Blogs

The Royal Photographic Society and The Macallan have announced a new three year deal to sponsor the world renowned annual Royal Photographic Society Awards Ceremony, as part of The Macallan’s innovative and ground-breaking work within the photography arena.

Founded in 1853, The Royal Photographic Society is the world’s longest established Photography Society. It was granted its Royal patronage by Queen Victoria in 1894, and a Royal Charter in 2004. It remains one of the most prestigious and well-respected societies to this day, with membership across the world. 

By supporting the Awards for the next three years, The Macallan will cement its growing commitment to the photographic world as well as working in partnership with The Society to develop the Awards in the longer term. Membership of the Society is diverse and varied across both professional and amateur spectrums enabling The Macallan to play its part in encouraging the rich seam of talent, expertise and innovation of photographers, educationalists, and imaging scientists. 

The Macallan 2011 Royal Photographic Society Awards which take place in September, will recognise individuals who have made a significant contribution to the art and science of photography. From recognising achievements in the advancement of photography, education and research, through to technical excellence and the ultimate accolade, the Centenary Medal for sustained, significant contributions to the art of photography, the Awards support and celebrate every aspect of the photographic industry and its thriving community. 

Last year’s recipient of the prestigious Royal Photographic Society Centenary Award, Albert Watson Hon FRPS, was recently involved in a unique collaboration with The Macallan. The partnership began when Watson was invited by The Macallan to weave a visual narrative of the long journey made from acorn to glass to eventually produce a rich and complex Single Malt. The stunning end result was a series of platinum prints partnered with an exceptional limited edition 1946 Macallan

Commenting on the partnership, Ken Grier, Director of Malts at The Edrington Group, said, “Working with, and supporting, The Royal Photographic Society is a natural progression for The Macallan and testament to our increasing presence, passion and innovation in the photography sphere. The Society itself is an ideal partner given its rich history, professional excellence and world leading authority in photography. Our commitment in this area is for the long term and the Awards give us the opportunity to work with the very best, at the highest levels to ensure complete integrity and excellence.” 

He continued, “Building on our work with both Rankin and Albert Watson, we recognise and respect the power of stunning photography in capturing the essence of The Macallan brand and telling different and intriguing stories through this medium.” 

The Masters of Photography initiative celebrates the coming together of two very different but highly revered art processes, photography and whisky-making. The first Masters of Photography was created by Rankin and saw a photographic interpretation of The Macallan’s spiritual home on Speyside. 

In welcoming The Macallan as sponsors of The Society Awards Ceremony Rosemary Wilman HonFRPS, President of The Society, commented " The Royal Photographic Society recognises The Macallan as a natural partner for The Society, with their commitment and passion for photography at the highest level, through Masters of Photography. We look forward to working with The Macallan and believe that this partnership will strengthen the prestige of The Society Awards." 

She added "The most recent Masters of Photography collaboration was with Albert Watson HonFRPS, The RPS Centenary Medal winner in 2010 . The Centenary Medal recognises a sustained contribution to the art of photography at the highest level with previous recipients including Annie Leibovitz (2009), Martin Parr (2008), Don McCullin (2007), David Bailey (2005) and Elliott Erwitt (2002)."

The official press release can be found here.

De Montfort University is recruiting students for the 2011/12 intake on its MA History of Photography and Practice course. The programme started in 2009 and his been widely acclaimed for its distinctive approach to the teaching of photographic history and its focus on handling original objects. The course has established close links with various photographic collections such as the National Media Museum, British Library, Birmingham Central Library and Wilson Centre of Photography.

Download the course poster here high res AAD_161_FINAL_High_Res.pdf or low res: AAD_161_FINAL_Low_Res.pdf.

Photography was taken to Asia by Europeans and Americans soon after its invention in 1839. Records exist of photographs being made in India as early as 1840 and in China by 1842. Yet, until recently, there was little recognition of the photographers who have run businesses, pursued artistic goals, and recorded the unfolding of history in Asia since the mid-19th century.

When Professor Sandra Matthews was a photography student, she noticed a glaring absence of information about photography from Asia or from any part of the world other than the U.S. or Europe. Through the years she remained deeply interested in non-western photography, learning through her own travels and research.

With the advent of online journals, Professor Matthews seized the opportunity to build a community of scholars around the world who share her interest in Asian photography, and to write in some of that missing history as well as exploring the exciting contemporary work coming from the region.  In a process that took two years, she built a network, assembled an international editorial board, and created an arrangement so that Hampshire College publishes the journal in collaboration with the University of Michigan Library Scholarly Publishing Office, a pioneer in the field of open-access online journals.
She launched the Trans-Asia Photography Review, which brings together the perspectives of curators, historians, photographers, anthropologists, art historians, and others in an effort to investigate historical and contemporary photography from Asia as fully as possible. The site also includes book reviews, curatorial projects, and a compilation of resources in the field. 

In spring semester 2012, Matthews will teach a course entitled Photography from Asia, which will enable Hampshire students to engage with the history of photography in global terms and with the Trans-Asia Photography Review.

A recent news article on launch of the site can be found here, and you can access the website direct by clicking here.

To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War as well as to coincide with Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, the George Eastman House will be presenting a selection of historical photographs of Civil War sites and circumstances by photographers including George Barnard, Mathew Brady, and Alexander Gardner. The exhibition emphasizes rare items in the George Eastman House collection and explores how photography was used during this period to record the war, promote popular causes, and commemorate those who sacrificed their lives.

The photographs of sweeping battlefields, soldiers, famous figures, fortress interiors, prisons, and post-Civil War memorial sites were captured in a variety of ways, such as portrait studios set up near encampments, lantern-slide artists traveling with troops, and photographers on the sidelines of battlefields (although images could only be taken after battle, since the technology at this time could not capture action). Many of the featured photographs are held only at Eastman House and this is the first time the museum’s Civil War imagery is comprehensively being displayed in its 64-year history.

The Eastman House display will also feature two cameras to illustrate equipment used during the Civil War - a stereo camera (1864) owned by the Mathew Brady Studio and a Lewis wet-plate camera (1862).

Details of the exhibition can be found here.

Photo:  Alexander Gardner. LEWIS PAYNE, ONE OF THE LINCOLN CONSPIRATORS BEFORE HIS EXECUTION.
From The Lincoln Conspiracy Album, 1865. George Eastman House Collection

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Well, the secret is out!

According to the author, Robert L. Shanebrook, who worked with Kodak for 35 years, this book describes the “secrets” of film manufacturing. Actually, it explains how Eastman Kodak makes film.

More than 200 complex chemical components are coated on to film base in up to 18 unique, precision layers which in total are half the thickness of a human hair. This insider’s view explains in simple terms how the operation works. It is a picture book with more than 25 diagrams and more than 130 photographs of Kodak’s production materials and equipment. According to him, his book is intended for conservators of photographs. These are the people that are charged with the daunting responsibility of preserving our history and art via photographs and motion pictures. Though anyone with an interest in photographic processes would fine it useful too.

You can try the Amazon link on the right, or here.

From last year's recreation of an entire room evocative of the ancestral home of Fox Talbot, early photography specialist dealer of 19th and early 20th century photographs from New York, Hans P. Kraus Jr,  will show a glimpse of how early photography revolutionized the tradition of portrait making with an exhibition of important 19th century photographs.

The exhibition, entitled A 19th Century Portrait Studio, will showcase photographs from such influential early photographers as Julia Margaret Cameron, Lewis Carroll, Nadar, Roger Fenton and Hill & Adamson. Compelling, intimate and historically fascinating, the photographs depict a range of subjects and processes including daguerreotypes, tintypes, salt prints and albumen prints. One of the highlights is a stunning albumen print of young Eliza D. Hobson at Croft Rectory, Yorkshire, circa 1860, by Lewis Carroll, best known as the author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

A 19th Century Portrait Studio will be on view at the Winter Antiques Show, booth # 26, at the Park Avenue Armory from January 21 through 30, 2011. Details can be found here.

Photo:  Lewis Carrol (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) (English, 1832-1898) Eliza D. Hobson, taken at Croft Rectory, Yorkshire, circa 1860 Albumen : 15.5 x 12.5 cm

KOSHASHIN, Japanese for period photographs, presents a rare opportunity to view one of the world’s largest collections of early Japanese photography. There are more than 230 works in this exhibition, on loan from the personal collection of Edmontonian Arlene Hall. This was a private treasure until its debut at the Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA), which organized the exhibition in 2009.

The exhibition was curated by AGA Deputy Director and Chief Curator Catherine Crowston. The accompanying book-length catalogue, published by the AGA, contains an essay by British photography historian and author Terry Bennett, and includes 103 full-colour plates.

The photographs in the exhibition reflect the transitional period from 1860 to 1899, when feudal Japan was opening to the outside world and yielding to modern influences. The country had re-opened its borders to foreign trade, visitors and residents in 1859, after a self-imposed isolation of more than 200 years.KOSHASHIN includes works by both Western and Japanese photographers, who used unwieldy, large-format cameras, paper and glass plate negatives.

While providing glimpses into Japanese culture, the exhibition also offers insight into the passion of collectors. Thanks to the interests and resources of these individuals, collections are assembled for the benefit of future generations. Hall herself has collected more than 800 historic Japanese photographs over the past 40 years.

Some of the earliest works in KOSHASHIN are documentary in nature, but many were staged in photography studios, in order to produce souvenir albums for European tourists. The photographs are albumen prints. They are unique in that most of them have been hand-coloured by artists who trained as painters and printmakers. 

There are images of waterfalls, snow-covered Mount Fujiyama, cherry trees trailing pink clouds of blossoms. Portraits range from the personal (a woman having her hair dressed) to the ceremonial (weddings, funerals, tea rituals.) There are also images of pedlars and prostitutes, doctors and tailors, farmers planting and harvesting rice or picking tea-leaves. This unique Canadian collection offers an unparalleled reflection of Japan as it was 150 years ago.

You can find details of the exhibition here.

Lacock Abbey and the Fox Talbot Museum are holding open days with a view to attracting volunteers. The National Trust is opening up opportunities for people to find out what is involved in being a volunteer. Anybody with a little spare time is welcome to drop into their local property and see the wide range of opportunities on offer.

Whether interested in gardening, cooking, building, art, history, conservation or just like being outdoors, there are volunteering roles for all skills and interests. A National Trust gardening volunteer will not only get the chance to work alongside some real experts and pick up tips for their own gardens but can even share that knowledge with visitors to the property. The Trust, which has its head office in Swindon, is also looking for guides for its houses and gardens, ideally anybody who enjoys meeting people and helping them get the most from their visit.

This year open days are being held on January 29 and includes Lacock Abbey and Fox Talbot Museum. For more information visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/volunteering.

The Royal Collection has two cataloguing vacancies available both of which involve working with photographs held in the Collection.

• Cataloguer Twentieth Century Photographs.
• Based in the Royal Photograph Collection the role will entail working under the direction of the curator on cataloguing the remaining material in the collection, which is primarily 20th century. This ranges from official works by leading British photographers like Beaton, Snowdon and Lichfield, to press photographs and to personal snapshots taken by members of the Royal Family. . The role is for a fixed term of two years.
  Required: A broad knowledge of 20th-century British history and the history of photography;  relevant graduate or post-graduate qualification or equivalent experience; sound IT skills and a familiarity with art-collection databases.
  
  This is a fixed term post from April 2011 to April 2013. At a salary of £19,100. Details here: http://tinyurl.com/6klg6zp The deadline for entries is 13 February 2011.
  
  
• Raphael Collection Cataloguer
• The Print Room is part of the Royal Library section of the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle. It is responsible for the works of art on paper in the Royal Collection, including old master drawings, eighteenth- and nineteenth-century watercolours, and prints – over 150,000 items in all. Among this material is the Prince Consort’s Raphael Collection, a unique assemblage of over 5,000 prints and photographs begun by Prince Albert in 1853 and intended to record every work by or after Raphael and his workshop.
  
  Although the Raphael Collection was catalogued in 1876 it has never been widely accessible, and the intention is now to record it on the Royal Collection’s Collections Management System (CMS) and make it available on the Royal Collection’s website. We are therefore seeking a cataloguer on a fixed-term basis, who will be responsible for entering information about each item to a uniform scholarly standard on the CMS.
  
  This is a fixed term post from April 2011 to April 2013. At a salary of £19,100. Details here: http://tinyurl.com/63zng4a Download a job description here: http://tinyurl.com/5tcq3gl

Richard was born to James and Sarah Harriet ELLIS in their home at 2 Pounds Passage , Johns Row, City Road, ST Luke , London UK.

His father James was a Shoemaker and his mother was Sarah Harriet nee Jardine of Scots and French Heugenot background.She registered him 2 Feb 1842.

Richard was 1 of 13 known children of his parents- all except 1 reached adulthood , so his parents must have been good at their job !

My GGGrandfather was one of his older siblings..... they stayed in contact throughout the decades of living apart.

Family photos of them together c1910 in London confirm this

The Musée de l’Elysée is pleased to announce a major event: the arrival of the Chaplin Photographic Archive, a large collection consisting of approximately 10,000 photographs documenting the whole career of Charlie Chaplin.

“I am thrilled that the Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne will take care of my father’s archive. My siblings and myself totally trust that the museum will preserve this heritage which is so dear to us."
Joséphine Chaplin, daughter of Charlie Chaplin 

The origin of the collection 

For each of his films, several photographers documented the filming at the request of the Chaplin Studios. These archives were owned by Charlie Chaplin, then his family. 

A significant collection
Composed of vintage prints and negatives, these archives document the whole career of Charlie Chaplin. To these documents, which were collected film by film since the late 1910s, are added more personal pictures. The exhibition Chaplin et les images shown at the Musée de l'Elysée in 2006, gave an overview of the importance of the Chaplin Photographic Archive by presenting around 350 of its photographs.

The major exhibits 
To this collection, which has a considerable aesthetic and historical significance, are added some extremely valuable photographs, including two photographs of Charlie Chaplin by Edward Steichen, taken in 1925 for Vogue, or the Keystone album, which is composed of approximately 750 photographs that document the first 35 films of Chaplin, created in 1914 for the Keystone Studios. 

The relevance of the collection
By housing such an archive, the Musée de l’Elysée enriches its collection with a unique and universal heritage. This major event, along with the donation last autumn of 144 photographs by Gilles Caron, demonstrates the attraction of the Musée de l’Elysée, and confirms its position as a centre of excellence in the conservation of photographic collections. Such a collection participates in the reputation of the museum with immediate effect: supervising both the conservation and promotion of the Chaplin Photographic Archive, the Musée de l’Elysée will launch, as early as 2012, through the creation of an Ecole du regard, an educational programme based around the work of Charlie Chaplin, as well as exhibitions and publications.

The full press release can be found here. Details of a special screening of the 1921 movie "the Kid' in the presence of the Chaplin family can be found here too.

Photo:  Courtesy Roy Export Co. Est. / Musée de l’Elysée

The University of Ulster reports today that Dr Sarah Edge of the Centre for Media Research in the School of Media, Film and Journalism at the Coleraine Campus has been appointed Professor of Photography and Cultural Studies.

Professor Edge’s appointment recognises her innovative work across a number of areas. She is an acknowledged pedagogic expert on the delivery of media practice in an academic context.

She has published extensively in the area of early Victorian photography and has enjoyed a successful career as a feminist photographer. The appointment also recognises her leadership and management role within the University as demonstrated by her roles as Head of School for Media, Film and Journalism and Director of NI Skillset Media Academy, the innovative industry education partnership.  Originally from Farnborough in Hampshire, when Professor Edge joined Ulster’s lecturing staff in 1991, she already had a well established career as a feminist photographer, curator and writer.

She is currently working on a book that will examine the earliest known photographic archive of working class women that was complied by Arthur J Munby in the 1860s.

The official press release can be found here.

The National Media Museum is one of the leading museums in the north of England, receiving over 500,000 visitors a year and we want you to contribute to our ongoing success.

We are looking for extrovert, engaging and entertaining communicators to fill these stimulating roles. With your excellent presentation and performance skills and your keen interest in media, you will help bring the galleries to life for our diverse range of visitors. As part of the Explainer team in the Learning Department you will present live shows and use your creative skills to develop and deliver art, craft and media based activities for families and groups. It will be up to you to ensure visitors including families, school groups and teachers have an enjoyable, safe and educational visit.

If you have a passion for media, for communication, and for engaging children and adults of all ages, we’d love to hear from you.

This post is 4 days per week including one weekend day.

Part time - 28.8 hours per week
£10,674.40 per annum (£13,343 FTE) plus weekend allowance
Fixed term until January 2013

Closing date for applications: 5 February 2011

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

Interested? Please send your CV and covering letter to recruitment@nationalmediamuseum.org.uk

Many collectors would love to lay their hands on what is probably Malta's most precious photography collection. One of the biggest archives on the island, the Richard Ellis glass plate negatives number about 40,000, dating from between 1862, when the Englishman landed in Malta, to his death in 1924.

After almost 150 years, the name of Richard Ellis is still synonymous to photography. He was one of the first photographers in Malta, although at that time there was Orazio Agius, Preziosi and a few other Englishmen.

Richard Ellis ended up in Malta quite by chance in April 1861. He had studied photography in Paris, which was the hub of the emergent art, and came to Malta at the age of 19 with his adoptive parents, James Conroy and his wife Sara, as the family were caught up in the Garibaldian struggle. On settling in Malta, Mr Conroy opened a photo studio in Senglea and Richard Ellis acted as his assistant. Nine years later they opened a studio in Strait Street, Valletta, and in 1871 Mr Ellis left the Conroys and set up his own studio.

Apart from buildings and scenes of Malta, Mr Ellis took many photos of ships, crews and ongoing projects. His son, John, gave up a career in medicine and joined the business to help his father and produced what must be the first X-ray images taken in Malta in November 1896.

John's son, also called Richard, continued to run the business in 1931, after the death of his father. He continued to take photos just like his grandfather had done and saved the Ellis archive from devastation in World War II by moving the negatives to the safety of a Wardija home. The building in Valletta where the photographs had been stored was badly damaged.

The 261-page book, "Richard Ellis: The Photography Collection", contains over 200 photos of Valletta and Floriana, reproduced from the original glass plate negatives taken by Ellis, some of which are over 140 years old, and documents important aspects of Malta's social history, as well as the history of the Ellis family. Published in 2007, it was the first of three volumes.

According to the local artist-photographer, Patrick Fenech, there is an urgent need for a national photography museum as entire archives are being sold off abroad, one in particular was a collection of 500 photos dating back to the period between the world wars, including cameras and related paraphernalia, which was sold for only £200!

Mr Fenech has been researching The Ellis archive for three years and he claims he has not even gone through half the collection yet. His wish is to have the vast archives, including equipment and massive studio cameras, displayed – “if not in a national museum, in an Ellis Photography Museum!”

The full report can be found here, and some information on the Ellis family legacy here.

The fellowship is open to international competition. 

Open to art historians, curators, critics, independent researchers, conservators, conservation scientists and other professionals in the visual arts, museology and related disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, who have a graduate degree or equivalent publication history.

Fellowships are tenable only at the National Gallery of Canada. The term of full-time residency must fall within the period 1 September 2011 to 31 August 2012. Awards can be up to $5,000 a month, including expenses and stipend, to a maximum of $25,000. Fellowships are not renewable. 

The Library and Archives provides office space and supplies for the program, with desktop computer workstation running the Windows XP operating system and equipped with Microsoft Word, as well as internal and external telecommunications facilities, and full library support services, including extended hours of access.

Completed applications must include all of the following:

A full curriculum vitae, including education, professional employment history, awards and honours, publications, exhibitions, and work-in-progress

Three letters of recommendation, sent under separate cover by the referees to the Gallery. These letters must address the candidate's achievements in general, and the fellowship proposal in particular

The proposed dates and timetable of the residency at the Gallery

Information on other grants applied for or received, employment commitments and paid sabbatical arrangements, for the proposed period of residency.

A statement of the aims, methodology and anticipated results of the investigation headed by a summary of the proposal (this section of the application is limited to a maximum of three pages)

Proposals for the dissemination of the results of the inquiry

A brief outline of the research materials and facilities required (e.g., bibliography of primary and secondary resources; access to National Gallery of Canada collections; access to the expertise and resources of other Ottawa area institutions; etc.)

An outline of projected costs, including expenses and stipend. Eligible expenses include relocation to Ottawa, subsistence during the residency, and project-related travel, supplies and services

Examples of finished work, textual, visual, or both.

All documentation, in English or French, should be postmarked no later than 30 April 2011.

Full details of the Fellowship including tenure, application, assessment criteria, posting deadlines etc can be found here.

Good luck to all!

I am interested in the Beard licensed studio that was set up in Cheltenham in 1841 by John Palmer. What most interests me is the quality of any known images either held privately or known to be in public hands such as museums etc. There are three family daguerreotypes that are believed to have been taken by Palmer in 1841 and com-parison with any known examples would be interesting. Thanks

What's the link, I hear you ask? The Institution founded back in the 1940s and 50s by Alfred Kinsey looking into the modern field of sexology, and which provoked much controversy even right into this present day and age. And good, old innocent photographic processes of the 19th century?

The Institute will be holding an exhibition entitled "As We See Them: Exotic and Erotic Images from Modern Alternative Process Photographers" which presents the work of eleven artists using some of the earliest photographic processes to create contemporary images dealing with sexuality and the human figure. These will include cyanotyes, platinum-palladium prints, gum bichromate prints, photogravures, tintypes, ambrotypes, daguerreotypes, aluminum-types etc. The images featured deal with sexuality and the human figure.

Details of the exhibition can be found here.

Well, I guess the only clear visible link I can find is the blue in cyanotypes!

Just in case you have not come across this wonderful, free resource from The British Library, it's a great site for those lazy Sunday afternoon reads. For starters, there is a section on the development of photographically illustrated books which parallel the explosion in communications during the 19th century. In a period of unprecedented advances in science, exploration, travel, tourism and industry, photography provided an exciting, innovative alternative to conventional methods of book illustrations. You can find this online exhibition entitled "Victorian Britain in 1,500 original prints" by clicking here.

Or, perhaps, if you have missed last year's 'Points of View: Capturing the 19th Century in Photographs", you can still have a virtual visit, by clicking here. Enjoy them!

Published by Helion & Co, and written by  Fred McGlade, the book can be found by using the Amazon link on the right.