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Symposium: Photographing the City

Photographing the City builds on the
success
of
the
2009
Visual
Literacy
Series
–
Staging,
Manipulation
and
Photographic
Truth. This
year
there
will
be
two
major
events
based
on
Photography
and
the
City.

Andy
Golding
and
Eileen
Perrier
will
focus
on
how
to
think
through
the
production
of
photographic
projects,
how
to

contextualise
the
city,
its
development
and
inhabitants
and
consider
ways
in
which
the
city
and
its
social

conditions,
(housing,
work,
poverty,
war),
cultural
trends
(music,
film,
fashion)
and
artistic
production
can
be

represented
through
photography.



They
will
discuss
the
genres
of
documentary,
urban
landscape,
street
photography,
fashion,
photojournalism,

conceptual
art
and
constructed
photography
in
representing
city
themes.
Informed
by
significant
historical

images,
beginning
with
Henry
Fox
Talbot's
photograph
of
the
construction
of
Trafalgar
Square,
they
will
show
the

development
of
student
work
from
their
summer
school
“Photographing
London”
leading
to
the
most
fascinating

and
revealing
images.
The
teaching
and
learning
experience
has
evidenced
a
structure
to
creative
practice
and

has
resulted
in
a
valuable
and
growing
archive
of
city
based
photography.




Tom
Hunter
will
talk
about
his
own
photographic
practice
and
how
it
responds
to
the
city.
His
work,
which
focuses
on
his
 local
neighbourhood
of
Hackney
in
East
London
covers
topics
including
the
representation
of
marginal
groups, such
as
squatters
and
travellers
within
the
city.
His
work
also
sets
out
to
document
the
changing
face
of
the
inner
city
by
looking
at
council
estates
through
their
architecture,
the
residents
and
their
histories.
He
will
also
be ooking
at
local
businesses,
which
chart
the
different
waves
of
immigration,
which
have
made
such
a
powerful mpact
on
the
history
and
development
on
the
East
End
of
London.
http://www.tomhunter.org 




Marco
Bohr
Representing
Tokyo. Marco
Bohr's
presentation
will
focus
on
the
different
approaches
used
by
Japanese
photographers
to
represent the
megapolis
Tokyo.
From
the
student
uprisings
in
the
late
1960s
to
the
post‐recessionary
period
of
the
1990s, the
photographic
representation
of
Tokyo
is
inextricably
linked
to
social,
political
and
ideological
shifts
in
Japanese
society.
Marco's
talk
will
focus
on
how
photographers
utilized
photographic
techniques,
such
as blurriness,
high
key
printing
or
overexposure,
to
create
a
subjective
vision
of
a
dense
urban
landscape.
The varying
impressions
of
Tokyo
project
a
cityscape
that
is
fluid,
evolving
and
multifaceted.
Marco
is
currently completing
his
PhD
on
Japanese
photography
of
the
1990s
at
the
University
of
Westminster.




Rut
Blees
Luxemburg
will
talk
about
her
photographs
which
explore
the
public
spaces
of
the
city,
where
the
ambitions
and unexpected
sensual
elaborations
of
the
‘modern
project’
are
revealed
and
contested.
In
her
photographic
work
she
brings
to
light
the
overlooked,
the
dismissed
and
the
unforeseen
of
the
urban
complex
and
creates immersive
and
vertiginous
compositions
that
challenge
prevailing
representations
of
the
city.
Her
large‐scale photographic
works
expand
the
concept
of
the
common
sensual
in
relation
to
urban
public
space
and

representation.
Rut’s
work
has
been
exhibited
internationally
and
included
in
key
publications
and
exhibitions
on

contemporary
photography
and
art.
Her
monograph
‘Common
sensual’
collects
the
artist’s
work
including
her

collaborative
forays
into
opera,
literature,
architecture
and
urban
culture.
www.rutbleesluxemburg.com  


The event takes place on 18 June
2011
at the University
of
Westminster, 35
Marylebone
Road,
London,
NW1
5LS,
(Opposite
Baker
Street
Tube
Station), London

RPS
Members
and
Students
£15/Non
Members
£20


To book call reception on 01225 325 733 or email reception@rps.org

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2012-2013 Research Fellowships

12200921491?profile=originalThe Harry Ransom Center annually awards over 50 fellowships to support projects that demonstrate the necessity of substantial on-site use of its collections by applicants. The fellowships support research in all areas of the humanities, including literature, photography, film, art, the performing arts, music, and cultural history. 

When Harry Ransom purchased the Gernsheim Collection in 1963, he acquired what was then the largest privately held historical photographic archive in the country. It included what is is now acknowledged to be the world's first photograph - Niepce's first permanent photograph from nature, dating from 1826-1827. Along with additional manuscript material and items relating to Niépce's early experiments, the Gernsheim Collection contains outstanding examples of the earliest attempts at making photographic impressions, as well as much of the finest photography from the Victorian era to the twentieth century, as represented by the work of over twelve hundred photographers.

The 2012-2013 Research Fellowships, ranging from one to three months with various stipends, have been announced and details can be found here. The deadline for applications is 1st February 2012. 

Well, folks, this is your chance to head to the good old US of A, delve into this amazing archive and sample some Texan hospitality at the same time!  Good luck!

 

Photo: Color digital print reproduction of Joseph Nicéphore Niépce's c. 1826 heliograph
View from the Window at Le Gras. Harry Ransom Center and J. Paul Getty Museum.

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RE: Two Postgraduate Grants to Attend Polar Visual Culture: An International Conference

 

Dear Colleagues,

                        The School of Art History at the University of St Andrews is offering two small grants of £100 each to eligible postgraduate students from outside higher education institutions to attend the forthcoming conference Polar Visual Culture: An International Conference. This conference will take place on June 17th and 18th in St Andrews, and is open to all interested participants. For further information and a programme, please visit the conference website at http://www-ah.st-andrews.ac.uk/newsandevents/pvculture/

 

In recognition of the costs associated in attending this event, the Royal Historical Society has provided these funds for postgraduate students to defray some of the costs associated with travel and accommodation. We would welcome a short email from postgraduate students eager to attend this event and working in any field or endeavour related to the broad themes and concerns of this conference. Please send a short statement by Friday June 3rd to Dr Luke Gartlan at lg321@st-andrews.ac.uk 

 

The grant funds will be provided after the conference on submission of original receipts. We invite all those interested in the issues associated with this conference to join us in St Andrews.

 

Kindly,

Dr Natalie Adamson and Dr Luke Gartlan (co-organisers)

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Homeless, beer & early photography

12200921875?profile=original When thinking about homeless people and beer, negative connotations can’t help but arise in your mind. However, this may all change as members of Cambridge's homeless community have created a series of photographs using pinhole cameras made from beer cans. Photographer Mark Woods-Nunn worked with members of the charity Flack to make the cameras.

Each camera was made by removing the top of an empty beer can, fitting a new lid and making a hole in it with a pin. A piece of photographic paper was then put inside the can. Installing the cameras at locations throughout Cambridge and taking a minimum of 3 months to develop, the images come with high expectations, and they do not disappoint.

Entitled "Pinholes & Portraits", the exhibition was held over two days this week at The Chesterton Tower, Chapel St, Cambridge. A news report can be found here.

 

Photo:  Three-month beer can exposure revealing the sun's journey across the sky. Copyright: Flack

 

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London’s East End archived

12200919282?profile=originalProjects to catalogue the picture archives of the renowned East End photographer Phil Maxwell and the Morning Star newspaper, formerly the Daily Worker, have been started by archivists in the City of London. The collections are being made ready to go online by the prestigious Bishopsgate Institute.

Phil Maxwell has been photographing London’s East End for more than 30 years and has agreed to work with the institute to digitise his large collection of negatives which show the social, political and cultural life of its people. The archives contain 20,000 images of protest, politics, social conditions and international affairs from the 1940s to the 90s.

Images appear on the institute’s website as the projects progress: www.bishopsgate.org.uk/librarycatalogue.aspx

 

Photo:  Two women at Percy Ingle, Whitechapel 1985, copyright Phil Maxwell.

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12200921296?profile=originalPhotographs by legendary photographer Harry Hammond celebrating the birth of British rock are part of a new exhibition now on show.  Hammond, who died aged 88, in 2009, was the first great photographer of British rock’n’roll, chronicling the first decade of that music, up to and including the emergence of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

For nearly two decades starting in the late 1940s, Hammond captured the definitive images of virtually every leading British musician, as well as many of the visiting American artists. From Tommy Steele to the Beatles, Shirley Bassey to Dusty Springfield, he captured the emergence of British rock 'n' rollers. First circulated through the New Musical Express, his work set the standard for pop photography for following generations.

Entitled "Halfway to Paradise: The Birth of British Rock Photography" , the exhibition comprises over 100 of Hammond's photographs which takes visitors back to the birth of British rock. It includes a great soundtrack and interactives which explore the music, musicians and fashions of the time.  It has been drawn from the from the V&A Theatre and Performance collections.

If you want to get rockin', details of the exhibition can be found here. And an obituary of Hammond can also be read here and here.

 

Photo: Image of The ???? (what's this group called again?) by Harry Hammond (copyright).
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12200917275?profile=originalThe Drew Archival Library of the Duxbury Rural and Historical Society is seeking a Photo Archives Intern. The Intern will be responsible for cataloging and digitizing two large photographic collections consisting of images dating from the 1840’s to the late 20th century.

Applicants must be in a graduate program in Library Science or Archives or recently graduated and have experience working with photographic collections. Knowledge of Past Perfect Museum Software is a plus. This is a paid internship of approximately 100 hours. Interested applicants should send a resume to Carolyn Ravenscroft, Archivist, DRHS, P.O. Box 2865, Duxbury, MA 02331 or email at cravenscroft@duxburyhistory.org.

Summer 2011 – Start and End dates are flexible.

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Photographica Fair 2011: London

12200920652?profile=originalDon't forget about the London Photographica Fair this coming weekend (22nd May). It is the UK's largest photographic collectors fair and is organized by a separate sub-committee of the Photographic Collectors Club of Great Britain.

Having grown from small beginnings a typical Photographica will have around 200 tables offering everything from daguerreotypes and images, to brass and mahogany field cameras and Leica, through to old and new photographic books, collectible photographic accessories and supplies and tools for restoration. Photographica is international in its stallholders and attendees.

Details of the Fair can be found here, and also in the official flyer below:

photographica%202011.pdf

 

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Hungarian Research

Just returned from Budapest, where I have been carrying out more research on Iván Szabó, including a visit to the fortress of Komárom which he helped defend against Austrian forces during the siege of 1849. During this visit I was very fortunate to be accompanied by Dr Gyula Kedves, Director of the Military Museum in Budapest, and an expert on both Komárom and the 1848-49 war. Other highlights of the trip included a visit to the Hungarian House of Photographers at Mai Manó Haz in Nagymezõ Utca, housed in the former studio of the photographer Mai Manó (1855-1917) - an absolutely magnificent building, both inside and out. Part of Saturday morning was spent scouring the flea market, where I found some interesting cartes-de-visites. I was also able to view some of the architectural photographs kept in the collections of the Kulturális Örökségvédelmi Hivatal. Altogether an inspiring visit - my love of Budapest and its photographic traditions continues to grow....
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AHRC-Funded Collaborative PhD Studentship Geographical Projections: Lantern Slides, Science And Popular Geography, 1860-1960 University of Exeter Geography, Cornwall Campus (near Falmouth), University of Exeter and the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), London.

Following the award of an AHRC Collaborative PhD Studentship, the University of Exeter, in partnership with the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), is seeking to appoint a suitably qualified applicant for a doctoral studentship for three years commencing on 1 October 2011.

Principal supervisor: Dr James Ryan; 2nd supervisor: Dr Simon Naylor.
RGS-IBG supervisor: Dr Catherine Souch.

This collaborative doctoral project focuses on the RGS-IBG's unique collection of lantern slides and aims to locate them within their wider cultural and historical settings of science, commerce and entertainment. Analysing lantern slides alongside associated records, correspondence and contemporary publications (focusing on RGS-IBG archives but also using parallel UK collections), the studentship will explore how lantern slides were employed to convey particular forms of geographical information; how they circulated within geographical worlds; and how different audiences responded to them. It will also consider how technology and location affected audiences' attitudes, perceptions and expectations.

The successful applicant will work closely with RGS-IBG staff involved in the management of the collection and planning of dissemination strategies, including displays, presentations, publications and on-line material. In this way the student will play an important part in developing ways to open up this unique visual archive to wider audiences, including RGS-IBG members; archive and library users; the scholarly community; and the public at large.

The successful applicant will benefit from working within a lively and expanding research environment within Geography (Cornwall Campus, near
Falmouth) at the College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter.

This project will be of interest to applicants with backgrounds in a range of disciplines and subject areas, including historical and cultural geography; history of technology; history and sociology of science; visual culture; and cultural history. Applicants should hold (or expect to achieve in 2011) a Master's degree and either a 1st Class or Upper 2nd Class Honours degree in a relevant discipline.

For eligible candidates the award covers Home/EU tuition fees for three years and provides a maintenance award of at least £13,590 per year for three years. The terms and conditions of the award will be those of the AHRC's postgraduate studentships. Applicants must therefore have a relevant connection with the United Kingdom, usually through residence. For further information, or informal discussion about the position, please contact: Dr James Ryan (email:
james.ryan@exeter.ac.uk; tel: +44 (0)1326 253761 or Dr Simon Naylor
(email: s.k.naylor@exeter.ac.uk; tel: +44 (0)1326 371864).

For details on how to apply please see
http://www.exeter.ac.uk/studying/funding/award/?id=801

The closing date for applications is midnight Sunday 12th June 2011.
Interviews will be conducted on the 27th June 2011.
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Bedford Lemere & Co. 1870-1930

12200918870?profile=originalOne of London's most iconic landmark - the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel - or formerly better known as The Midland Grand Hotel was the last and most extravagant of the great Victorian railway hotels, costing 14 times more than its nearby rival the Great Northern. It opened when the railway boom was turning to bust, the 19th century's equivalent of the bursting of the dotcom bubble.

This and other buildings (including country houses, factories, hospitals, shops, banks, railway stations, cruise liners) were photographed then mainly by Bedford Lemere & Co, the pre-eminent English firm of architectural photographers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today the Bedford Lemere collection, held by the National Monuments Record, is an important source of images of English architecture and life from 1870 until the Second World War. You can view the online collection here, or better still head to a new V&A exhibition this summer.

Curated by Anne Woodward and Gary Woodward from English Heritage, it will explore Bedford Lemere & Co's extraordinary client list, the evolving role of commercial photography and the lasting social significance of the images. The high quality photographs offer a rare glimpse at late Victorian interiors such as Heal & Son showrooms in 1897, the bar at the North Eastern Station Hotel in 1893 and a host of other 'new' interiors and exteriors.

Accompanying the exhibition, English Heritage is publishing the book The Photography of Bedford Lemere & Co. by Nicholas Cooper. The book features over 250 striking photographs from the collection. Printed from the original negatives they include stunning images. Especially evocative are the firm's photographs of those - mostly women, old men and children - involved in war work at home in England between 1914 and 1918.
You can search for the book via the Amazon link on the right, and details of the exhibition can be found here.
Photo: St Pancras Hotel (or Midland Grand Hotel) by Harry Bedford Lemere after 1874. Copyright © English Heritage

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Wisbech Photographic Festival

12200916479?profile=originalAs part of this year's Wisbech Photographic Festival, Peckover House in Wisbech will be showing an exhibition on William Fox Talbot, the British inventor and pioneer of photography. The exhibition entitled "Children in camera: 1860s photographs from the pioneer photographer" has been kindly put together by the National Trust's Lacock Abbey, the birthplace of Talbot. Other exhibitions are also being held at the Octavia Hill Birthplace Museum and the Wisbech Institute.

Details of the Festival, including the Talbot exhibition, can be found here.

 

Photo:  The Lillian Ream Collection: Market Place Wisbech, part of the Festival's exhibit.

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Ralph M. Parsons Curatorial Fellowships

12200915473?profile=originalThe Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is offering (2) Ralph M. Parsons Curatorial Fellowships in the Wallis Annenberg Photography Department. The Parsons Fellows will provide general assistance to the Curator and the Department Head, as well as the Associate Curator, while also conducting scholarly research in connection with the permanent collection and related projects in the Photography Department, which includes over 13,000 works. The Parsons Fellowships support professional development, with opportunities to gain significant curatorial experience specific to photography, and to acquire a broad understanding of museum practices through cross-departmental activity. Within the context of departmental priorities, the Fellows will conduct scholarly research on areas of the permanent collection in his/her area of specialization and will equally be encouraged to develop familiarity with works outside of his/her field of expertise. Areas of potential focus include, but are not limited to: California photography, Japanese photography, and Contemporary photography. In addition to permanent collection activities, each Fellow will also be engaged in a variety of duties relating to the internal organization of special exhibitions. Both Fellows will be fully integrated into the curatorial department, and will participate in projects pertaining to collection care and conservation, cataloguing, on-line access, acquisitions, programming, outreach and publications.

The qualified candidate will have a Master’s degree in art history, though a Ph.D. is preferred. Prior museum experience, ideally involving photography, is preferred.  Excellent writing and public speaking skills, together with a strong interest in the acquisition, interpretation, care and display of works of art are essential, as is the ability to work collaboratively. The goal of the Fellowships is to provide opportunities for talented scholars committed to the museum profession.
The period of each Fellowship is one year, both are salaried with benefits; one position will be 5 days per week and is open for immediate hiring,  the other 4 days per week and commences July 1. Applicants should submit a cover letter that addresses interest in either Fellowship, a curriculum vitae, references, and a statement (3 page maximum) of the applicant’s past and future research interests. Submissions will be accepted through June 1, 2011.

Application details can be found on this link here. Good luck!

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I recently discovered and subsequently fell in love with one of these cameras in a charity shop I visited back in February with my fiancée, Cat. She purchased the camera for me for a valentines gift and after a little haggling, we walked away with the camera for the princely sum of £8.  Now I didn't know a lot about these cameras at all. I remember my grandad having what was called a 'Box Brownie' (I now know there are a number of Kodak cameras that fall into this category) but all I knew as a child was that t took pictures. I remember playing with the shutter, and wondering what the red window on the back was for. Years later, I come across one and I still know very little about them. The chap in the shop took it away to inspect it and after a few minutes said it appeared to be in perfect working order, and that the film it took, 120, was still readily available. I took him at his word and scampered home to inspect my new toy in privacy. And here she is in all her glory.

12200918080?profile=original

Since I knew nothing about her, I decided to do a little investigation. As it turns out, she doesn't take 120 format film at all, she takes 620 format film. As you guys will know all too well, this format was special developed by Kodak for nefarious reasons to try and 'lock' the camera user to Kodak film. A neat idea, or so they thought. Unfortunately, 620 film was discontinued by Kodak some time ago, and is very rare indeed. So would I ever be able to take pictures with this wonderful machine? As it turns out, yes I can! After some more research, it turns out there are a number of possibilities to take pictures with a brownie. One way, is to re-spool 120 stock onto a 620 spool. Since I don't have a darkroom, or a changing bag, or even the knowledge of how to perform such a task, this was a no-no. And besides, I'm lazy and always on the lookout for an easier way.  Secondly, I could obtain film from someone who had already performed this task. A quick search on Ebay confirmed by suspicions. Yes, there are a few people out there who have done this, but they want an absolute fortune for the privilege! Not only am I lazy, I'm also a Yorkshireman, through and through! There must be an easy, yet cheap way. After more o-nline research it turns out, with a little jiggery pokery, you can adapt 120 film so that your Brownie camera accepts it to shoot with. To perform the task, you need to obtain some sturdy nail clippers and a fine file or sand paper. (I obtained some very cheap nail clippers and a metal nail file from a certain chemist that rhymes with 'Hoots').  First, buy some 120 stock. You'll find it's cheaper if you buy multi-packs, but being the cautious sort, I decided to buy just one roll of Ilford B & W 100 speed in case there were any issues.  Before I started I checked the retaining spring on the camera housing to make sure it was nice and tight to ensure there wouldn't be any light leaks. I took the film out of it's packet and got everything together on a nice flat surface. First, I trimmed the edges of the 120 spool to make it the same diameter as the 620 spool. There is a little lip that runs around the edges which is roughly the same size, which makes a nice guide.  After flipping the spool over and doing the other end, I carefully ran the metal file over the whole thing to make it nice and smooth. Next, I compared the spools for hight. 620 spools are ever so slightly shorter than 120 spools, so I used the file to bring them down just a little bit.  I offered the spool up to the camera to see what it was like, and what do you know, it was a perfect fit! Now I'd never used one of these cameras before, and surprisingly, details on how to load the film were pretty scarce. through trial and error, I worked out which way round the film was supposed to go and how to feed it into the take up spool.  I loaded the housing back into the camera body, and sealed it shut.  t was a little stiff at first, but I managed to wind the film onto the first frame, success! Now all I needed was a fine day and something interesting to shoot!  A couple of weeks ago, Crich Tramway Museum held a 40's weekend. Both my fiancée and I are 40's enthusiasts and I prayed the sun would be out so that the conditions for shooting with my brownie were favourable. Luckily, it was a perfect day, and my 12 exposures ran out quickly. Then it was off to my local Jessops to get them developed. What with Bank holidays and royal nuptials, it took over a week to get the photos back. Gingerly, I opened the envelope and to my utter shock, the results were stunning! Despite shaking more than Elvis in an earthquake and completely ignoring distance and speed settings, most of the pictures were crisper than a winters day!  I honestly couldn't believe these pictures were taken with a camera over 50 years old! My father has kindly offered to scan the negatives for me and I'll post the results as soon as I have them.  I've managed to obtain some expired 620 colour stock (expired in 1983!) and I'm now scanning the weather forecasts for more sun so I can shoot some more pictures with my favourite camera, there's life in the old brownie yet!

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St Andrews Graduate awarded Internship

12200912252?profile=originalThe Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) today announced the successful recipients of their two 2011 Curatorial Opportunities: the Young Curators Program and the Power Coroporation of Canada Curatorial Internships Program. 

For the latter, internships were awarded to Marta Masferrer Juliol and Cerys Wilson. Both will be in residence in Montreal for nine months. Ms Wilson is a photographer and a recent Masters graduate of the History of Photography from the University of St Andrews, Scotland. While at the CCA, Cerys will instigate further learning and conduct an examination of photography’s relationship to cultural, political and historical thought. She will take advantage of the CCA collections of drawings and prints, photographs and models, helping her to trace a path of creation from initial concept to ultimate construct.

The full announcement can be found here.

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Conference   

Photography in the Era of Web 2.0    

24th - 26th June 2011   

University of Sunderland    


For information and bookings visit http://www.photography-at-sunderland.co.uk or

for any enquiries -mailto:carol.mckay@sunderland.ac.uk

 

Speakers include:

Mia Fineman (Metropolitan Museum, New York), Julian Stallabrass (Courtauld Institute of Art, London), Martin Lister (UWE, Bristol), David Bate (University of Westminster, London), Daniel Palmer (Monash University, Australia), Paolo Magagnoli (UCL, UK), Rob Wilkie (University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, USA), Damian Sutton (Middlesex University, UK), Nicholas Muellner (Ithaca College, USA), David Jackson (University of Bedfordshire, UK), Arabella Plouviez and Carol McKay (University of Sunderland, UK), Irwan Ahmett and Tita Salina (Indonesia), Kari Andén-Papadopoulos (Stockholm University, Sweden) and Stuart Allan (Bournemouth University, UK), Yasmin Ibrahim (Queen Mary, UK), Marta Zarzycka (Utrecht University, The Netherlands), Mikko Villi (Aalto University, Finland), Eve Forrest (University of Sunderland, UK) Bronwen Colquhoun and Areti Galani (Newcastle University, UK), Janda Gooding (Australian War Memorial, Australia), and Vikki Hill (UWE, UK).

 

Programme

Friday 24 June 2011 @ Culture Lab Newcastle University 

16:30 Registration

17:00 Welcome and Introduction

17:30 Keynote speech

Martin Lister, Emeritus Professor of Visual Culture, UWE (UK)

“Photography, Technology, Ecology”

Photographs now saturate the virtual world in a way that bears comparison with the ubiquity they accrued in the actual world across the 19th and 20th centuries. In this context, especially that of Web. 2.0, photography can be seen as part of an information society and economy. Popular and snapshot photography, in particular, can be understood as a forerunner of one of the Web 2.0’s key characteristics: ‘user generated content’. Photography was also the medium that flooded the world with images on an unprecedented scale and from its inception challenged society’s ability to classify, order, and manage their vast numbers.

18:30 Wine Reception

 

Saturday 25 June 2011 The David Puttnam Media Centre University of Sunderland 

9:30 Registration

10:00 Keynote speech

David Bate, Reader in Photography, University of Westminster (UK) 

“The Emancipating Machine”

Transformations in ‘new technology’ have many potentially significant cultural effects. These include the impact of informational lo-fi popular ‘shoot-and-share’ technologies on the distributive networks of photographic images across global populations, while the ‘hi-fi’ video of DSLR cameras offers a liberation of the photographer from stillness. The question of these emancipations in photography returns as a cultural question about what people do with these digital machine images, and what the capture, distribution and circulation of those images do to “us’’ people in our social spaces and psychical reality.

11:00 Tea Break

11:30 Panels A & B

13:00 Lunch and tea

14:30 Panels C & D

16:00-:16:30 Coffee Break

16:30-17:30 Keynote speech

Julian Stallabrass, Professor of Art History, Courtauld Institute of Art (UK) 

“The Afterlife of Abu Ghraib”

The way in which the Abu Ghraib photographs and story were dealt with by the mainstream media in the UK and the US is familiar, and reflects the failure of the media to adequately interrogate the official stories relayed by government sources throughout the war. ‘Torture’ was swiftly reassigned as ‘abuse’, and a state policy on breaking the Geneva Convention was retold as the case of a few ‘bad apples’. The lecture will contrast the mass media treatment of the Abu Ghraib images with their afterlife on the Web in a wide variety of sites, using them for satire, entertainment, political propaganda, among other purposes. It will ask broader questions about state secrecy and the control of images, the decline of the established press, and the rise of fragmented online political communities.

17:30-18:30 Discussion chaired by David Campbell, photography consultant, writer and multimedia producer, 

and member of the Centre for Advanced Photography Studies, Durham University

19:00 Conference Dinner

 

Sunday 26 June 2011 The David Puttnam Media Centre University of Sunderland 

9:30 Registration

10:00 Keynote speech

Mia Fineman, Assistant Curator, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (USA)

“Phoning It In”

This paper will examine the spontaneity, immediacy, and low-res rawness of camera phone photographs as an alternative to the slick hyperrealism of much recent large-scale color photography, and will look at how artists’ camera phone projects relate to broader cultural phenomena like citizen journalism, microblogging and social networking. Also addressed will be the ways artists have adapted (or failed to adapt) to new forms of publishing, display, and distribution. Among the works discussed will be three recent artists’ projects representing different approaches to what has come to be known as iPhoneography: Joel Sternfeld’s series of photographs, iDubai, Rob Pruitt’s book and exhibition iPruitt, and Chase Jarvis’s book, website, and iPhone app, The Best Camera is the One you Have with you.

11:00 Tea Break

11:30 Panels E & F

1.00 Close

 

Full conference fee: £90   
Concessionary conference fee:  
£40 
Day rate:  
£50   
Conference dinner: 
£25   

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12200915699?profile=originalA special programme celebrating the unveiling of a permanent display of Cincinnati Library’s treasured Cincinnati Riverfront Panorama of 1848  in The Joseph S. Stern, Jr. Cincinnati Room will be held this coming Saturday, 21st May 2011.

As mentioned in an earlier BPH blog, Charles Fontayne and William S. Porter, who worked as partners in a Cincinnati photo gallery from 1847 to 1854, set up their camera on a rooftop in Newport, Kentucky back in September 24, 1848, and panned it across the Ohio River capturing on eight separate plates a two-mile span of the nation’s sixth largest city, Cincinnati.  While Fontayne and Porter knew their project was an ambitious one, they could not have imagined that the Panorama would survive more than 160 years as the oldest comprehensive photograph of an American city, be revered worldwide as one of the finest examples of daguerrean photography, and form the basis for 21st century discoveries about 19th century American life. While expensive and difficult to create, daguerreotypes were noted for their superior level of clarity, exceeding later photographic methods. 

The library acquired the photos — the size of large postcards — in the early 20th century and they have been in storage since 1955 for protection. In 2006, the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County contracted the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film to examine, clean, stabilise and perform conservation work on the Panorama.  As part of the preservation project, state-of-the-art digital microscopy equipment produced digital images from the 1848 Panorama.

This programme for the day, which takes place in the Main Library’s Atrium, will include discussions on the provenance and care of the daguerreotype, as well as explaining how 21st century technology assisted with the conservation process.

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Cameron plate box at auction

12200922081?profile=originalDo you fancy owning a piece of photographic nostalgia? If so, does an 1865 wooden wet-plate negative box once used by Julia Margaret Cameron of interest to you? It is estimated between Euro 6,000-8,000, with provenance from the Spira Collection.

Or what about a near perfect Hegelein watch camera whereby only three are known to exist in the world, and this camera, no.1011, is for sure the best example. Loose change at an estimated Euro 80,000-100,000.

Or more down to earth, an original Peepshow commemorating the opening of the Thames Tunnel which was planned by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and built between 1825 and 1843, with bidding starting at Euro 300.

All this and more can be found in a forthcoming Vienna auction on 28th May, with lot descriptions here. For me, I think I'll go upmarket, and head for the 1910 Louis Vuitton photographic trunk!

12200922293?profile=originalBut on a more serious note, many of the Nikon items on auction are donated by Nikon Europe, profits of this sale will go to the Japan Red Cross fund. The recent terrible events in Japan have touched everyone, and collectors worldwide will be excited about Nikon Europe's collection of some unique and historic items.

Hope you find something of interest, and good luck with the bidding!

 

Photos: Wooden Wet Plate Box,  used by Julia Margaret Cameron, twin brass carrying handles, the interior fitted with slots for twenty-four 10 x 12' wet-plate negatives, hinged cover inscribed in ink in Mrs. Cameron's hand with list of contents;  This Peepshow is made by 4 panels, when opened 2 peep holes allow one to peep through the length of the tunnel (1840).

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Job: Explainer, National Media Museum

12200914880?profile=originalThe National Media Museum (NMeM) is one of the leading museums in the north of England, receiving over 500,000 visitors a year and they want you to contribute to their ongoing success.

NMeM are looking for an extrovert, engaging and entertaining communicator to fill this stimulating role.  With your excellent presentation and performance skills and your keen interest in media, you will help bring the galleries to life for their 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, NMeM would love to hear from you. This post is 4 days per week including Sunday.  For a full job description please email recruitment@nationalmediamuseum.org.uk
Interested? Please send your CV and covering letter to recruitment@nationalmediamuseum.org.uk
NMeM regret that they can only respond to successful applicants.
NMeM are an equal opp
ortunities employer. They welcome applications from all sections of the community in which they work. NMeM particularly welcome applications from disabled people and guarantee interviews to suitably qualified disabled applicants.


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

Deadline for applications: 31st May 2011

 

Good luck!

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Festival of Victorian Photography

12200921482?profile=originalAs part of a special commemoration to celebrate Saltburn's 150 years as a Victorian town, a Festival of Victorian Photography will be held. Visited by Francis Frith back in the 19th century (as part of his colossal project to photograph every town and village in the United Kingdom), sixteen photographers have since converged in Saltburn last month to photograph scenes with a Victorian slant.

The photographers, who are participating in the Festival of Victorian Photography, came to Saltburn to shoot images using traditional Victorian techniques. Their works will be exhibited in The Festival of Victorian Photography, details of which can be found here. The experts included members of the UK Large Format Photography Group, who use glass slides.Photographers participating in the event include: Charles Twist, organiser, John Brewer, Graham Vasey, Tony Richards and Marizu Okereke.

On 2nd July John Brewer will also be giving a public demonstration at the Toc H building, off Albion Terrace, of the wet collodion process, which was used during the two-day April visit.

You can find a blog dedicated to this event here, and the official Saltburn website here.

A splendid time is guaranteed for all!

 

 

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