Val Williams, and its researcher, since 2004, is Bob Pullen.

The Directory is a portal to Institutions in the UK, and provides information and contact details of publicly accessible photographic collections. It is a constantly developing resource of information on photographic collections, and its value and significance as a research tool will steadily increase as institutions add their collections to it. While the internet is a powerful resource bringing a wealth of information onto to your screen, there is no substitute for visiting institutions, talking to those responsible for collections, and actually holding photographs in your hands.

It is searchable by a number of fields. 

The project updates John Wall's Directory of British Photographic Collections, (National Photographic Record/Royal Photographic Society, Heinemann, 1977)

See: http://www.directoryphotographiccollectionsuk.org

I have been researching a Civil War map reproduction technique involving the photographing or direct copying of maps using the salted paper process.  These maps were fairly common in the United States during the Civil War due to the limited availability of lithographic presses as well as the increased demand for up-to-date maps of strategic sites such as waterways, railroads, etc. 

While researching this topic I looked into the history of salted paper maps and found several examples by Talbot as well as information regarding it's extensive use by the English Ordnance Survey under the direction of Henry James in the 1850's.  A wonderful publication in the collection of the Geography and Maps Division at the Library of Congress shows the results of an Ordnance Survey review committee tasked with determining the accuracy and reliability of photography for the reduction of maps.  This copy has several photographs of the facilities and examples of maps as well as hand colored engravings of the darkroom equipment.  This image is of the darkroom facilities and map mounting workshop. 

I would be interested in knowing if anyone in the UK has done research in this area or if anyone knows where the archival papers and documentation of the Ordnance Survey is held.  (These salted paper maps were only done as internal copies and were not available for sale or distribution.)

A brief overview of this research can be read at:   Heliographic Musings

Image: Photographic Headquarters, English Ordnance Survey, from The Report of the Committee on the Reduction of Ordnance Plans by Photography, 1859.

This interesting exhibition will be held at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San
Fernando, Alcalá 13, 28014, Madrid, from 24 November to 20 January 2012.

130 objects are on display including views of Spain by the relevant photographers
of the time, cameras, travel books, documents and a collection of stereoscopic
views by Joseph Carpentier, J. Andrieu and Ernest Lamy as well as the Gaudin
Bros. and Ferrier & Soulier.

A Sutton panoramic camera negative believed to show Dunolly, Australia, c.1862, is being offered at auction on 11 December 2011. The negative is one from a group that was discovered some years ago. The camera and other negatives were previously sold at Christie's. See: http://leonardjoel.com.au/lot_details.php?lot=227246&auction=229# for more information. 

The Kraszna-Krausz Foundation, in partnership with the World Photography Organisation, is looking for the Best Photography Book and Best Moving Image Book of the year. A £10,000 prize will be split between the winners of each category who'll be announced at the Sony World Photography Awards ceremony on 26 April 2012.

The judging panel for the Best Photography Book Award will be chaired by Lindsey Stewart, Bernard Quaritch gallerist and historical photography expert. The photography panel is completed by Gerry Badger, author and winner of the 2007 Kraszna-Krausz Book Award for his work The Photobook: A History, Volumes 1 and 2 (Phaidon, 2004 & 2006) and the photographer Jem Southam.

See: http://www.kraszna-krausz.org.uk/ for details of submissions which are due by Wednesday 30 November 2011. 

Henderson, Neil

Empting frames. Animation Practice, Process & Production. Vol 1, No.1 (Mar 2011)

This short essay brings together some thoughts about two films, both of which take as their starting point the photographic still image and use film to expand and question the immobility of that image, teasing out small shifts and changes in its appearance. Candle and Tidal combine 16mm film and Polaroid photography to create a metaphor for movement and loss, evoking the alchemy of the photographic as it becomes a memory in a digital age. Through a commentary and reflection the formal characteristics of the work are described, and I explore how the filmed Polaroid is animated by the chemical transformation inherent in the Polaroid process. One of the key points is how the films concern themselves with articulating the filmic interval, as a chemical manifestation/metaphor

The article is available as a FREE download at: http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/File:download,aid=10814/ap3.1.1.77.pdf

or doi: 10.1386/ap3.1.1.77_1

The auction of printed books at Christie’s South Kensington on 28 November includes about 90 lots of photobooks, among them fine photobooks from the collection of Bob and Laurence Calle (lots 371-443); the 72 lots include a remarkably fresh, unrestored copy of Moi Ver’s Paris from the collection of its publisher and in the original glassine jacket (lot 419); an excellent copy of Man Ray’s Photographies inscribed to Bob Calle (lot 418); the first American edition of Robert Frank’s The Americans (lot 397) in a very good dust-jacket; and many other masterpieces in the field. Other consignments include a pristine copy of Alvarez Bravo’s Fotografias (lot 356); an original Cecil Beaton scrapbook (lot 357); the first edition of Ruscha’s 26 Gasoline Stations (lot 363); a unique copy of The Art of Edward Weston (lot 369); the rare slipcased version of Bruce Weber’s O Rio de Janeiro, and others.

Christie's Fine Printed Books including Photobooks from the Calle Collection

Monday 28 November 2011, South Kensington

See: http://www.christies.com/lotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=5505099

Under Eagle Eyes: Lithographs, Drawings and Photographs from the Prussian Expedition to Japan, 1860-61. Edited by Sebastian Dobson & Sven Saaler, with contributions by Nakai Akio, Peter Pantzer, Veit Hammer, Timon Screech, Sebastian Dobson & Sven Saaler.

In the roll call of Western nations that participated in the “re-opening” of Japan in the last years of the Shogunate, the Kingdom of Prussia has long been marginalised. The Prussian Expedition to Japan of 1860-61 still receives little scholarly attention outside Germany and Japan, and even among German and Japanese scholars investigation into Count Friedrich zu Eulenburg’s mission has focused almost entirely on the diplomatic negotiations which eventually led to the signing of a Prussian-Japanese treaty in Edo in 1861, an event currently being celebrated in its 150th anniversary year as the beginning of German-Japanese relations.

However, as contemporaries observed, this was no ordinary expedition. Eulenburg’s civilian staff consisted not only of four diplomats, but also of four scientists, two artists and one photographer, all of whom made use of an unexpected five-month stay in Edo to examine and record a country still little-known in Europe. This book seeks to reconstruct the scientific and artistic legacies of Eulenburg’s expedition, much of which either languished in obscurity or was even believed to have been lost. In particular, the iconography of the Prussian Expedition, consisting of photographs, lithographs and work in more traditional media, is presented here for the first time.

The book will be launched on 1 December 2011 at Daiwa Foundation Japan House, 6:00 – 7:00pm, followed by a drinks reception to 8:00pm. See: http://www.dajf.org.uk/event/under-eagle-eyes-lithographs-drawings-and-photographs-from-the-prussian-expedition-to-japan-1860-61

 Over the last couple of months I have been working on a previously uncatalogued collection of large format, 50.8 cm x 44.5 cm, glass plate negatives donated to the Powerhouse Museum in 1969. The 28 collodion portraits were found in a chest in our stores at Castle Hill and have been identified as all being originally taken by the Freeman Borthers Studio here in Sydney. We are currently conserving and cataloguing the photographs but hope to be posting them onto flickr commons by the end of the year for researchers to use. 

The Freeman Brother Studio lays claim to being the longest running studio in Australia. It was established as the ‘Freeman Brothers and Wheeler’ by William Freeman and his brother James in George Street in 1854; it was still running nearly 150 years later. James was the more experienced of the two having worked in Richard Beard’s gallery in Bath before coming to Australia and was certainly instrumental in the success with which they plied their trade in Sydney.[1]

One of the keys to their success was their continual upgrading of equipment and premises to deliver the latest techniques. As a result they attracted the cultural elite of Sydney to their studios where they were photographed using the techniques of the day. Thus surviving examples can be found as daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, collodion glass plates, flexible sheet negatives all of which were then used to make albumen, gelatin and platinum prints on card, glass, and paper.

In 1864 the brothers undertook a major renovation of their studio which opened to the public in January 1865. Here they claimed … the most artistic arrangements in the distribution of light and shadow have been effected in their Gallery. In carrying out these alterations, Messrs. Freeman Brothers have availed themselves of the very best and latest improvement in the construction of a Photographic Studio, which have been forwarded them from home, "and which they have adapted to the requirements of ' the climate according to the dictates of their experience. By a simple and beautiful arrangement, any kind of light can be thrown on the sitter, to suit the varieties or dress or complexion, so that the sunniest effects of a Lawrence or a Reynolds can be obtained, varying down to the most somber and effective tones of a Rembrandt. These remarks Messrs. Freeman wish apply to all the varieties of Photographic Portraiture, from the largest style adapted to Photography down to the universally popular Carte de Visite. While announcing the above important improvements, Messrs. Freeman wish to recall the attention of the public to their beautiful Sutton's Panoramic Apparatus from the camera, of which they have now a splendid and varied collection of Views of Sydney and its neighborhood …[2]

In January 1867 James Freeman went to England leaving his brother and their partner Victor A. Prout to take control of the business.[3] Why James left is unclear, perhaps illness or an argument but it was clearly unexpected for it was February before the official notice of his retirement from the studio of ‘Freeman Brothers and Prout’ was published in the papers. From this date William and Victor Prout took over the formal management under the name of ‘Freeman and Prout’.[4]

In 1868 the studio acquired over 20,000 negatives from the demise of Dalton Brothers, one of Sydney’s other pre-eminent studios. It turns out the acquisition was not just photographs for in advertising this acquisition they also called attention to the tinted and coloured cards and miniatures produced by Miss Hunt, … for so long favourably known while in Mr. Dalton's employment …. Miss Hunt must have greatly added to the studio for  the surviving coloured work from Dalton Studio ranks among the best produced in this period in Australia.[5]

James Freeman’s retirement appears to have affected William for he returned to England in 1868 and for awhile both brothers lived there. This arrangement lasted only for a few years until William returned to manage the Sydney studio after the death of James in 1870. The studio suffered a huge blow in November 1871 when a fire on the premises destroyed their entire stock of negatives, including those acquired from Dalton Studio’s.[6]

In 1890 Freeman Brothers passed to William Rufus George who managed the studio until his son Alfred took over in 1903. Harold Cazneaux worked for the studio from 1904 to 1918, a period which saw them embrace a more informal style of portraiture and wedding photography. During the depression the studio was in competition with the street photographers who would snap passers by in the street. Valentine Waller who managed the business though this period was instrumental in lobbying for the State Government to bring in the regulation and registration of this form of photography in 1937. The company continues to survive and evolve moving to digital photography in 2003.[7]

The scale of their enterprise did not seem to affect the quality of the work they produced; in fact the studio from its inception spared no effort in touching up, and printing, their photographic prints. This combination of high quality work and patronage by the elite of Sydney makes their early work excellent examples of nineteenth-century Australian photography, illustrated by their winning silver and bronze medals at the London International Exhibition in 1862.

Photograph

Reverend W. B. Clarke, from collodion negative, Freeman Brothers Studio, 1871-1875,
Powerhouse Museum, H8504-1 

References 

Advertisement, The Sydney Morning Herald, Tuesday 3 January 1865, page 8

Alan Davies, Freeman Studio in the Picture Gallery, exhibition catalogue, State Library of New South Wales, 2003

Advertisement, The Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday 2 May 1868, page 1

Notices, The Sydney Morning Herald, Tuesday 12 February, 1867, page 1

Notices, The Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday 2 May 1868, page 1

Government Notices, The Sydney Morning, Saturday 11 November 1871, page 2

Dr J H Robbins writes...Readers may be interested to know that a Victorian Scrap Album has been identified as belonging to Major-General Richard Clement Moody RE (previously Colonel) who had a significant role in British Columbia in the years 1858-1863. Bought in the 1970s in Dorchester, England, this has just been identified as belonging to Col Richard Clement Moody RE. The Royal Engineers are widely recognised as being amongst the pioneers of photography 

Background:

In around 1859, Col. R.C. Moody, commander of the Columbia detachment of the Royal Engineers based at New Westminster, had his portrait taken with an unidentified Aboriginal. The photographer was probably Lt. Arthur Reid Lempriere RE, who was in charge of photography for the detachment. This image and two others including a portrait of the same Aboriginal that appear to have been taken at the same time; form part of a large number of photographs, many captioned in pencil as well as others from British Columbia and a pencil drawing of Moody's house dated 1863 and signed by Henry Pering Pellew Crease.There are also pictures of houses lived in or visited by the Moody family in England, a Grand Tour of Loire Valley châteaux, Brittany Costumes, Brussels and Bologna. It seems probable that Moody took at least some of the photographs himself, although others like the two hand coloured prints entitled Japanese Dancing Girls, and a Japanese Priest as well as those from France and Italy have been purchased or collected. A photograph (circa 1859) of the people involved in the Boundary Commission survey to establish the 49th parallel has the name of Colonel Moody on the reverse.

Two pictures from the album and some more information can be seen at https://sites.google.com/site/moodyalbum/ 

The pictures here are: top: a portrait of an unknown First Nations man.; below: Portraits, Moody is on left in photo, his companion is believed to be Captain Luard RE. 

Greater China Photographic Society aims to unite the efforts of cultural enthusiasts, scholars, photographers and photographic followers of the art of photography, for all people of the world who love Chinese Culture. Our mission is to promote the photographic arts, Chinese culture and charity for the benefit of Society and the World. Our vision is to create unlimited new vistas.

This new appointment of Chief Executive Office Worldwide of the Greater China Photographic Society (GCPS) is located in Hong Kong and is available immediately.

1. The post is for a creative person well acquainted with the photographic arts who could promote opportunities between the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States and, with or without support, with China (Mainland and Taiwan). They would be well acquainted with the photographic venues of the world including museums and galleries. He/she must be willing to travel, especially throughout China. Additionally, the person would be expected to design and run photographic courses/workshops/, photographic events and.

2. The successful candidate will be from a photographic or similar media background with appropriate academic qualifications and distinctions. He/she will demonstrate exceptional management and communication skills. The fluency of English to a good standard is required plus Mandarin and /or Cantonese would be an advantage.

 The First Contract will be of 6-12 months duration, offering a salary of HK$30,000- (approximately sterling pound 2,400- or USD3,900-)/month plus quarter allowance of HK10,000- (Pound 8,000- or USD 1,300-). For information, if the applicant have no other Hong Kong income, Annual Salary Tax is about HK$33,000- for single and HK$15,000- for married. The GCPS would pay one round trip air ticket between UK, USA or Europe Airport and Hong Kong.

 For further information regarding this post contact The President.  Applications in confidence should be sent by email to adm@gcpshk.com or by letter to Suite 5401, Central Plaza, No. 18 Harbour Road, Hong Kong and consist in the form of a full curriculum vitae, supporting letter and names of two referees. The closing date for applications is 20 January 2012