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Martin W. Sandler - Photography - An Illustrated History (Oxford Illustrated Histories) - Oxford University Press, Inc (2002) PDF
Martin W. Sandler - Photography - An Illustrated History (Oxford Illustrated Histories) - Oxford University Press, Inc (2002) PDF
An Illustrated History
Martin W. Sandler
Martin W. Sandler
1
1
Oxford New York
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ISBN 0-19-512608-4
135798642
Beginnings
A
photograph is a kind of miracle. been an earlier achievement in recording a
There is a picture of our mother permanent image in a camera. In 1827, a
exactly as she looked as a child. French engineer and experimenter, Joseph
There, in another picture, is a scene Nicephore Niépce, had produced a small,
of an event that helped shape the history of crude but permanent positive image on a
a nation, taken at the moment it happened. metal plate. However, his method did not
There, in yet another image, is a photograph use light-sensitive silver compounds, which
created so artistically that it is a profound are the basis of photography, and required an
delight to see. eight-hour exposure. It was far from being a
When photography burst upon the practical process.
scene in the first half of the 19th century, The daguerreotype was named after its
people were amazed by the fact that they inventor, the Frenchman Louis Jacques
were suddenly able to view or even possess Mandé Daguerre. His achievement was
an exact likeness of themselves, their rela- announced in January 1839 but was shown
tives, their friends, and the celebrities of only to small invited audiences until August
their day. Looking back at that time, what is of that year, when Daguerre gave a public
equally amazing is how rapidly the medium demonstration of the procedures.The calo-
of photography advanced.Within only 50 type was invented by an Englishman,
years of its introduction, photographers not William Henry Fox Talbot, who showed
only had the ability to capture likenesses but some images and described a preliminary
were recording places and events around the version of his process just three weeks
Frederick Fargo Church. George world.They also had the means and the skill after Daguerre made his accomplishment
Eastman with a Kodak Camera on to produce photographs that were regarded known, but he did not perfect it and release
Board the S. S. Gallia, 1890. as works of art. the details for another year and a half.
In 1888, George Eastman invented a The first official forms of photography The calotype had much more impor-
small, easy-to-use camera that made it
possible for almost everyone to take pic-
were the daguerreotype and the calotype, or tance for the future development of pho-
tures. Here, Eastman demonstrates his talbotype, as it was also called. They tography, but the daguerreotype produced
invention aboard an ocean liner. appeared in 1839 and 1841, but there had far more beautiful, and technically perfect,
.......................................................................
BEGINNINGS • 7
Nicephore Niépce. View from his
Window at Le Gras, about 1827.
Although Niépce’s process was much
too lengthy and complicated to be
repeated, this picture, taken from the
window of his home, is widely regard-
ed as the world’s first photograph.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 8
C. D. Cahoon. Early
daguerreotypist with
camera, about 1845.
An early photographer
retouches one of his
daguerreotypes.Among
those who were astound-
ed by the earliest form of
photography was the
English poet Elizabeth
Barrett Browning.“I
would rather have [a
daguerreotype] of one I
dearly loved,” she wrote,
positive image, not a negative, appeared.To “than the noblest artist’s
work ever produced.”
make the picture permanent, or fix it, he
bathed the plate in a solution of hyposulfite
of soda, which made the unexposed, unde-
veloped parts of the plate no longer light Image Not Available
sensitive. (The same fixing chemical is used
with both black-and-white and color films
and prints today. It is now named sodium
thiosulfate, but still called “hypo” by many
photographers.) Finally, he washed the plate
in water.
Most daguerreotypes were 3 1/4 by 4 1/4
inches in size (larger sizes were made, but
silver plates were quite expensive). The
image was “as delicate as the pattern on a
butterfly’s wing,” one early observer noted.
To protect it, a brass mat with a cutout to
reveal the image was placed over the plate
and then a glass cover was added.These
were held together with a thin brass frame Never one for modesty, Daguerre gave
around the edges, and the packet was fitted the name daguerreotype to the photographs
into a small booklike case with velvet or his process produced.The French govern-
silk padding in the hinged cover. ment gave Daguerre several thousand
Because of its mirrorlike silver surface, a francs and a lifetime pension for the rights
daguerreotype had to be held at an angle to his invention, in order to present the
away from direct light, reflecting something process free to the world as a philanthropic
dark.Then its lustrous silvery and white demonstration of France’s superiority in
tones shone as if they were light them- science. In August 1839, Daguerre himself
selves, revealing the most delicate changes gave the demonstration that made the
in brightness and shade. People marveled at process public.The event was attended by
the reality and clarity of the images, which the entire French legislature, scientists and
had none of the sand-particle pattern, dignitaries of all kinds, hundreds of ordi-
called graininess, sometimes seen in prints nary citizens, and newspaper reporters from
enlarged from small negatives today.They every major city in the world. At the same
were even more amazed when they looked time he published a manual of the process,
at them through a magnifying glass, which the first book on photographic technique
revealed more and more, increasingly finer ever written.
detail.The leaves on individual distant trees, Daguerre also patented an improved
the tiles on a roof several blocks away were box-size camera obscura for taking daguerreo-
clear and sharp. types.The lens was covered by a thin metal
........................................................................
BEGINNINGS • 9
William Henry Fox Talbot.
Lacock Abbey, about 1843.
Talbot took this early calotype in
front of his country home, called
Lacock Abbey, near Bath, England.
Talbot referred to photography as the
“pencil of nature.”
F
rom the beginnings the amount of exposure
of photography, there the film receives. Settings
have been thousands of for various aperture sizes
different types of cameras. are marked on the lens by a
But whether old or new, series of f-numbers or “f-
large or small, almost all stops.” Each larger aperture
cameras have the same setting doubles the amount
fundamental features. of light transmitted; each
These features include: smaller aperture cuts it in
(A) A lightproof chamber, half. (D) A shutter that Image Not Available
which allows only the light opens and closes to control
from the lens to reach the the length of time the
glass plate or film on which image from the lens expos-
the image is recorded. (B) es the film. It is either a set
A lens, a combination of of spring-driven blades, like
shaped pieces of optical an iris diaphragm, built into
glass or plastic that focuses the lens, or is a curtain or
light from the subject or set of blades located just in
scene in front of the front of the film.The speed of exposure the film advance. (F) A viewfinder
camera onto the plate or at which the shutter opens receives. If it is too little, the system, which permits the
film inside. (C) An iris and closes—usually a frac- film will be underexposed and camera’s user to see the
diaphragm, a set of curved tion of a second—is con- the picture will be too dark. subject area and compose
blades in the lens that form trolled by a setting ring on If the film receives too the picture. It may be an
an adjustable-size hole the lens or a dial on the much exposure—is overex- optical viewer on top that
called an aperture. Chang- camera body, or by internal posed—the picture will be shows the subject directly
ing the size of the aperture circuitry in cameras with too light. (E) The film or a screen in the rear or
changes the amount of automatic exposure con- advance, which on most top of the camera that
light passing through the trol.The combination of modern cameras is auto- shows the actual image
lens and therefore is one of shutter speed and aperture matic, may also appear as a the lens is projecting
the two ways of controlling size determines the amount manual knob or dial toward the film.
Talbot’s first cameras were quite small just as Daguerre had named his process for
wooden boxes—his wife called them himself, and for a time both names were used.
“mousetraps”—and the images were about Although the process was essentially complete
the size of a large postage stamp. Each in 1839,Talbot did not publish a description of
“mousetrap” had a hole in the back with a it until early 1841, and did not demonstrate it
pivoted brass cover so the photographer before the Royal Society, England’s premiere
could view the image when he set up the scientific organization, of which he was a
camera. By the time Talbot perfected his member, until later that year, after he had
process he was using cameras sized for larg- obtained a patent.
er images, with lenses that had pivoted Although the negative-positive calotype
shutter covers, like daguerreotype lenses. process was to become the basis for almost all
The cameras accepted removable paper photography to follow, it was the beauty and
holders and had a small inspection hole in amazing reality of the daguerreotype that had
the front that was plugged with a cork to the greatest immediate impact, capturing the
keep light out when not used. attention of people everywhere. From the very
Talbot’s name for his pictures, calotypes, beginning, daguerreotypes were a sensation.
came from the Greek word kalos, “beautiful.” They became even more of a sensation
Friends urged him to call them Talbotypes, when, in 1843, it became truly practical to
.......................................................................
BEGINNINGS • 11
It was not uncommon for a daguerreo-
typist to include a family pet in a sit-
ter’s portrait, as in this example from
about 1841. At first daguerreotypes
were housed within pressed cases made
to look like leather. Later, highly
ornate cases, made of an early form of
plastic, became popular.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 12
“Automobile by Ford”; it did not mean just being erected.Washington itself was
that Mathew Brady himself had taken rapidly becoming recognized as a city of
the picture. great importance. Plumbe’s daguerreo-
Taking a good-quality daguerreotype types of such structures as the White
was not an easily learned skill. Because of House, the Patent Building, and the Unit-
the technicalities involved and the often ed States Capitol building, still under con-
lengthy exposure time required, almost all struction, gave Americans and many
daguerreotypists concentrated on taking foreigners their first views of these sym-
portraits—that was what people wanted bols of a young nation on the rise. Today,
to buy. There were some photographers, his Washington images rank among the
however, who packed up their cumber- most prized of photographs, treasured not
some gear and took daguerreotypes of only by those interested in photography
scenes away from their studios. but of great value to architects and histori-
Perhaps the most accomplished of all ans as well. John Plumbe Jr.’s 1846
these adventurous pioneer photographers For the first 12 years of photography’s daguerreotype of the Capitol of
was John Plumbe Jr. who emigrated to the existence, the daguerreotype and the calo- the United States under con-
United States from Wales in 1821. In 1840, type were the only significant forms of pho- struction would have been lost to
history had it not been discov-
after several years in railroad construction, tography.Then, in 1851, an Englishman, ered by a California photograph-
he opened a daguerreotype studio in Wash- Frederick Scott Archer, introduced a great ic collector. In 1972 he found the
ington, D.C., making him one of the first improvement, the collodion process. Like the daguerreotype in a flea market.
professional daguerreotype photographers
in the United States. Shortly thereafter he
opened a second studio in Boston. By the
mid 1840s he had studios in other major
cities in the United States and in Paris,
France, and Liverpool, England. At the
height of his business operations, some 500
people worked for him.
Plumbe himself was an excellent por-
traitist.The New York Herald referred to one
of his daguerreotypes as “the most beautiful Image Not Available
and finished portrait of the kind that we
have ever looked upon.” But his impor-
tance to the story of photography lies in
the quality of the daguerreotypes that he
took outside his studio.
In the mid 1840s, when Plumbe was
operating in Washington, D.C., many of the
buildings destined to become national
landmarks had recently been built or were
........................................................................
BEGINNINGS • 13
Image Not Available
Timothy O’Sullivan. Black Cañon of calotype, it was a way of making negatives, covered glass plate would be the world’s
the Colorado, 1871. but instead of paper it used glass plates. standard means of obtaining a photo-
The early photographers of the American Collodion was a gluey liquid. With graphic image.
West were among the first to take their potassium iodide crystals mixed in, it was The glass-plate negative produced the
pictures with wet plates. One of the most
poured in an even coating on a glass plate clearest, most tonally rich and sharply
successful of these photographers,
O’Sullivan, captured this image at a and made light sensitive in a silver nitrate detailed prints yet made, especially when
point on the Colorado River.The small bath. Because the coated plate had to be used with a new print material, albumen
cloth-draped box in the boat was used as exposed and processed while still moist— paper, introduced in 1850.This paper car-
a portable darkroom so that the photog- within about 20 minutes in most situa- ried its image-forming crystals in a smooth
rapher could develop his images before
the collodion on the wet plates dried. tions—this means of capturing an image surface coating of diluted egg whites (albu-
became commonly known as the wet plate men). Printing was done in the same way
process. If the plate dried too soon, the as with the calotype but with a glass nega-
developer and other solutions could not tive, which meant that no paper fibers
act, because the collodion was then com- interfered with the quality of the image:
pletely waterproof. This presented a major The negative plate was placed in contact
challenge to photographers. When they with the print paper in a glass frame and
wanted to photograph outside the studio, exposed to sunlight until the image printed
they had to carry portable darkroom tents, out to the proper intensity. Then it was fixed
chemicals, and other equipment with them in hypo, washed, and mounted.
so they could prepare and process their The collodion process not only made
plates on the spot. In spite of this, photogra- glass negatives possible but also spawned
phers everywhere turned to the new various other types of photography. One of
process. For the next 30 years, the collodion- these, the ambrotype, almost immediately
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 14
The tintype was one of
the most popular forms
of early photography.
Many women wore
lockets with tiny tin-
type images of loved
ones inserted in them.
drove the daguerreotype out of existence. album.To get more than just one image, a
The negative image of a wet plate was larger metal plate was used in a camera that
composed of various densities of light gray had 4, 8, 12, or even 24 small lenses, each
particles, not black silver as in a modern projecting a separate image on a section of
negative.When placed on a black back- the plate. A sliding shutter-panel opened or
ground, the image looked positive. Seizing covered all the lenses at the same time, so
on this phenomenon, portrait photogra- every picture was the same. After process-
phers began taking negatives on plates the ing, the images were cut apart with tin
same size as daguerreotype plates and snips and the smallest were usually mount-
painting the back side of the glass with ed on cards.
black lacquer to make the image appear Because they were so inexpensive, tin- Frances Benjamin Johnston, one of the
positive. Or they would simply place a types were purchased in huge numbers first documentary photographers, sells
tintypes at a country fair in 1903.
piece of black cloth or paper behind the and used for a wide variety of purposes. The collodion process that made the
plate. Ambrotypes were matted and framed Traveling tintype “professors” set up their tintype, the stereograph, and the wet
in padded cases just like daguerreotypes— cameras at fairs, beaches, carnivals, and plate possible revolutionized photogra-
but at a fraction of the cost.While only rea- boardwalks. Miniature tintypes were used phy.“Photography,” stated one British
newspaper,“is everywhere now. Our
sonably well-to-do customers could afford in cuff links, tie pins, and rings.Tintypes truest friends, our most intimate ene-
a daguerreotype, the ambrotype made por- were cheap, quick to get, durable—and mies, stare us in the face from collodi-
traits affordable to a much wider public, immensely popular. onized surfaces.”
and studio business boomed.
The principle of a black background
making a collodion negative look positive
was exploited in another process, one that
was so cheap to produce that even work-
ing-class families could afford to have pic-
tures made. The process was officially
named the ferrotype (“ferro” is a prefix
meaning iron), for the pieces of thin sheet
iron used in place of glass. However, the
name almost everyone used was tintype,
because the same kind of metal was coated Image Not Available
with tin in making tin cans. Photographers
purchased plates that were already lac-
quered black. They coated one side with
collodion, sensitized, exposed, and processed
it, and in no more than five minutes had a
direct positive image.
Most tintypes were 2 1/2 by 4 inches, a
size that could easily be sent through the
mail, carried in the pocket, or kept in an
........................................................................
BEGINNINGS • 15
Alexander Gardner. Carte-
de-visite of Walt Whitman, 1864.
“By giving infinitely more for
infinitely less [Adolphe Disdéri]
definitively popularized photogra-
phy,” wrote the photographer who
went by the name Nadar.The subject
of this carte-de-visite, American poet
Walt Whitman, has autographed it,
possibly as a gift.
The collodion process was also responsi- types and studio wet plate portraits, it is the
Image Not Available ble for another form of picture that was tintype and the carte-de-visite, both pro-
introduced even earlier than the tintype. duced in the millions, that show us ordinary
This type of photograph was produced middle-class families, workers of all sorts,
in greater quantities and used for even athletes, soldiers—an ever-widening range
more purposes. In 1854, a French portrait of individuals.Then, as now, those images
photographer, Adolphe Eugène Disdéri, increased our knowledge and understanding
patented the carte-de-visite, a name he gave of the people of the world.
both to the camera he invented and the Another outgrowth of the collodion
pictures he took.The camera had four lens- process, the stereograph, had a profound
es and a sliding back that held a full-size effect in showing viewers the wonders and
plate (6 1/2 by 8 1/2 inches). Four pictures diversity of the physical world. For the
were exposed on one half of the plate by public, the stereograph became the televi-
uncovering the lenses all together, or singly, sion of its day. It provided three-dimen-
or in pairs; then the plate was moved and sional images of whatever the camera saw,
four more exposures were made on the because it effectively duplicated the way we
second half. After the processed negative actually look at an object. Each of our eyes
was printed onto a single sheet of paper, the sees an object from a slightly different
images were cut apart and mounted on angle.When those two images are relayed
individual cards. to our brain, a sense of depth or perspective
In French,“carte de visite” means “visit- is created.This phenomenon was under-
ing card.” Disdéri used the same size card, stood well before photography was inven-
2 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches, to mount the pictures, ted. Some artists drew pictures in pairs to
The author Oliver Wendell Holmes was and so gave them that name. But they were achieve this stereo or three-dimensional
so taken with the stereograph’s ability to seldom used as visiting cards. Clothing and effect. Some stereo daguerreotypes were
record exotic lands and peoples that he
recommended the establishment of specialty stores used them in counter cata- even made. But it was the collodion process
national and local stereographic libraries. logs to show the range of goods they offered and a special camera that made it easy to
This stereoscope, invented by Holmes, beyond what might be on display. Cartes obtain such images.
was lighter and easier to use than any of were sold in the hundreds of thousands as A stereographic camera had two lenses
the other devices on the market and
became the most popular model. souvenirs at popular tourist attractions and as placed side by side, two and a half inches
novelties showing funny, strange, or foreign apart—the average distance between
people, places, and things. Politicians distrib- human eyes. Both lenses were opened at
uted cartes during their campaigns, and the same time and two images, identical
celebrities used them for publicity. But far except for the slight difference in angle of
Image Not Available and away their major use for more than 50 view, were recorded on the glass negative.
years was for portraits. Prints of these images were mounted on a
Cartes cost only a few pennies each, and horizontal card.When the card was placed
portrait customers would order multiple in a hand-held device called a stereoscope,
copies of poses they liked to give to family viewers could see the picture in three
and friends.While we see primarily the rich dimensions. Produced in enormous quanti-
and the upper middle class in daguerreo- ties, stereographs were sold through the
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 16
In the 1850s and
1860s stereoscopes and
albums containing cards
could be found in parlors
of homes throughout the
world. In an age before
television and movies,
humorous stereographs
and charming stereos,
such as this one of a
Image Not Available lovesick couple, were
extremely popular and
sold by the thousands.
mail and from door to door as well in and poems. Stereograph producers staged
bookstores, stationers, and other outlets. and photographed such events in their stu-
Large companies devoted exclusively to the dios. Series of pictures such as those depict-
production of stereographs were formed ing nervous bridegrooms attempting to
and became highly successful. flee from the church, farmers being chased
For photographers, the stereograph by a bull, children playing pranks on each
opened up a whole new world of opportu- other, scenes from tales like “Little Red
nity. Aware that their pictures could be Riding Hood,” and poems like “The Vil-
widely sold, they traveled to even the most lage Blacksmith” became a chief source of
remote places to capture scenes they knew entertainment for millions of men, women,
would appeal to a waiting public. For the and children.
public, the stereograph opened up whole The major drawback of the collodion
new worlds as well.Through their stereo- “wet plate” process was having to carry
scopes, families viewed places they would everything needed to prepare and process
be most unlikely ever to encounter in per- the plate on the spot. Photographers
son—mountains, deserts, tropical jungles, longed for a dry coating for their plates, and
ancient ruins, monuments such as the in 1871 they got it. A British physician,
Sphinx, castles, cathedrals, foreign cities. Richard Leach Maddox, demonstrated a
They also saw people they would never new type of photographic plate.
meet—Indians on the American plains, Instead of collodion, Maddox used a
newly arrived pioneers plowing up the vir- layer of gelatin that contained light-sensi-
gin western soil, gold miners digging for tive crystals.This was the first true photo-
riches in California and Alaska, railroad graphic emulsion. Once the gelatin dried,
construction crews laying tracks through the plates could be taken anywhere for
the wilderness. Printed text on the backs of use and then brought back to the dark-
the cards gave additional information about room to be developed anytime the pho-
what was shown in the picture.The public tographer desired. Not only were the dry
was fascinated with this new medium of plates far easier to handle than their sticky
knowledge and bought sets of cards devoted wet predecessors, they required less expo-
to various topics, as well as individual cards. sure time. Before long they could be pur-
Viewers also liked humorous scenes and chased fully ready for use, usually
pictures that illustrated well-known stories in boxes of six or a dozen.These factors
........................................................................
BEGINNINGS • 17
Image Not Available
Eadweard Muybridge. dramatically altered the way photographers Muybridge came to the United States in
The Horse in Motion, 1878. went about their work, especially because 1850, where he became known for mag-
Muybridge’s obsession with motion now all they had to carry was a camera and nificent large prints and stereographic
led him to produce thousands of plates.There were even dry-emulsion tin- views of the Pacific coast, particularly in
sequences like this one—and to
invent an early form of motion pic- type plates. California’s Yosemite region.
tures.The American artist Thomas The birth of the dry plate led to the Muybridge’s greatest photographic
Eakins also carried out important development of gigantic new photographic achievement came as the result of a bet. In
photographic locomotion studies. industries. Businesses like the Stanley Dry 1872, the wealthy owner of a string of race
Plate Company and the Standard Dry Plate horses—former governor of California and
Company were established to manufacture university founder Leland Stanford—
photographic plates. Other companies wagered a friend that when a galloping
arose to develop the plates, and to make horse was moving at full speed it had all
prints as well, if the photographer desired; four feet in the air at the same time. Since
they were the beginning of the photofin- this could not be detected by the naked
ishing industry. eye, it had always been assumed that a horse
Dry plate technology brought pho- had at least one foot on the ground during
tograhpers one step closer to capturing full gallop.Artists had certainly painted it
motion. For the first 50 years of photogra- that way.
phy’s existence, people inside and outside Stanford hired Muybridge to take pic-
the medium awaited the day when cameras tures that would enable him to win his bet.
could capture unblurred images of peo- In late 1872, Muybridge took a series of
ple and things in motion. This feat was photographs of one of the owner’s horses as
finally accomplished by the photographer it raced around a track. The first results
Eadweard Muybridge. Born in England, were not conclusive, but they did give
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 18
Making and Using a Pinhole Camera
I
n a high-tech age when the can. If you use a piece side up.Tape all four cor-
cameras are becoming of thin aluminum, place a ners to hold it in place. Put
increasingly sophisticat- piece of corrugated card- the lid back on, with the
ed, many people are board under it and cover it shutter closed over the
enjoying the experience with a piece of cardboard pinhole.Tape the lid all
of making and taking pic- such as the back of a around its edge to prevent
tures with a pinhole cam- notepaper pad before any possible light leaks
era, whose principles go pushing the needle and to ensure that it does
strong indication that, at various points, all back to the days before through (a thimble on not come off as you use
four of the horse’s feet were indeed off the photography.There are your finger will help). the camera.
even pinhole camera clubs Then make a hole about With the camera
ground. Stanford asked Muybridge to try
and regularly published the size of a dime in the loaded, you are ready to
again, but it was several years before he pinhole camera journals. center of the end of the take a picture outdoors
could do so.Then, in June 1877 he set up Here is how to make and can and mount the pinhole (the light will not be
12 cameras side by side along the straight- use a pinhole camera: piece over it, using black strong enough indoors).
away portion of Stanford’s track. He Find a can that has a masking or electrical tape. You cannot hold the cam-
tight-fitting lid. A two- Make a shutter for your era in your hands; it must
installed a series of threads, one to each pound coffee can or similar camera by cutting a flap of remain perfectly steady.
camera, that the horse would strike breast- can will work fine. If the thick black paper to go Use tape or a lump of
high, breaking them and tripping the cam- can has a plastic lid, paint over the pinhole.Tape it modeling clay to hold the
era shutters one after another.The images the lid black on both sides, along one edge to act as a camera to a firm support,
making sure that both sides hinge and hold the oppo- such as a porch floor or
he captured proved beyond a shadow of a
are completely blackened. site edge down with railing, the top of a patio
doubt that the horse did, at various stages Paint the inside of the can a tape tab. Fold the end of wall, or a wooden box that
of its gallop, have all four feet bunched with dull black paint or the tab over so you can lift you put wherever you
under its stomach, well off the turf. line it with black paper. the shutter easily. Keep the need it.With the camera
Muybridge’s series of pictures, titled The All this is to make sure that shutter closed over the pointed at your chosen
no stray light enters or is pinhole except when you subject (one that will not
Horse in Motion, was widely published. reflected inside your pin- are taking a picture. move), make sure that the
Painters, including the French military and hole camera, which would To load your camera, sun does not shine directly
court painter Jean Meissonier and the two ruin your pictures. buy 4-by-5-inch or 5-by- on the pinhole.You can
most famous artists of the American West, Make a pinhole in the 7-inch photographic paper shade it with your hand or
center of the end of the from a photo dealer, if a piece of cardboard if nec-
Frederic Remington and Charles Russell, can opposite the removable available. Otherwise, buy a essary.To make an expo-
immediately changed the way they painted lid.You can make the hole 10-sheet pack of 8-by-10- sure, lift the shutter flap to
horses in motion. Beginning in 1884, in the can itself or in a sep- inch paper. Be sure to get uncover the pinhole for
Muybridge, photographing at the Univer- arate piece of thin metal, single-weight fiber-base about 30 seconds, then
such as a two-inch square paper, because you will be tape it closed again.Take
sity of Pennsylvania, devoted himself to
piece cut from an alu- making paper negatives to the camera inside to your
taking sequence-picture studies of people minum frozen food or print from. Double-weight darkroom with the red
and animals on the move. Inspired by his takeout food container. paper is too thick to print bulb to remove the
breakthrough, inventors began developing To make the pinhole, use a through, and RC (resin- exposed paper and reload.
more sophisticated equipment that would sewing needle, which you coated) or plastic-base If you develop your
should push through up to papers will not transmit own pictures, dry the paper
soon make freezing motion in photographs about one-third of its any light. Do not open the negative and make a con-
a common occurrence. length, to get the full package in a lighted room, or tact print from it in the
Not content with all that he had diameter. If you make the the paper will be ruined. normal way with the
achieved, Muybridge invented a kind of hole in the end of the can You must be in a totally emulsion (picture) side of
itself, first push the needle dark room illuminated the paper negative toward
giant slide projector, the zoopraxiscope, that
through a cork, which will only by a red 7 1/2-watt the emulsion (shiny) side
could show pictures in rapid succession. He keep it from bending bulb, available at hardware of the printing paper.
printed negatives of a sequence of pictures when you tap on it with and photo stores. Cut a Otherwise, keep all your
showing a person or animal in motion a hammer to drive it piece of paper to fit inside exposed paper in a light-
onto glass plates to get positive-image through the metal. Use an the removable lid of your tight envelope until you
emery board or sandpaper camera can. Place the can get a friend to develop
slides.These were mounted on a large cir- to remove any rough edges paper in the lid with its and print your pictures
cular glass disk that revolved along with a around the pinhole inside emulsion (smooth, shiny) for you.
slotted metal shutter disk to bring each
.......................................................................
BEGINNINGS • 19
In 1888, the United States
Patent Office issued this
patent to George Eastman
for the Kodak camera.
Given the phenomenal
number of Kodak cameras
that were sold worldwide,
it was among the most
valuable of all patents
issued in the 19th century.
Illustrations demonstrate
how the interior mecha-
nisms worked.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 20
Eastman’s Brownie Camera
was incredibly easy to use.
To attract young users, the
Brownie was named after a
highly popular comic strip
character and was packaged
Image Not Available in a box that featured pictures
of the well-known character.
make picture taking easier than ever before. ever been mounted. Almost all the ads con-
He named his camera the Kodak and tained the slogan “You press the button, we
introduced it to the world in 1888.The do the rest.” The response was immediate,
word “Kodak” had no meaning. Always a and greater than Eastman could have imag-
businessman, Eastman invented a name that ined. Camera and other retail stores every-
he thought was “catchy,” was simple where featured the Kodak. Hundreds
enough for people to remember easily, and of thousands of amateurs—ordinary peo-
that would be pronounced the same in ple who had shied away from taking pic-
almost any language. tures because of the difficult procedures
The Kodak camera was a small box, involved—eagerly paid $25 for a camera
slightly over 6 inches long, 3 1/2 inches that was so easy to operate and could pre-
wide, and less than 4 inches high. Inside serve their memories of the large and small
was a roll of flexible film, enough to cap- events of their lives. That still was too
ture 100 pictures. (The paper-base film was expensive for many families in the 1890s,
replaced after the first year with Eastman’s when the average laborer and shop clerk
new flexible celluloid-base film.) The earned less than $1,000 a year.To reach
loaded camera cost $25. When all the pic- them, Eastman produced smaller, less
tures had been taken, the owner sent the expensive Kodak models with shorter rolls
entire camera and $10 to the Eastman of film that users could load and unload
Kodak factory where mounted prints were themselves. And, just after 1900 he intro-
made from the negatives.The prints were duced the Brownie camera, intended espe-
then shipped back to the owner, along with cially for young people, in models priced
the camera containing a new roll of film. from $1 to $5. Now anyone and everyone
Referring to it as a “photographic note- could afford to take pictures.Total camera George Eastman spent millions of
dollars advertising his Kodak camera
book,” George Eastman made a point of sales rapidly reached into the millions.The at the turn of the 20th century.The
describing what he felt his camera had era of the snapshot had begun. slogan contained in almost all of these
brought to the world.“Photography,” he In the United States and soon in coun- ads became famous around the globe.
wrote,“is thus brought within the reach of tries around the world, Kodaks were car-
every human being who desires to preserve ried everywhere.The Kodak became an
a record of what he sees. Such a photo- integral part of family gatherings, outings,
graphic notebook is an enduring record of and celebrations. And as the automobile
many things seen only once in a lifetime became common in the early 20th century,
and enables the fortunate possessor to go families who found the car a new means of
Image Not Available
back by the light of his own fireside to visiting places once considered too distant
scenes which would otherwise fade from now took along a Kodak camera as natural-
memory and be lost.” ly as they included a picnic basket and a
To support the sales of the Kodak Cam- road map. George Eastman had done much
era, Eastman conducted one of the most more than invent a camera. He had placed
intensive advertising campaigns that had photography in the hands of millions.
........................................................................
BEGINNINGS • 21
Image Not Available
Chapter
. . . . . . . .Two
...............................................................
Portraiture
F
rom the earliest days of photography, rather than a banal portrait, the result of
the taking of portraits has been by mere chance, you must put yourself at once
far the most common of all photo- in communion with the sitter, size up his
graphic endeavors. It would be hard thoughts and his very character.”
to name a photographer of any merit who Nineteenth-century American photog-
either did not begin by taking portraits rapher Alice Boughton agreed with Nadar
or did not include portrait taking in his or and added her own thoughts on yet another
her career. challenge of photographic portrait taking.
The obvious appeal of portraits is that “The painter,” she explained,“usually has
they provide us with a likeness of someone several sittings, sees his subject under varying
we know or admire. But what talented pho- conditions in different moods, has a chance,
tographers have understood from the begin- in short, to become acquainted with the
ning is that a true portrait is not simply a personality he is to portray. The photogra-
record of someone’s appearance, it is a visual pher, on the other hand, has one moderately
depiction of that person’s spirit and character. short session.”
In 1856, the French photographer Nadar Like photography itself, photographic
(Gaspard Félix Tournachon) described the portraiture began with the daguerreotype.
challenges of taking portraits with a camera. Given their primitive equipment and the
“Photography,” he wrote,“is a marvelous fact that they were learning the infant art of
Louis Pierson. Countess
Castiglione, about 1860. discovery, a science that has attracted the photography “on the job,” most daguerreo-
greatest intellects, an art that excites the most typists contented themselves with producing
The French court photographer Louis
Pierson took more than 400 portraits astute minds. . . . Photographic theory can be as clear a picture as they could and on
of the Countess Castiglione, consid- taught in an hour, the basic technique in a attracting as many customers as possible.
ered the most beautiful woman of her day. But what cannot be taught is the feeling Even so, many of the daguerreotypes they
time, during a 40-year collaboration. for light. . . . It is how light lies on the face produced revealed more than simply what
The photographs, commissioned by the
countess and created under her super- that you as an artist must capture. Nor can the subject of the portrait looked like.
vision, were both self-advertisement one be taught how to grasp the personality Because of the props used in many
and self-expression. of the sitter. To produce an intimate likeness daguerreotypes and the clothing worn by
.......................................................................
PORTRAITURE • 23
Photographic portraiture began
with the daguerreotype. From the
beginning, many daguerreotypists
added to the interest of their pic-
tures by including objects that
were important to their subjects.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 24
The Challenges of Sitting for a Daguerreotype
P
ortraiture, like photog- exposure was a so-called talking. Some only when
raphy itself, began with head clamp. It was a metal the features are in repose,
the daguerreotype, and half-circle on a vertical rod some have more character
having a daguerreotype weighted at the bottom so in the full face, some in the
taken was a challenging it would not tip over. The profile; some do the
experience.“It’s no use sitter’s head could rest back writhings of life’s agonies
going to have your portrait against the device while his with their hearts and wear
taken by our friend Cam- or her body concealed it smooth faces, some do the
era unless you can sit [per- from view. same work with their nos-
fectly] still,” wrote the For the person who trils.A portrait-painter usu-
author of one of the earli- wanted as pleasing a por- ally takes all these matters
est books on photography. trait as possible, sitting per- into account, and, with his
subjects comfortably leaning against chairs In order to help their fectly still was far from the dozen or more long sit-
or sofas and showed others in positions that sitters hold a pose, daguer- only challenge. In order to tings, has time enough to
suggested that they were unaware that their reotypists employed vari- get a likeness that would make a careful study of
ous props and techniques. be acceptable to them, sit- how the character is
picture was being taken. Although they
They often had a subject ters had to assume and worked out in the phys-
were limited to the use of sunlight coming lean forward with his arms then maintain as natural a iognomy and to paint
through the studio skylights and windows, on the back of a chair or facial expression as possi- accordingly. But in
they contrasted light tones with dark so couch where a second per- ble. Since most early daguerreotyping, the sitter
effectively that they set a standard for future son was seated.Another daguerreotype photogra- has to employ this knowl-
technique was to place a phers were totally con- edge and exercise this
photographers, even those who would have table with a stack of books sumed with the technical judgement for himself.”
the advantage of casting light on their sub- on it alongside the subject. aspects of operating the American philosopher
jects with electrical apparatus. One of their The sitter could then hold camera during the sessions, and author Ralph Waldo
most significant innovations was that of cre- a steady pose by placing it was most often left to Emerson described this
one elbow on the books the subject to strike the role of the sitter in just
ating photographic “crayon portraits.”
and resting his or her chin attitude and expression he nine words.After having
Named for the charcoal and pastel style on the upraised hand. or she wanted to reveal. his portrait taken by a
used by many artists, these pictures were A waist-high pedestal Commenting on the daguerreotypist who gave
distinguished by the way Southworth and was also often used, to give skill required of the sitter, his full attention to the
Hawes created portraits by letting the head a standing subject some- novelist N. P. Willis ob- mechanics of the process,
place to rest his or her served,“Some of us know Emerson summed up his
and shoulders of a subject “float” in an hands.The most widely better than others how to experience by stating,“The
undefined surrounding. used device for keeping a put on the best look. Some artist stands aside and lets
Scores of the images captured by South- subject still throughout the are handsome only when you paint yourself.”
worth and Hawes were displayed in their
elegant studio and gallery. It was but one of
many similarly sumptuous galleries in the
United States that, by the 1850s, captured
the admiration of both American cus-
tomers and foreign visitors. Here is how a
French photographic journal described
these establishments: “The American
daguerreotypists,” the journal stated, go to Image Not Available
an enormous expense for their rooms,
which are most elegantly furnished. . . .
Marble, carved in columns or animated by
the chisel of the sculptor, richly embroi-
dered and costly draperies, paintings
enclosed by sumptuous frames, adorn their
walls. On the floor lie rich carpets where
the foot falls in silence. Here are gilded
Sitting for an early daguerreotype with one’s head supported by a clamp was an
cages with birds from every clime, warbling arduous and often painful experience. But for millions, the chance to be recorded for
amidst exotic plants whose flowers perfume posterity was worth the ordeal.
the air under the softened light of the sun.
........................................................................
PORTRAITURE • 25
Albert Southworth and Josiah
Hawes. Untitled daguerreotype,
about 1854.
Southworth and Hawes are considered
to have been the most skilled and sensi-
tive of all daguerreotypists, particularly
in their ability to produce family por-
traits such as this one. As one photo-
historian has noted, their greatest
accomplishment was “achieving an
informality and depth of character that
were novel at the time.”
Image Not Available
This is the American studio. Everything is have been rare, the two most outstanding
here united to distract the mind of the visi- collections of early portraits were produced
tor from his cares and give to his counte- by photographic partnerships.Two years
nance an expression of calm contentment. after Southworth and Hawes began taking
The merchant, the physician, the lawyer, their daguerreotypes, a pair of Scottish pho-
Like many of their fellow
daguerreotypists, Southworth the manufacturer, even the restless politi- tographers joined forces and started captur-
and Hawes advertised their ser- cian, here forget their labors. Surrounded ing portraits by using the calotype process.
vices widely. Many of their ads thus, how is it possible to hesitate at the Their names were David Octavius Hill
contained the statement,“We cost of a portrait?” and Robert Adamson, and theirs was a true
aim in our profession to please
Artists, and those whose tastes It is interesting that while taking pho- partnership, with each man responsible for
for the fine arts have been culti- tographs is almost always an individual specific tasks. An established portrait
vated and refined.” endeavor and partnerships in picture taking painter, Hill’s role was to direct the taking
of each portrait. He set the pose of each
subject and decided which props and back-
ground would be used in each picture.
Adamson worked the camera and devel-
oped and printed each photograph.
Hill and Adamson took their pictures
during an era when the gulf between rich
and poor in Scotland, as in many other
nations, was enormously wide. It was a time
when having one’s portrait captured by a
Image Not Available renowned painter or photographer was
considered to be a true indication of social
status. As the partners’ reputation for the
quality of their work grew, scores of wealthy
people along with Scotland’s most notable
figures flocked to Hill’s home, where their
pictures were taken in full sunlight in front
of the house. Although outside, drapes and
furniture were arranged to make the picture
look like an interior room. Not content
.......................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 26
Marcelin. Portraits of Yesteryear
and Today, 1856.
Unlike artists who could fancifully
portray even their most unattractive
subjects in an appealing manner, a
photographer, for the most part, was
limited by what his or her camera
“saw.” In this French cartoon,
“autrefois” (yesteryear) refers to the
period of portrait painting, before
the advent of photography, as
opposed to “aujourd’hui” (today). Image Not Available
........................................................................
PORTRAITURE • 27
Napoleon Sarony. by the public at large. In the process, Sarony
Miss Anderson as made a great deal of money. Just as impor-
Galatea, about
tant to him, he became almost as much of a
1880.
celebrity as many of those whose portraits
Sarony’s photograph
of the actress known he took.
as Miss Anderson, At the same time that Napoleon Sarony
in costume for a was taking his celebrity portraits, Gaspard
role, was typical of Félix Tournachon, who called himself
the flair that he
Nadar, was taking pictures of famous peo-
brought to his the-
atrical portraiture. ple in Paris. His subjects included such
celebrities as the composers Giacchino
Rossini and Hector Berlioz; writers Victor
Hugo, Charles Baudelaire, and George
Image Not Available Sand; artists Honoré Daumier, Gustave
Doré, Eugene Delacroix, and Jean-François
Millet; the world-famous actress Sarah
Bernhardt; and leading statesmen—
virtually everyone of significance in art,
literature, theater, politics, and intellectual
endeavors.
A lithographer and accomplished cari-
caturist as well as a photographer, Nadar
was a tireless individual. Along with his
drawings, sketches, and portraits, he illus-
trated books and wrote novels. And he was
a photographic innovator. He was the first
photographer to take pictures by electric
with a flourish. He sold so many of these light, and produced the first photographs of
cabinet cards that many of the world’s the catacombs and sewers that lie under-
greatest stars and playwrights, such as Sarah neath Paris. In 1856, he became the first
Bernhardt and Oscar Wilde, always anxious person to take pictures from a balloon. But
for as much publicity as they could get, he is best remembered for the power of his
traveled to New York at their own expense portraits, images distinguished by the dra-
to have Sarony take their picture. matic lighting effects he achieved by posing
Before Sarony’s career was over, he pro- his subjects under a high skylight against a
duced some 40,000 theatrical portraits. plain dark background.
Unlike daguerreotype and calotype por- Over the years, some portraits have been
traits, which were bought almost exclusive- so compelling that they seem to get the
ly by the subjects of these images, Sarony’s very soul of the person photographed. One
pictures were purchased in great numbers of the earliest of these images was Alexander
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 28
The French photographer Gaspard
Félix Tournachon, better known as
Nadar, was one of the most accom-
plished and successful of all mid-
19th-century portraitists. His
elaborate studio in Paris had roof
gardens for outdoor photographing.
.......................................................................
PORTRAITURE • 29
Image Not Available
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 30
explained,“my whole soul has endeavored cities but in smaller communities as well.
to do its duty toward them in recording Photographic organizations in the United
faithfully the greatness of the inner as well States, England, France, Germany, and other
as the features of the outer man.The pho- nations regularly held exhibitions, sold
tograph thus taken has been almost the photographs, and awarded coveted prizes to
embodiment of a prayer.” the photographers whose work was judged
Typical of Cameron’s portraits is her most outstanding. Photographs also played
photograph of famed British astronomer a prominent role in many of the exhibits
Sir John Herschel. As one studies the erected at the world’s fairs and expositions. As the popularity of photography
image, it becomes clear how Cameron’s Some of these expositions, in fact, honored increased so too did the regular appear-
ance of major photographic exhibitions
belief that “the eyes are the window to the the medium itself by including a Hall of such as the annual exposition of The
soul” influenced the nature of her por- Photography. London Photographic Society, shown
traits. By using lenses that filled the picture Of all the photographs displayed at these here in 1858. Commenting on the
frame with the head and shoulders of the expositions few captured visitors’ attention importance of such exhibitions, the
London Times claimed they were
subject, she gave photography its first true more than images of Native Americans. By “the best attainable index of thoughts
physical close-up portraits. And by captur- the time that these pictures were hung, the and tastes of the people who flourished
ing her subjects as they lapsed into their Indians had lost their bitter struggle against during that particular year.”
own thoughts or moods, she provided the
first psychological close-ups as well.
Cameron was able to achieve a greater
intensity of connection between viewer
and subject than perhaps any other 19th-
century portraitist.
By the last decades of the 1880s, scores
of inventions had led to revolutions in both
industry and transportation. More goods
were being produced around the world than
ever before. People were traveling about
faster and in more different ways than could
ever have been imagined. It was regarded as Image Not Available
an age of progress, a time worthy of cele-
bration. Much of this celebration took
form in a number of world’s fairs and inter-
national expositions staged to honor past
triumphs and to present indications of even
greater accomplishments that lay ahead.
By this time also, photography had
become embedded in the consciousness of
people throughout the world. Camera
clubs were common not only in major
.......................................................................
PORTRAITURE • 31
Photography: International From the Beginning
P
hotography was born News of his presence in The first photographic exerted enormous influ- pioneer photographer,
almost simultaneously Brazil caught the attention gallery in Argentina’s capi- ence. His name was William Hurrychind Chintamon.
in France and Eng- of Brazilian Emperor Dom tal city of Buenos Aires was Meluish and he had been By the late 1850s the
land, and was introduced Pedro II de Alcântara, who opened in June 1843 by a one of Australia’s earliest carte-de-visite had been
almost immediately into invited the priest to come bookseller, Gregorio Ibarra. daguerreotypists before introduced into India,
the United States. It was to his palace in Rio de In the next two years sev- opening a studio in New where it became extremely
in these locations that the Janeiro to demonstrate the eral foreigners also opened Zealand. Meluish not only popular, particularly among
various earliest forms of amazing procedure called daguerreotype studios took masterful daguerreo- the wealthy people of
the medium were devel- photography. there, including the Ameri- types but spent much time Bombay. Chintamon was
oped and flourished. Father Compte’s dem- cans John Bennett and teaching the skill to scores the most masterful and
Almost from the begin- onstration inspired several John Elliot, and the Eng- of aspiring photographers, most successful of the early
ning, however, the roots of of those in attendance to lishmen Robert Leys and including many members Indian photographers who
the medium were planted become daguerreotypists, Thomas Helsby. By 1850, a of his own family. In the captured carte-de visite
in other far-flung areas of including Florencio Valera, young Argentinean, Anto- 1860s he became equally images of literary, political,
the world. In a relatively a resident of Uruguay who nio Pozzo, had become adept both in taking cartes- and business figures. Chin-
short time, photography was visiting Brazil. In 1845, the country’s best-known de-visite and in teaching tamon’s most famous
became international in Valera traveled to Europe, daguerreotypist.Trained by this skill as well. For the carte was a portrait of the
scope.The following are where he bought a daguer- both Bennett and Helsby, images he captured and the Maharaja of Baroda.Thou-
some early examples. reotype camera.When he Pozzo photographed work of those he taught, sands of these images were
In December 1839, a returned to Uruguay he almost all his nation’s most Meluish is regarded by distributed throughout
Belgian priest, Father became instrumental in important figures. many as the father of New India. Countless others
Louis Compte, landed at introducing photography As in Latin America, Zealand photography. were sent to places as far
the Brazilian port of Bahia. to that nation. photography also gained an The early popularity of away as China, where
Father Compte was the Of all the Latin Ameri- important early foothold in photography in India, par- they may well have been
proud owner of a daguer- can countries, the daguer- both New Zealand and ticularly in Bombay, was the first photographs
reotype camera and was reotype gained the greatest India. In New Zealand one also due in great measure many people there had
adept at taking pictures. popularity in Argentina. pioneer photographer to the contributions of one ever encountered.
the imposing white civilization, had been plished photographer, with a flair for the
stripped of their lands, and had been dramatic. But he was also a sensitive man,
forcibly moved onto United States govern- well aware of the tragic fate the Indians had
ment reservations. Aware that people suffered. His image of a young Indian chief
everywhere were fascinated by the rich and dressed in a war bonnet and other symbols
ancient cultures of the Indians, by their of his rank is typical of the insight he
dress and customs, and by the stories of the brought to all his portraits. Reflected in the
heroic deeds they had performed, promot- chief ’s expression is the fierce pride of the
ers paid many Native Americans to leave Native Americans. But etched in his face
their reservations temporarily and appear also is the sadness of a people who had lost
and be photographed at the expositions. so much.
One of the scores of photographers Frank Rinehart succeeded in preserving
who took advantage of this opportunity images of people whose ways of life had for-
was Nebraska photographer Frank Rine- ever changed.Two other photographers,
hart. As the official photographer of the August Sander and Doris Ulmann, under-
Trans-Mississippi International Exposition took lengthy projects in which they sought,
of 1898, Rinehart took scores of Native through portraits, to reveal specific classes of
American portraits. He was an accom- people and the type of work they did.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 32
Sander and Ulmann lived worlds apart.
Sander, a German, was a person of modest
means from a family of coal miners.
Ulmann was a very wealthy American. Self-
taught in photography, Sander began his
project in 1911 when he was 35 years old.
He titled it Man of the Twentieth Century. He
began by making a list of the various occu-
pational types he wished to portray. He
decided to take most of his photographs in
his native Westerwald region because he Image Not Available
knew it so well.“These people whose way
of life I had known from my youth,” he
wrote, “appealed to me because of their
closeness to nature.” Each day he rode his
bicycle to a different area of the region,
where he captured portraits of tradesmen,
laborers, and countless other types. Because
Sander was known to them, his subjects
posed willingly for his camera.The trust
they had both in his abilities and in the
nature of his project resulted in the natural-
ness of each of the images he captured.
Sander’s plan was to capture some 600
portraits of his countrymen. But because he
had the misfortune to be photographing as had survived were reclaimed, newly printed, Frank Rinehart. Portrait of
the German Nazi regime came into power, and widely distributed. Today they are rec- an Indian chief, about 1880.
he was able to capture far fewer images. In ognized as a masterful depiction of a partic- Each article of clothing and cer-
1929 he produced a book featuring many ular people at a specific time in history. emonial equipment with which
of the photographs he had already taken. Much of August Sander’s photographic a Native American chief
The Nazis eventually banned the book, genius lay in his ability to avoid stereotyp- adorned himself had tribal or
cultural significance.Whenever
raided his studio, and destroyed many ing the people he photographed. His pic- they could, portraitists of the
pictures, because they felt that Sander’s tures reveal the individuality of his subjects Native Americans, like
honest pictures depicted people not repre- as well as their social roles.The same can be Rinehart, posed their subjects
sentative of the master race they wished to said of many of the portraits taken by Doris attired in authentic costume.
create. Determined to save as much of his Ulmann.
work as possible, Sander hid his negatives in Ulmann learned photography by attend-
the countryside. After the Nazis were ing courses taught by the master photo-
defeated in World War II, the negatives that graphic teacher Clarence White, one of the
........................................................................
PORTRAITURE • 33
August Sander. Coal
delivery man, about 1915.
Sander’s Man of the
Twentieth Century photo-
graphic project included this
image of a man whose job it
was to deliver coal. Sander
defined the purpose of his
project by stating,“Let me what she and many others regarded as
speak the truth in all honesty American types.
about our age and the people
of our age.” Attended by a servant, driven by a chauf-
feur, and attired in a spotless white dress and
gloves, Ulmann traveled throughout the
mountains and valleys of Appalachia carry-
ing out her project. Unlike August Sander,
Image Not Available she was completely unknown to those
whose portraits she took. Her lifestyle was as
different from theirs as could be imagined.
These were simple, hard-working people
whose families for generations had experi-
enced none of the luxuries and few of the
conveniences of life.Yet she had a mar-
velous ability to put each of those she pho-
tographed at ease.
Although her training in pictorialism
often is evident in the style of her portraits,
they go beyond being illustrations or art
studies.They not only reveal the character
of her subjects but include many of the
leaders of the art photography movement objects that were a vital part of their every-
called pictorialism (see Chapter 4). During day lives.The images she captured became
the first decade of the 1900s, she concen- important not only to people interested in
trated on taking portraits of the scores of photography but to sociologists and histo-
rich and famous men and women who rians as well. Her portrait of an Appalachian
traveled in the same social circles as she did. woman, for example, reveals the distinctive
Eventually, however, she became bored with head covering that women in that region
this work. had worn for generations.The picture thus
She decided to undertake a personal includes evidence of a sustained, unchang-
project that would result in portraits of a ing cultural element. By producing such a
very different type of people. She chose as vital depiction, Doris Ulmann, like August
her subjects the men, women, and children Sander, gave a whole new meaning to what
whose families had, for generations, been portraiture could achieve.
living in the remote Appalachian region of Another woman photographer, Con-
the United States. At a time when an enor- suelo Kanaga, devoted much of her portrait
mous tide of immigration had recently work to African Americans.“I love to pho-
changed the face of the United States, she tograph black people,” Kanaga stated,“to
became determined to preserve the faces of try to capture the strength and dignity I so
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 34
Consuelo Kanaga. Young Girl
in Profile, 1948.
Kanaga was a deeply spiritual
person. She believed that by por-
traying the inner beauty of her
subjects she was performing a reli-
gious exercise.
often find in their faces.” Kanaga was only close-up, Kanaga was able to emphasize the
21 when, in 1915, she became one of the texture of the girl’s black skin which she
first female news photographers, working admired so much.
first for the San Francisco Chronicle and later The work of outstanding studio por-
for the San Francisco Daily News. The news traitists in the 19th and early 20th centuries
photographs she took and the photo essays paved the way for Consuelo Kanaga and
she created for these and other publications the many others who, in modern times,
in the 1920s through the 1940s went have continued to make portraiture a vital
beyond demonstrating her skill with a form of photography. Modern formal por-
camera.They revealed the deep compassion trait photographers have recognized that
she felt for all those she photographed, par- the basic elements that go into capturing
ticularly those living in poverty or affected an outstanding portrait—pose, facial expres-
by such injustices as racial prejudice. sion, lighting, and props—have remained
Kanaga’s greatest photographic passion, virtually the same as in earlier days. Most
however, was that of taking portraits. And it important, they are aware that masterful
was through portraiture that she captured portraits are those that depict much more
Image Not Available
many of her most vital images. She was a than a simple likeness of the subject.
meticulous worker who spent long hours There is another link with the past as
in the darkroom.“I found,” she wrote late well. Just as early portrait photographers
in her life,“that my portraits really stand on such as Mathew Brady and Napoleon
their own because I put a lot into them and Sarony built careers on the public’s appetite
wanted them to be beautiful. I had to make for pictures of the well known, many mod-
fifty prints to get one that I liked, so that’s ern photographers have attained significant
why I never did get rich.” success by recording the likenesses of
Consuelo Kanaga. Frances
Kanaga’s compassion for her subjects famous men and women. with a Flower, 1948.
and her appreciation of the beauty of black Among these photographers was the
facial features can be seen in portraits such Canadian Yousuf Karsh. In 1924, when he
as Young Girl in Profile and Frances with a was 15 years old, Karsh fled Turkish brutali-
Flower. In Young Girl in Profile, Kanaga ty in his native Armenia (then part of
achieved the dramatic effect she sought by Turkey). He went to live with an uncle
contrasting the dark skin and hair of her who had a photographic studio in the
subject with the whiteness of her blouse Canadian province of Quebec.When the
and hair ribbon. She enhanced the contrast uncle discovered that Yousuf had a talent for
by having light fall upon the girl’s ear and photography, he arranged for his nephew
lower lip. Her ability to contrast deep to be apprenticed to the successful Boston
shades of black with splashes of brilliant portrait photographer John Garo.
whites is evident also in Frances with a Karsh remained with Garo for three
Flower. Here the white of the flower pro- years, learning the techniques that would
vides the contrast. By taking this portrait eventually distinguish his work. Among
........................................................................
PORTRAITURE • 35
Yousuf Karsh. Winston
Churchill, 1941.
Karsh spent more than 50 years
photographing the most famous
people in the world, including
Prime Minister Winston
Churchill of Britain.The acclaim For more than the next 50 years, Karsh,
he received was so widespread that
he became as famous as the using Ottawa as his base, traveled the world
celebrities whose portraits he took. taking portraits with his distinctive lighting
style of many of the best-known people of
the mid 20th century. His subjects included
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill,
Image Not Available United States Presidents Franklin D. Roo-
sevelt, Harry S.Truman, and Dwight D.
Eisenhower, first lady Eleanor Roosevelt,
authors Ernest Hemingway and H. G.
Wells, architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and
singer Paul Robeson. Many of those who
sat for his camera regarded their Karsh por-
trait as the most revealing that had ever
been taken of them. As photohistorian
Peter Pollock observed,“Yousuf Karsh, in
his powerful portraits, transforms the
these techniques was an emphasis on strong human face into legend.”
lighting, making visible the smallest charac- Some contemporaries of Karsh also
teristic details of the face, which would became masters of portraiture in the mid
become his hallmark. During his appren- 20th century, a period that saw the growth
ticeship Karsh also discovered that the most of much photographic innovation. Portraits
effective portraits he took were those in by the American Arnold Newman are
which he relied on his subjects’ poses and marked by dramatic lighting and bold,
facial expressions rather than on props or graphic composition. He too trained his
elaborate settings. And he discovered some- camera mainly on well-known individuals,
thing else:What he enjoyed most was meet- but he photographed them in their own
ing and photographing famous people. environments, surrounded by the objects of
When his apprenticeship was over, he their professions or the tools of their trades,
chose to establish himself as a photographer rather than in the studio. Latvian-born
in Ottawa, Canada. His fascination with Phillipe Halsman came to the United
famous people was a key factor in his deci- States in 1940, after 20 years as a photog-
sion. Not only had he fallen in love with rapher in Paris. He also photographed
Canada, but as he later expressed it,“It was celebrities, with a psychologically penetrat-
the best choice I could have made, for ing and graphically dramatic style. He
Canada’s capital city was soon to become sometimes created fantasy-image portraits,
one of the important crossroads of the such as a picture of Salvador Dali in which
world, a frequent meeting place for the everything is suspended in midair, as in one
giants of the earth.” of Dali’s surrealist paintings. Halsman’s
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 36
delight in the spontaneous and unexpected
led him to persuade many of his subjects to
participate in a moment of play at the end
of a portrait session. The amusing, and often
revealing, results are collected in a book Image Not Available
titled Jumpbook, which consists entirely of
pictures of otherwise distinguished people
jumping into the air.
Today we live in a world where we are
surrounded by portraits. Photographs of
famous men and women appear on many
of the postage stamps we use. Family por-
traits adorn many of the Christmas cards
we receive. An important part of every
school year for parents and children alike is
the annual school portrait. In most societies
no wedding is considered complete with-
out the official wedding portraits. The
pages of the newspapers and magazines we
read are filled with the pictures of the
famous and the lesser known. Through
these portraits in print, we are able to dis- Boston’s generations-old Bachrach studio, Walker Evans. Penny Picture
cover much about the diversity of popula- have earned proud reputations for the qual- Display, Savannah, 1936.
tions and the differences in social classes. ity of their work. Still, the vast majority of Portraiture has, from the beginning,
Portraits have become so important that portraits are taken by nonprofessionals. been the most common form of pho-
tography.A sign outside a photogra-
they are used as a means of proving that we Most of us, without realizing it, are in pher’s studio shows faces of all ages.
are who we claim to be. Driver’s licenses, fact amateur portraitists.Whenever we cap-
passports, and many credit cards are not ture a likeness of a relative or friend,
considered valid unless they contain a pho- whether with a highly sophisticated camera
tographic image of the bearer. or a point-and-shoot, disposable model, we
Despite the many distinct areas of pho- are in reality taking a portrait.The family
tography that have emerged since its inven- albums that we cherish and the informal,
tion—such as photojournalism, social candid pictures of relatives and friends that
documentary, scientific and technical pho- adorn our refrigerator doors and sit on our
tography, advertising, fashion, and commer- mantelpieces and tables are perhaps the best
cial illustration—many professional reminders of all, not only of photography’s
photographers still concentrate on taking popularity but of how portraiture in partic-
portraits. Almost every sizable city or town ular has come to play such an important
has at least one portrait studio. Some, like role in our lives.
........................................................................
PORTRAITURE • 37
Image Not Available
Chapter
. . . . . . . .Three
...............................................................
F
rom the time that photography was portraits, to spend at least some time taking
first introduced, one of its greatest pictures of the landscape in their locale.
appeals was its potential for bringing At the same time, there were other pho-
viewers authentic scenes of places tographers who recognized the public’s
that few people would ever be able to visit growing desire for views of exotic and far-
in person. Some daguerreotypists, aware of off places.They began to travel thousands of
this interest, had captured landscape images. miles in order to meet this demand. One of
But the quality and scope of their pictures the distant areas that became a favorite tar-
was limited by the difficulty of truly master- get of these photographers was the Near
ing the process, the small size of the images East. People around the globe had always
(usually 3 1/4 by 4 1/4 inches), and particu- been fascinated with this region, which had
larly the one-of-a-kind nature of daguerreo- given birth to some of the world’s earliest
types. By the late 1850s, however, even civilizations. Of particular interest were the
though photography had been in existence fabled pyramids and other ancient monu-
for less than 20 years, things had changed ments and temples that had been erected
dramatically. Thanks to the development of thousands of years ago, structures that had
the wet plate process, which required less long been ranked among the wonders of
exposure time than the daguerreotype or the world. Stereograph companies found
calotype, clear images of nature could now they could sell stereo cards of Egypt and the
be captured far more easily. Holy Land in enormous numbers. Individ-
Photographer unknown. Most of the photographers, both amateur ual photographers discovered that there was
Photographing Avalon Bay, and professional, who began to train their real profit to be made in establishing their
California, 1906. cameras on the land chose to take their pic- own companies, set up to sell the views they
As cameras and other photographic tures close to home. Many concentrated on took to Near East tourists and armchair
equipment improved, photogra- the unique characteristics of the terrain that travelers around the world.
phers increasingly took pictures of
the world around them. Soon
surrounded them. By the 1860s, it became The interest in exotic lands also led to
many were plying their trade in commonplace for almost all photographers, the publication of some of the world’s first
even the most distant places. even those who made their living taking photographically illustrated books. The
.......................................................................
THE WORLD AROUND US • 39
expeditions they mounted resembled mili-
tary campaigns. Many employed teams of
porters to carry the dozens of huge crates
that contained their cameras, heavy glass
plates, developing chemicals, and other
equipment.To get the pictures they sought,
Image Not Available
these photographers traveled enormous
distances by camel, mule, and boat. Often
they were forced to cross desert sands in
searing heat. Yet they produced tens of
thousands of photographs. In the process,
they established themselves as pioneers of
landscape photography.
Two of the most talented of these early
cameramen were the Englishman Francis
Frith and the Frenchman Félix Bonfils.
Between 1856 and 1860, Frith made three
expeditions to the Near East.While pho-
tographing there he used three different
types of cameras. One of them was a stere-
ograph camera.Another used 8-by-10-inch
Henri Béchard. Ascending the means of reproducing photographs on a glass plates. The third was an enormous
Great Pyramid, 1878. printed page had not yet been invented, but mahogany camera which took mammoth
The pictures taken by the early pho- publishers began to enhance the appeal of images 16 by 20 inches in size. Frith often
tographers of the Near East helped their books about travel and foreign places photographed the same scene with all three
shrink the world.“Every day now
lessens the distance between the by pasting photographs onto their pages. cameras. He did this so that he could sell
traveled and the untraveled man,” Illustrators also copied pictures taken in dis- as many pictures in as many different forms
reported the British Journal of the tant places or used them as reference to as possible.
Photographic Society in 1857. make engravings, which had long been the Frith’s adventures on his picture-taking
basic form of book and magazine illustra- journeys were indicative of the types of
tions. One of the first significant publishers challenges almost all the early photogra-
of photo-illustrated books was Louis Desiré phers encountered in the ancient lands. He
Blanquart-Evrard. His 1852 publication of was captured by bandits in the Sinai Desert.
a volume featuring pictures that the mas- Twice he was shipwrecked on the little
terful French photographer Maxime Du steamboat that carried him up and down
Camp had taken in Egypt, Palestine, and the Nile River. But by the time he had
Syria was highly successful. completed his three photographic journeys
Between the late 1850s and 1880s, to the Holy Land area, he had taken
scores of photographers trained their cam- enough appealing images to assure the suc-
eras on the Near East.The photographic cess of his own photographic company.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 40
Francis Frith. Colossus
of Ramses II at Abu
Simbel, Nubia, about
1862.
Frith’s photograph of this
Like Frith, Félix Bonfils’s motive for
ancient colossal figure was
taking photographs of the Near East was to taken at Abu Simbel in
produce an inventory of pictures to be sold Egypt. Looking back on
throughout the world. Actually, many of the challenges he faced tak-
the photographs attributed to Bonfils were ing pictures of the land-
scapes and antiquities of
undoubtedly taken by his wife Marie. An the East, Frith wrote,
accomplished photographer in her own “When I reflect on the cir-
right, Marie accompanied her husband on cumstances under which the
many of his photographic journeys. photographs were taken, I
marvel greatly that they
The Bonfilses began photographing in turned out so well.”
the Near East in the early 1860s. By 1871 Image Not Available
they had taken so many pictures there that
their company boasted a stock of 15,000
prints and 9,000 stereographic views.
Unlike many of their counterparts whose
only goal was to produce images that they
felt would sell briskly, the Bonfilses paid seri-
ous attention to the artistic quality of their
photographs as well.Their focus on compo-
sition and contrast can be seen throughout
the body of work they produced.
While most of the early photographers
of the Near East financed their own photo-
graphic ventures, landscape photography
on a grand scale was introduced in the Félix Bonfils. Pyramid
United States by photographers employed of Cheops, about 1870.
by the federal government.These camera- Marie and Félix Bonfils
men were hired to accompany the survey- were among the most
ing expeditions of the vast unsettled successful of all the early
photographers of the Near
territories of the American West that took
East.They published cat-
place in the late 1860s and early 1870s. alogues of their images
One of the first of these survey photog- and sold their pictures
raphers was Carleton E.Watkins. He had Image Not Available through dealers in the
actually taken scores of photographs of the larger cities of Europe
and America.
spectacular landscape of northern Califor-
nia’s Yosemite Valley before the initial gov-
ernment expeditions were launched.
Through images he captured on his own,
such as that of the mountain called El Cap-
itan, and those he took for the government,
........................................................................
THE WORLD AROUND US • 41
Image Not Available
Carleton Watkins. El Capitan, Watkins revealed himself as a photographer Another survey cameraman, John Hillers,
about 1866. in love with nature. His images present us adopted a special approach. Hillers, the offi-
In taking his pictures of the with the pure and sublime qualities of a cial photographer for an 1871 government
American West,Watkins often landscape that was soon to be encroached expedition down the Colorado River, was
focused on magnificent scenery
reflected in a lake in the foreground upon by humans. awestruck by the enormity of the landscape
of his image. It was a technique Timothy O’Sullivan was another spe- of that region. In order to convey this
quickly adopted by many other cially gifted survey photographer. He had through his photographs he often posed a
landscape photographers. earned much acclaim for the scores of lone figure against a majestic backdrop.
images he had captured as a member of Some of the most compelling of all the
Mathew Brady’s corps of Civil War pho- survey photographs were those taken by
tographers. His experience in taking pic- William Henry Jackson. In 1866, Jackson
tures under the most difficult field con- left Vermont, where he had been a photog-
ditions served him well in coping with the rapher’s apprentice, and traveled west as a
challenges he faced in the rugged terrain of bullwhacker driving an ox team. In 1869,
the western lands.The survey photographs he met Dr. Frank F. V. Hayden, the leader of
he took are marked not only by his talent an upcoming survey, who invited Jackson
at photographing broad landscapes, but also to join the expedition as its cameraman.
by his ability to capture details of the virgin From that 1870 undertaking until 1879,
territory such as the plant life and natural Jackson served as official photographer for
rock formations that he encountered. eight geological surveys. He was the first
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 42
cameraman to record the amazing features hauled their large cameras and heavy glass
of the Yellowstone area.The pictures that he plates up mountains and along rivers
took in that region were so spectacular that knowing that they had to develop each
they helped convince Congress to make image they captured on the spot. Almost
Yellowstone the nation’s first national park. every one of these cameramen experienced
The difficulties that O’Sullivan and the a particular kind of photographic tragedy at
other survey photographers encountered in least once. They would lug their equip-
capturing their images were equal to those ment thousands of feet up a mountain and
faced by the early photographers in the then develop the negatives in the special
Near East and other parts of the world. darkroom tent they also had to haul during
The lands through which the western sur- the wet plate period. On the way down the
vey expeditions traveled were places domi- mountain there was always the danger that
nated by high, often dangerous mountains the mule or horse carrying the developed
and deep valleys. Rapidly flowing rivers ran glass plates might stumble or even fall off
throughout the region.The photographers the side of the mountain, shattering the
Timothy O’Sullivan.
Photographer’s wagon,
about 1867.
This horse-drawn wagon
was used by a United
States government photo-
graphic survey team as it
made its way through the
vast desert territory of the
American West.Traveling
huge distances with heavy
equipment and coping with
desert heat were but two of
the many hardships these
photographers endured as
Image Not Available they compiled their photo-
graphic record.
........................................................................
THE WORLD AROUND US • 43
plates. A day’s or even a week’s arduous such as the Library of Congress, the
work could be lost in an instant. But the National Archives, and the Smithsonian
results were well worth their efforts. Institution. Over the years, thousands of
The photographs that these cameramen private citizens from around the world
took not only captured the majesty of have purchased prints of these pioneering
unspoiled regions that few white people landscape images from these archives at
had ever encountered, but set a photo- inexpensive prices. Publishers have includ-
William Henry Jackson. Mammoth graphic standard for all landscape photog- ed selections of these photographs in
Hot Springs,Yellowstone,Wyoming,
1871. raphers who would follow. There were scores of books.
other results as well. Once the surveys At the same time that the survey pho-
The government survey photographers
captured the unusual terrain they were concluded, prints of the photographs tographers were taking their pictures,
encountered as they made their way were brought to Washington, D.C., where another group of cameramen was also
west.These natural hot springs were they were put on display at several govern- operating in the American West. These
made even more spectacular by their ment institutions. were photographers hired by the railroad
tiered rock formation. Artist Thomas
Moran, shown climbing the rocks, also Eventually the survey photographs were companies to document the building of the
documented the western landscape. catalogued and housed in various archives western railway lines. One of the earliest of
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 44
Image Not Available
these cameramen was William Henry Jack- carried out the scores of other tasks related Andrew J. Russell.Train on
son, who before becoming a premier sur- to the construction enterprise. His most railroad bridge, 1868.
vey photographer had documented the spectacular photographs were those he Russell captured this image of a newly
construction of the Union Pacific Rail- took of the enormous bridges and trestles constructed bridge in Utah’s towering
Weber Canyon.The heavy locomotives
road. The pictures that the railroad photog- they built to carry the tracks and trains and railway cars had been rolled on to
raphers took recorded not only the across the many rivers and gorges along the the bridge to test the strength of the
progress of the railroad construction, but railway route. It was through these pho- new structure.
the grandeur of the surroundings in which tographs in particular that Russell most
the building adventure was taking place. effectively conveyed the sense of awe he felt
Among the most dramatic of the images as he confronted both the railway workers’
captured by the railroad photographers accomplishments and the land upon which
were those taken by Andrew J. Russell. As their achievements took place.
the official photographer first for the Cen- The landscape and expedition photog-
tral Pacific Railroad and later for the Union raphers of the 1850s through the 1880s
Pacific Railroad, Russell, like Timothy were employed primarily to make objec-
O’Sullivan, had honed his skills as a Civil tive records of what they saw. Their images
War cameraman. His railroad pictures often have great beauty precisely because
included views of the building crews as of the straightforward manner in which
they tunneled through deep mountains, they present the variety and grandeur of
laid track over vast areas of open land, and nature. In the 1890s, a new kind of nature
.......................................................................
THE WORLD AROUND US • 45
photographer emerged alongside those
The Mammoth Camera who practiced the documentary approach.
These new photographers wanted to inter-
D
uring most of the raphers of the American sures in bright sunlight were
19th century, making West, for example, used about 2 1/2 minutes long.
pret the beauty of nature, not simply to
enlargements of pic- huge cameras capable of The 4 1/2-by-8-foot record or document it.Their concern was
tures was not practical. handling glass plates as picture of the train that the with pictorial beauty rather than literal
Until the mid 1880s, all large as 11 by 14 inches or camera took was so unique accuracy, and they tended to look on land-
printing papers had to be even 16 by 20 inches. that it was awarded the
scape scenes much as painters did. They
exposed by sunlight, in The largest camera ever Grand Prize of the World at
contact with the negative, built was the one created the Paris Exposition of appeared first in Europe, where the Scots-
which remained the pre- especially for an American 1900.The camera was used man James Craig Annan was representative
ferred way of printing photographer, George R. on a few other occasions to of the scores of photographers who found
into the 20th century. Lawrence. He was hired by photograph large interiors, their subject matter in the landscapes of the
There were a few enlarg- the Chicago and Alton one of which was at the
ers that used mirrors or Railroad Company to huge Chicago meatpacking British Isles and the countries of Europe.
were fitted to openings in make highly detailed pho- headquarters of Swift and Annan’s father, Thomas, was a well-
opaque window shutters tographs of their newly Company. Flash powder, a known photographer, and the son James
to direct sunlight through built luxury train. Appro- forerunner of flashbulbs, was introduced to the medium at a very
the negative, but they priately named “The Mam- was used for illumination.
early age. He spent his formative years
were so large, slow, and moth,” the camera weighed Three hundred charges of
difficult to operate that 1,400 pounds when loaded the powder, hidden around working in his father’s studio. When he
they were not widely with its 500-pound glass the large area, were ignited went out on his own as a photographer,
used.Whatever size print plate negative and was 20 simultaneously. However, James Annan found his greatest satisfaction
he wanted, a photograph- feet long with its bellows The Mammoth proved to photographing out-of-doors.The images
er had to use a plate or extended for focusing. It be far too big, cumbersome,
film that size in the cam- took as many as 15 men to and difficult to operate and he produced differed from those of many
era. Many of the photog- operate the device; expo- was quickly retired from use. landscapists. Rather than giving viewers a
general impression of an area, his pictures
provided viewers with a glimpse of a port
or a farmyard or a castle-dominated hillside
much in the same manner as a traveler
would first encounter them. Among his
most popular photographs was the image
titled Stirling Castle. This picture reveals
Image Not Available Annan’s ability to create an instant impres-
sion of a scene.The light shining on the
white horse captures our immediate atten-
tion. It is only after looking more closely
at the image that we begin to observe
the details of the farmyard and the pres-
ence of the castle looming atop the cliffs.
The Mammoth camera was one of the largest photographic devices ever made.Although Annan’s approach proved highly successful.
too large to be practical, it impressed all who saw it. His photographs were widely exhibited
throughout Europe in the 1890s and the
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 46
James Craig Annan.
Stirling Castle, 1903.
Annan brought a painter’s
eye to his landscape pho-
tographs.The contrast
between the dark shadows
and the white horse,
along with the sharp
planes of the buildings
stretching from foreground
to background, give this
photograph a rare three-
dimensional effect.
Image Not Available
first decades of the 1900s and were repro- photography rather than music as a career,
duced in photography art publications in he was dedicated to the straight approach.
the United States. He captured both landscapes on the grand-
Although Annan came to reject the sub- est scale and details of small nat-ural objects.
jective and interpretive extremes of pictori- He was happiest photograping such sub-
al photography, that approach dominated jects as rocky deserts, mist-shrouded moun-
much of landscape and nature photography tains, trees, and other plants, and was
around the globe through the 1920s. Then, particularly sensitive to the play of sunlight
the “straight” approach, which used objec- and moonlight on these subjects. His pic-
tive seeing and straightforward technique tures, from small prints to giant photomu-
to create images of the beauty of nature, rals of the grandeur of the American West
reappeared and gained great strength of and the national parks of the United States,
artistic expression. became world famous long before his
In 1930, a young Californian named death in 1984.
Ansel Adams gave up his ambition of Adams’s training as a pianist had a great
becoming a concert pianist in favor of a bearing on his long photographic career.
new pursuit.A passionate nature-lover, as He appreciated the need to have excellent
early as 1916 he had begun taking what technique and to make an impressive pre-
would eventually be thousands of pictures sentation.This was reflected in his state-
of the natural scenes that he encountered in ment,“The negative is the score, the print
his native California, greatly influenced by is the performance.” His acknowledged
the pictorial style. But by the late 1920s he masterpieces are large-scale images with a
had come to feel the need to make more rich tonal range from deep textured blacks
artistically honest and powerful images, and to creamy whites that emphasize the
when he finally made the decision to pursue majesty and grandeur of nature—a kind of
........................................................................
THE WORLD AROUND US • 47
Image Not Available structures would be of great value in teach-
ing architects, designers, and historians, he
pointed out, as well as their obvious use for
reference. In addition, they would bring
some of the wonders of ancient and mod-
ern building to a much wider, nonprofes-
sional audience who would both enjoy and
benefit from them.The book was illustrated
with calotypes, some of which showed
exactly these kinds of subjects.
Hill and Adamson, in addition to their
portraits, made many calotype studies in
Ansel Adams. Dunes, Oceano, photographic grand opera of which he was the mid 1840s of buildings, monuments,
California, about 1963. the impresario. and ruins throughout Scotland. In the late
Adams approached his work with a Ansel Adams was one of the medium’s 1850s, two Englishmen, Dr. John McCosh
deeply felt reverence for the unspoiled most articulate spokesmen. Rarely has any and Captain Linnaeus Tripe, produced
landscape he photographed.As one critic
observed,“Adams photographs seem to photographer’s motivations for capturing images of buildings and structures in India
demonstrate that our world is what we images been expressed as eloquently as using the calotype. And the photographs
would wish it was—a place with room in Adams’s when he wrote, “I believe man taken in the Near East by Francis Frith,
it for new beginnings.” must be free, both in spirit and society, Félix Bonfils, and others were often as
that he must build strength into himself, important for their depictions of ancient
affirming the enormous beauty of the monuments, temples, forts, and palaces as
world and acquiring confidence to see and they were for their portrayals of the sur-
to express his vision. And I believe in pho- rounding landscape.
tography as one means of expressing this Other major architectural photographic
affirmation, and achieving an ultimate hap- projects in the mid 19th century included
piness and faith.” recording the rehabilitation of French
The introduction first of the wet plate cathedrals that had fallen into disrepair in
and then the dry plate, which made land- the preceding 200 years. By the last decades
scape photography on a grand scale a real- of the century, professional and amateur
ity also made it possible for photographers photographers throughout the world were
to capture architectural images more effec- training their cameras on monumental and
tively than ever before. Architectural pho- historic structures.This was particularly true
tography is actually as old as the medium in Europe, where one did not have to travel
itself. In his book The Pencil of Nature, pub- far to encounter such buildings. Almost
lished in 1844–46, William Henry Fox every city, and indeed many towns, con-
Talbot discussed many of the potential tained towering cathedrals, churches, and
applications of photography. Pictures of cloisters, which were among the most
architecture, monuments, and similar favored of all architectural subjects.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 48
Arguably, the most outstanding of all the
architectural photographers was the Eng-
lishman Frederick Henry Evans. As a
young man he was a successful bookseller.
Image Not Available
He turned to photography because he felt
that the medium, above all others, present-
ed him the opportunity to express the
beauty he found in so many man-made
structures. Most of all, he was taken with
the glory of the cathedrals that he continu-
ally encountered in England and on the
European continent.
Frederick Evans brought a whole new
element to architectural photography.
Whereas most of his counterparts focused
on the magnificence of the exteriors of the
cathedrals as they rose into the sky, Evans
found the greatest beauty deep inside the
structures. He took his camera down to the
cellars of the cathedrals and into narrow
side aisles as well as into the huge main images for the examples of superior design Frederick Evans. The Sea of
chambers, where he photographed the they revealed. Many of these photographs Steps—Wells Cathedral, 1903.
massive pillars, the soaring flights of stairs, are still used for the same purpose. Evans was motivated by his belief in
and the patches of sunlight playing upon The photographs of natural wonders the power of photography to preserve
a record of the great architecture of the
ancient stone floors. and man-made marvels that were produced world.“Without such records,” he
Evans’s photograph The Sea of Steps— in ever-increasing numbers went a long wrote,“it will be impossible for suc-
Wells Cathedral is particularly compelling. way toward satisfying the public’s desire for ceeding generations to form any prop-
In describing the image he stated,“The pictures of places and things they would er idea of [these] wonders.”
beautiful curve of the steps on the right is probably never see in person. Yet there was
for all the world like the surge of a great another category of photographs that peo-
wave. . . . It is one of the most imaginative ple around the world were just as eager to
lines it has been my good fortune to try view.These were images of people from
and depict.” far-off lands, their ethnic cultures, and their
In taking their pictures, Evans and the ways of life.
other architectural photographers made a In response, scores of photographers
contribution beyond that of producing from different nations undertook photo-
beautiful images.The photographs inspired graphic projects, some enormous in scope,
travelers to visit the structures that were designed to fill this need. Four photogra-
depicted. Architects everywhere studied the phers in particular, the Russian cameraman
........................................................................
THE WORLD AROUND US • 49
1905 he had begun to take color pictures
that could then be turned into slides and
projected upon a screen.
Prokudin-Gorskii became so fascinated
with photography that he decided to make
it his life’s work.Aside from his passion for
Image Not Available the medium, he had several other motiva-
tions for doing so. He was in love with the
traditions and history of his country. He
was deeply disturbed that Russian photog-
raphers had lagged so far behind their
counterparts in other nations. He was also a
great supporter of Russia’s leader Tsar
Nicholas II and felt that, through a special
photographic project he had in mind, he
could help the tsar become known as the
leader who had led his people to an under-
standing of their traditions and heritage.
The project that Prokudin-Gorskii
wished to pursue was extraordinarily ambi-
tious. His plan was to photograph all of the
Sergei Mikhailovich Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii, the Russian Empire—its natural beauties, its
Prokudin-Gorskii. Russian Swedish photographers Eric and Edith buildings, and most important, its diverse
peasants, about 1915.
Matson, and the American Edward S. people. He knew that such an undertaking
This photograph of a Russian Curtis, serve as prime examples. was one that no single person could afford.
family outside their simple home
was typical of the thousands of Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii, It would require special equipment and
images Prokudin-Gorskii cap- a native of St. Petersburg, Russia, was travel by railroad, ship, and wagon over
tured of a land and people practi- descended from one of the oldest and extremely long distances. Such a project
cally unknown to the outside noblest families in his province. He studied could be made possible only by the finan-
world. His endeavor remains one
both science and art, but what he really cial and political support of the tsar.
the most ambitious individual
photographic projects. wanted to be was a violinist.A laboratory Prokudin-Gorskii used all the consider-
accident at school, however, left him with a able influence he had with various Russian
badly injured hand and he turned his atten- officials to obtain a meeting with those
tion to chemistry. who could pave the way for a presentation
After pursuing advanced studies and of his project to the tsar. Once he succeed-
serving as a chemistry instructor, Prokudin- ed in arranging such a meeting, he spent
Gorskii began to undertake various scientific weeks taking photographs that would best
experiments. He made several breakthroughs illustrate what he wanted to accomplish.
in various areas, but the most important of When the high Russian officials saw the
all was his development of an early form of photographs, they arranged a demonstra-
color-sensitive photographic plates. By tion to the tsar and the royal family.Tsar
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 50
Image Not Available
Nicholas, in turn, was so impressed with Eric Matson was eight years old when, G. Eric Matson. Shepherd with
the images that he agreed to finance the in 1896, he and his parents, along with sev- his flock, about 1935.
photographic project, to supply whatever eral other families, moved from Sweden to Matson took this picture at a spring
transportation Prokudin-Gorskii required Palestine, where they joined a community located about seven miles outside of
the ancient city of Jerusalem. He
during his photographic journeys, and to of Americans in what became known as used the image as the first in a
give him official papers assuring the coop- the American Colony.The Colony’s pur- series he created illustrating the
eration of all those he met along the way. pose was to supply aid to the sick and 23rd Psalm (“The Lord is my
From 1909 to 1917, Prokudin-Gorskii needy of Jerusalem and surrounding areas. shepherd...”)
traveled the length and breadth of Russia Among its other activities was one that
photographing the peasants and villagers came to change the lives of Eric Matson
who lived in farms, hamlets, and towns and the woman who became his wife. In
throughout the nation. He also captured 1898 the German Kaiser,Wilhelm II, visit-
images of valleys, rivers, and churches in ed Palestine.The American Colony hastily
each region where he stopped. He com- organized a photographic department to
piled an extraordinary photographic record the historic visit.The photographs
record, particularly of people few outsiders that were produced proved to be of such
had ever seen. His work was brought to a interest to German officials and to others
halt in 1917 when World War I broke out who viewed them that the Colony decided
and Tsar Nicholas was overthrown in what to make the photographic department a
became known as the Russian Revolution. permanent part of its operations, with its
Forced to flee his beloved country, main purpose that of satisfying the needs of
Prokudin-Gorskii lived out the rest of his tourists anxious to bring back pictures of
life in exile in Norway, England, and France. the people and places of the region.
........................................................................
THE WORLD AROUND US • 51
Image Not Available
Edward Curtis. Kutenai duck By the time he was in his mid teens, 19th and the early decades of the 20th cen-
hunter, about 1920. Eric Matson and another teenager, Edith turies, sacrificed years of their lives and, in
Curtis was appalled by the treatment Yanktiss, had become employees of the several cases, their health as well. Perhaps
that the Native Americans had photographic department. Eventually the greatest effort was that exerted by
received at the hands of advancing
white civilization. He intended his Matson and Yanktiss married, took over Edward S. Curtis, who compiled the most
photographs to reveal the activities of the photographic department, and reorga- extensive photographic record of Native
a people whose lives were built around nized it as the Matson Photo Service. For Americans.While other photographers of
a sensitivity to the natural world. some 33 years, until Edith’s death, the Native Americans focused on one or two
couple worked together taking thousands tribes or on the various tribes in a specific
of photographs of the peoples of the region, Curtis was determined to photo-
Middle East. graph all the tribes that he could reach. He
They captured almost every aspect of estimated that his monumental project
these people’s lives—their many different would take 15 years. It wound up consum-
occupations, their tribal customs, and their ing 30 years of his life.
religious ceremonies.They also produced Curtis’s undertaking required consider-
compelling photographs of street and alley able financial support, which he found in
life in and around the region. Many of their funding supplied by one of the world’s rich-
depictions were of men, women, and chil- est men, the industrialist and banker J.
dren whose customs and dress were little Pierpont Morgan.Armed with this financ-
removed from biblical times, as in their pic- ing, Curtis visited more than 80 tribes and
ture of shepherds watching their flock. took more than 40,000 photographs. He
In their determination to capture gained the confidence of each of the tribes
images of the diverse peoples of the world, by spending months studying its history and
many photographers, in the last half of the customs before attempting to photograph its
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 52
members.Working with a large 14-by-17-
inch camera, he captured both portraits and
scenes of the Native Americans’ dwellings,
dress, customs, and rituals.
Curtis’s work brought him high praise,
but he also received significant criticism. In
several instances, particularly in pho- Image Not Available
tographing the tribes of the Pacific North-
west, he dressed the Native Americans in
wigs and provided them with other trap-
pings of their earlier days that had vanished
in the face of the intruding white civiliza-
tion. It was a practice that disturbed those
who felt that in doing so Curtis had falsi-
fied his representation of the Native Ameri-
cans. Curtis’s reply was that his only interest
was in presenting the first Americans as
they were before their way of life had been
destroyed by those coveting their lands. It
was one of the first instances when the as “the most gigantic undertaking in the Elizabeth Ellen Roberts.Young
reality of the camera’s ability to misrepre- publishing of books since the King James woman at a water pump, North
Dakota, 1900.
sent as well as reveal became an issue. edition of the Bible.” Edward S. Curtis’s
Despite the criticism, Curtis’s overall dream of delivering to the world an exten- Some of the most compelling pictures
have been taken by amateur photog-
achievement cannot be discounted. Nor sive, personal portrayal of a unique people raphers whose work has gone practi-
can the fact that he was a true artist with and a special way of life had been realized. cally unnoticed.Very little is known
the camera. His photograph of a Native By overcoming the many technical and about Roberts, but her photographs
American rice gatherer, for example, reveals physical challenges that confronted them, tell the lively story of the pioneers
of the American West.
his flair for posing his subjects in the most the 19th-century and early 20th-century
dramatic manner possible. The way in photographers who took the world as their
which he used the long spikes of the natur- canvas made vital contributions. By increas-
al growth to frame the woman in the ing man’s awareness of distant people and
canoe reveals his masterful sense of compo- far-off places they shrunk the globe. In the
sition as well as his determination to enno- process they blazed a whole new trail.The
ble a vanishing race of people. millions of amateur and professional pho-
Between 1907 and 1930 Curtis pub- tographers who today have made the tak-
lished his photographs, along with text, in a ing of pictures far from home one of the
20-volume set of books titled The North most common photographic experiences
American Indians. When it was completed, follow in the footsteps of these accom-
the New York Herald hailed the achievement plished pioneers.
........................................................................
THE WORLD AROUND US • 53
Revealing the World in Pictures
For much of history, extensive travel has been available only to the very
wealthy. Even though the end of the 19th century saw the beginning of
middle-class tourism, most people obtained their visions of far-flung people
and places from pictures. Photographs had the advantage over engravings of
providing “scientific” proof of unknown lands while also having the poten-
tial for artistic merit. Encouraged by developments that had made camera
equipment more portable and lightweight and by an eager audience at
home, scores of photographers—many of them amateurs—set out at the
turn of the 20th century to create a visual record of the world.
Horace A. Latimer.
A Water Carrier—Cuba, 1902.
Photographer unknown.
Chinese women suffering
punishment, about 1900.
Photographer unknown.
African cliff dwellings, about 1900.
Photographer unknown.
Elephant ride in India, about 1900.
Photographer unknown.
Couple in Ireland, about 1900.
Photography as Art
B
y the last quarter of the 19th centu- contrasts between dark and light tones
ry, photographers around the world (called chiaroscuro). Many focused almost
had supplied ample proof of the exclusively on simple but lovely, often senti-
camera’s unique ability to record mental, subjects. Some portrayed characters
people and places. At the same time, there and incidents in fables, myths, or the Bible,
were others who were taking pictures for a while others attempted to create genre
different purpose. Convinced that the cam- images, pictures that showed people and
era could be used to go beyond simply moments from everyday life. Still others, in
recording what was in front of the lens, the style of well-known painters, created
these photographers, both amateur and pro- allegorical photographs. (In an allegory, the
fessional, were determined to produce figures represent universal human traits—
images of artistic merit. Believing that pho- such as heroism, chastity, envy, lust, or
tographs could be every bit as beautiful and despair—not specific individuals.)
intriguing as paintings, they pursued a sim- Perhaps the most distinguishing charac-
ply stated goal.Their aim was to convince teristic of this early artistic movement was
art critics, other photographers, and the the way in which many photographers
general public that photography should be manipulated their images.Working much
regarded as a legitimate form of art. like painters, they used various techniques to
The photographs that these early artistic alter their pictures so as to make them look
Alvin Langdon Coburn. The
Bridge,Venice, 1908. photographers produced were often little dif- as much as possible like paintings, pastel or
ferent from paintings. At the time, people charcoal drawings, etchings, or engravings.
Coburn, who started photograph-
ing when he was eight years old, regarded the world’s great paintings as the In the process they created entirely new
was an important member of the highest form of visual art. It was only natural printing techniques and new types of pho-
movement known as pictorialism that artistic photographers began by trying to tographs that expanded the concept of what
that brought many innovations to produce the same kinds of images as those a photograph was.
photography.“I do not think,”
stated Coburn,“we have even created by the greatest artists.They chose The artistic approach was one that had
begun to realize the possibilities the same types of themes, settings, and com- been employed by a few photographers
of the camera.” positions. Like painters, they emphasized the in the years immediately following the
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PHOTOGRAPHY AS ART • 57
Image Not Available
Henry Peach Robinson. Fading medium’s invention. As discussed in Chap- notably the Frenchman Gustave Le Gray,
Away,1858. ter 2, the portraits taken by David Octavius had made what were called composite
Robinson, with the aid of his staff, Hill and Robert Adamson were marked by prints by printing two different negatives
made 200 prints of this picture before the way Hill deliberately posed their sub- together on the same piece of paper to pro-
attaining one that satisfied him.A
photographic critic of Robinson’s time jects and used natural light in a manner duce a single, combined image. Rejlander
called the photograph “an exquisite designed to make their images look as took this technique much farther, increas-
picture of a painful subject.” much like paintings as simple portraits. But ing the number of negatives he used. His
it was in the late 1850s, slightly less than 20 first significant art picture, exhibited in
years after the daguerreotype was intro- 1857, when it created a sensation, used
duced, that the full-scale movement toward more than 30 different negatives and took
creating photographs as art began. six weeks to produce. It was so large—16
The two men generally credited with inches tall and 31 inches long—that two
pioneering the art photography movement sheets of paper had to be pasted together to
were the English photographers Oscar make the composite print. Originally titled
Rejlander and Henry Peach Robinson. Hope in Repentance, it became famous under
Before moving to Great Britain, the the name The Two Ways of Life. It was pho-
Swedish-born Rejlander lived in Rome, tography’s first major allegorical picture.
where he supported himself by copying the Rejlander’s contemporary, Henry Peach
work of famous artists. In the early 1850s, Robinson, was also a painter turned pho-
he learned photography and decided to tographer. Like Rejlander, Robinson’s main
make it his main mode of creative expres- goal was to tell a story with his camera, and
sion. Almost from the moment he became he too decided that the most effective way
a photographer, Rejlander began experi- to do this was through composite prints.
menting with new techniques. At the heart Robinson’s first and best-known composite
of these experiments was his desire to art image, produced in 1858, was titled Fad-
build upon the work of others who had ing Away. Made from five separate nega-
introduced a new method of creating tives, it was a picture of a dying young girl
photographs.These photographers, most propped up in a chair in her family’s parlor
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PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 58
Platinum Prints
F
rom the 1850s through paper with potassium Emerson, in fact, felt so
the mid 1890s, the chloroplatinate and ferric strongly about what the
standard paper for oxylate.After the coating platinum print had brought
making photographic was dry, the paper was con- to photography that he
prints was albumen paper, tact-printed with a nega- boldly stated that if the
so called because it was tive, by sunlight, in the usual platinotype process were
prepared with egg whites. manner.The print was ever to become a lost art he
(It was replaced by developed in potassium “would never take another
gelatin-emulsion paper, oxylate, fixed with a solu- photograph.”
like the photographic tion of hydrochloric or cit- Frederick Evans shared
paper used today.) Albu- ric acid, and then washed. Emerson’s passion for the
while her mother and sister look sadly on. men paper, which pro- When Willis put his long, delicate tonal scale
Robinson, a master at composition, added duced an image composed new type of paper on the made possible by platinum
to the emotion of the scene by placing an of silver, was invented by market through his Pla- paper, but when he could
Louis Désiré Blanquart- tinotype Company, the no longer afford it, Evans
image of the girl’s fiancé looking out of a Evrard in 1850. Soon product was eagerly adopt- in fact gave up his photo-
window at the center of the picture, his paper coated with albu- ed by scores of artistic graphic career rather than
back turned to hide his tears. men was being sold by photographers. It was con- use what he considered to
Along with producing many other sen- dozens of manufacturers. siderably more expensive be lesser-quality materials.
The paper was so popular than albumen paper, but In the late 1930s the paper
timental pictures and purported genre that in order to keep up the prints it produced were became so expensive to
scenes that were popular with both the with demand, Germany’s more delicate in tone, with manufacture that it disap-
public and critics, Robinson wrote several Dresden Albuminizing a slightly pinkish cast, and peared from the market. But
books that were among the first publica- Company, the largest in were far less apt to fade in the years that platinum
the world, used some than most previous—or paper was available, it per-
tions to both praise and describe the tech-
60,000 eggs a day. later—types of photo- mitted scores of photogra-
niques of artistic photography. The first of In 1880, however, a new graphs. Pictorial and natu- phers, most notably
these books, Pictorial Effect in Photography, process was introduced that ralist photographers alike including Edward Weston
published in 1869, led to the widespread produced print images of welcomed this new and and Paul Strand, to produce
use of the term pictorial to describe the platinum rather than sil- beautiful material. Peter images of great sensitivity
ver.They were known as Henry Emerson was effu- and beauty. In modern times,
photography-as-art approach. The move- platinum prints or platino- sive in his praise of plat- certain photographers such
ment itself was known as pictorial- types.The new process was inum images.“For as George Tice and Irving
ism. Robinson attracted many followers invented by an Englishman, low-toned effects and for Penn have hand-prepared
(although within the entire field of photog- William Willis. He pro- the greyday landscapes,” he platinum paper and have
duced his special type of stated,“the platinotype used it for making prints for
raphy the art movement was comparatively
printing material by coating process is unequalled.” exhibition purposes.
small), and a large number of artistic pho-
tographs, many of them created out of the
photographers’ imaginations, were pro- photography, for which he had developed a
duced. Many of these pictures were overly passion during his college years. Emerson
sentimental or overly imitative of paintings loved nature, particularly the English coun-
and spawned a strong negative reaction tryside, and most of his photographs were of
from an opposing group of photographers. simple scenes such as farming, hay gather-
The person who led the revolt against ing, duck shooting, and peaceful river travel.
pictorialism was Peter Henry Emerson. Emerson wrote many articles and a
Born in 1856 in Cuba, where his American major book in which he declared that pho-
father and English mother owned sugar tography had the potential to be artistically
plantations, Emerson was a distant cousin superior to any other visual medium. He
of the American writer Ralph Waldo also wrote that beautiful photographs
Emerson. He attended school in the Unit- should be framed and mounted in the same
ed States, then went to college in England, manner as fine paintings. Up to this time
where he studied to become a doctor. He photographs were rarely hung on the walls
received his degree and made England his of private homes. Instead, they were kept as
home, but never practiced medicine. individual mounted prints in an album or
Instead, from 1885 on he devoted himself to portfolio, and commonly were placed one
.......................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY AS ART • 59
Rejlander and Henry Peach Robinson the
targets of some of his most caustic verbal
attacks. It was one of the ironies of photog-
raphy that this bombastic individual pro-
duced many of the most tranquil and
beautiful of all the early artistic pho-
tographs. His talent for using very simple,
Image Not Available commonplace subjects in peaceful settings
is evidenced in his photograph Poling the
Marsh Hay. By placing the woman promi-
nently in the foreground and revealing the
hay-gathering activities as a backdrop he
created the peaceful image he sought.The
soft focus of most of the photograph adds
to its appeal.
Emerson thought a photograph should
be focused at one point, with other things
Peter Henry Emerson. Poling the at a time on an easel in the owner’s draw- being less sharp because, he argued, that is
Marsh Hay, about 1885. ing room or parlor for viewing. But due to the way the eye sees things. He was actually
Emerson had unbending beliefs Emerson’s influence, this began to change. wrong in this belief, because he did not
about how artistic photographs Emerson’s book, titled Naturalistic Photog- take into account the fact that we rapidly
should be produced. One of his
strongest convictions was that pho- raphy for Students of the Art, was intended to and unconsciously scan a real scene, seeing
tographers should develop their nega- counteract pictorialism’s insistence that art point after point sharply, thus building an
tives on the same day they were consisted primarily of pictures created out of impression of total sharpness. In this he
taken so that the mental impression photographers’ imaginations. He stated his misunderstood a fundamental aspect of the
of what they wished to achieve in
main thesis this way:“Whenever the artist new and highly influential movement in
each picture would still be fresh in
their minds. has been true to Nature, art has been good; painting called impressionism, which he
whenever the artist has neglected Nature and greatly admired. Although the overall
followed his imagination, there has resulted mood and style of his work often looks
bad art. Nature, then, should be the artist’s much the same to our eyes as that of picto-
standard.” Emerson gave the term naturalism rialist images of the same period, Emerson
to this approach to artistic photography. It did not arrange or artificially pose his sub-
became the foundation of what is now jects or use any techniques to imitate the
termed purist or straight artistic photography. appearance of a painting. His seeing and his
A highly opinionated and difficult man, methods were straightforward; he strove
Emerson was often openly and harshly honestly to show the beauty of the subject
critical of his fellow photographers. He in its own terms, not his subjective inter-
was vehemently opposed to the composite pretation of it.
print and all other kinds of manipulation Another English photographer who
in printing, which he considered to be shared Emerson’s passion for nature as a
photographic trickery, and he made Oscar subject was Frank Meadow Sutcliffe. He
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PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 60
Image Not Available
inherited much of his creative talent from To Sutcliffe, these subjects presented the Frank Sutcliffe. Water Rats, 1886.
his father, who was a painter, etcher, print- opportunity to portray what for him was a When this photograph of boys jump-
er, and amateur photographer. In 1875, very special type of life. More important, he ing in and out of the sea without
Sutcliffe’s family moved to the town of saw in them the settings and simple activi- any clothes on was first exhibited,
Sutcliffe was actually excommunicat-
Whitby, Yorkshire, where he began his ties for creating images that would be as ed, or excluded, from his church.
photographic career.Whitby was situated picturesque as the finest paintings. He overcame this disapproval and
on the English seacoast; its location provided The peaceful scenes that Sutcliffe con- became recognized as a master of
Sutcliffe with the subject matter for most of tinually encountered were charming by both light and composition.
his photographs. He captured images of har- nature. But it was his special photographic
bor life, of boats putting out to sea and talents that allowed him to transfer this
returning to shore, of women cleaning or charm to his images. He did not believe in
selling fish, and of fishermen mending their posing his subjects, because he thought the
nets, baiting their hooks, or spending time resulting photographs would be too artifi-
chatting with their fellow seamen. He was cial, and he had the patience to wait as long
particularly fascinated by the children who as it took to capture whatever picture he
spent so much of their time at the harbor was taking in the most appealing way. The
or along the shore. He photographed them photographs he produced were beautifully
bathing and splashing in the water, climb- balanced, marked by the way he was able to
ing upon boats, and watching the fisher- frame the main subjects in the center of his
men and peddlers at work. images with inanimate or human subjects
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY AS ART • 61
Image Not Available
George Davison. Berkshire Teams on each side of the picture. However, he the United States.The American group was
and Teamsters, about 1888. was essentially a pictorialist in his taste in known as the Photo-Secession.
Davison concentrated on capturing printing, often manipulating the print to One of the founding members of the
images of rural scenes. Like many pic- add atmospheric haze or create a somewhat Linked Ring was the English photographer
torialists, he often presented a romanti-
cized view of his subjects. impressionistic appearance. George Davison. He, like both the natural-
Sutcliffe’s images earned him much ist Emerson and the early pictorialists, was a
acclaim, but the early pictorialist movement great admirer of impressionist paintings,
continued to be the subject of criticism, particularly the way in which impressionist
particularly from those who felt that pho- artists concentrated on capturing the
tography was becoming too imitative of changing effects of light as they appeared to
paintings. Disturbed by this criticism, a the human eye. Much like their paintings,
group of influential English photographers Davison’s images were marked by his delib-
banded together to spread their beliefs erate contrast of shadow and light, shadings
around the world. In 1891 they founded an that appear as if they were created by the
organization which they named the Linked stroke of a brush rather than with a camera.
Ring. They chose this name because to This approach can perhaps best be seen in
them it symbolized their stated purpose of the photograph Davison titled both Berk-
“linking those who are interested in the shire Teams and Teamsters and Part of Day. In
development of the highest form of Art of this picture, Davison captured the atmos-
which Photography is capable.” From its phere created by a darkening sky signifying
beginnings, the Linked Ring had enor- day’s end.The light created by the fading
mous influence in photographic circles sun shining through both dark and white
both in Europe and America. Eventually it billowing clouds and the shadows cast by
became the inspiration for an even more the horses and men in the image make the
powerful group that would be formed in figures appear almost as if they were taken
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PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 62
in silhouette. By framing the lone figure in an emulsion of gum arabic, potassium
the center of the picture with the men and bichromate, and any color of pigment.
horses to either side, Davison gave a pleas- Light passed strongly through the thinnest
ing balance to the picture. parts of the negative, which were the dark
Thanks to the influence of photogra- areas of the subject, and less strongly
phers like Davison, and to organizations like through the middle-tone and highlight
the Linked Ring, the pictorial movement areas. The emulsion hardened in propor-
spread throughout Europe. In France, a pho- tion to the strength of the light, so when the
tographer named Robert Demachy not print was developed in warm water the
only adopted the approach but helped pio- emulsion would wash away in the lighter
neer a technique that would be employed areas, letting more of the white (or colored)
by artistic photographers everywhere. paper show through, but it would remain
As a young man Demachy was most more strongly in the middle-tone and dark-
interested in music and in driving fast cars. er areas of the positive image.The emulsion
He was a successful banker with esthetic could be applied evenly, or with coarse Image Not Available
interests. Before he turned to photography brushstrokes, or stippled on, for a variety of
in 1892, he was a literary critic and an ama- effects. And the photographer could use
teur painter. He particularly admired the very hot water to wash away or alter any
work of the renowned artist Edgar Degas, details in the print he desired. It was a
who was himself an amateur photographer process that allowed Demachy and other
as well as a professional painter. Degas was pictorialists to work much like painters.
taken with the motion studies that Ead- Demachy’s photographs placed him at
weard Muybridge had produced (see page the forefront of those who sought artistry
18). He made many drawings from Muy- in their pictures by manipulating their
bridge’s pictures, including a lineup of bal- images. He wrote five books and more
let dancers in various postures, drawn to than 1,000 articles describing all of the var-
give the appearance of motion. Several of ious aspects of photographic manipulation. Robert Demachy. Behind the
Scenes, about 1900.
Demachy’s photographs are highly reminis- He also traveled throughout the world, lec-
cent of Degas’ paintings. turing on the subject. Young ballet dancers were among
Demachy’s favorite subjects. Often he
Demachy believed that in order to pro- In the last two decades of the 1800s, the would manipulate a negative, develop
duce a work of art the photographer had to art photography movement in Europe it, and then apply further manipula-
regard the photograph he or she took as gained great momentum. Much of it was tions to the negative and develop it
just the first step in creating a masterful due to the appearance of the first photo- again. As a result, he often produced
very different looking photographs
image.The key, he was convinced, were the graphic exhibitions devoted exclusively to from the same negative.
techniques and manipulations the photog- the work of pictorialist photographers.The
rapher would then use to add to and change first of these exhibitions, featuring images
the photographic image. Demachy was a by Peter Henry Emerson, was mounted in
pioneer and a master in the use of the gum Vienna in 1887 by the Club-der-Amateur
bichromate printing process. A negative Photographers. In the words of one of the
was contact printed on paper coated with club’s founders, it marked “the first time
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY AS ART • 63
huge Club-der-Amateur Photographers
show of 1891, it was positively stunned by
the Kunsthalle Museum’s display of 6,000
artistic photographs. One of the added fea-
tures of this show was a demonstration of
how to frame photographs properly
according to the tastes of the period.
Image Not Available The attention that artistic photography
received through the growing number of
pictorialist exhibitions had a dramatic effect
on the many European photographic clubs
made up of both amateurs and profession-
als.When The Photo-Club de Paris staged
its First Exhibition of Photographic Art, the
show took on an importance that went
beyond the exhibition itself. By this time,
the process for reproducing photographs
on a printed page had been invented
(described in Chapter 6), and as an accom-
paniment to the exhibition the club issued
Baron Adolphe de Meyer. that art-lovers had been offered a series of a booklet containing reproductions of 50 of
Still Life, about 1906. original photographs of interest not in the the photographs displayed in the show. It
The still life, a traditional objects they represent, but in the interpre- was a forerunner to the illustrated catalog
subject for painting, also tation and handling.” Four years later, the that is now a regular part of almost all
became a theme for photogra-
phers. De Meyer was a lead- club astounded both the art and photo- major photographic exhibitions.
ing Photo-Secessionist who graphic worlds by presenting a massive By the beginning of the 1900s, artistic
would later make his mark as exhibition of 600 pictorial photographs photography had gained a solid foothold in
arguably the world’s first selected from more than 4,000 candidates. Europe. However, it was in the United
great fashion photographer.
In 1893, three other major pictorial States that pictorialism came to full flower.
exhibitions took place in Europe. The Much of it was due to the contributions of
Linked Ring mounted what would one man. His name was Alfred Stieglitz; he
become an annual series of artistic photog- became legendary not only for the pho-
raphy shows. Robert Demachy and the tographs he took but for the organization he
English photographer Alfred Maskell pre- founded, the galleries he established, and the
sented an exhibition of prints they had two publications he edited. It was through
made using the gum-bichromate process. all of these that Stieglitz introduced the
And the Kunsthalle Museum in Hamburg, work of scores of fellow American and for-
Germany, organized a First International eign pictorial photographers to the world,
Exhibition of Amateur Photographers. If and introduced the newest developments in
the art world had been astounded by the modern art to the United States.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 64
Edited by Alfred Stieglitz, the
journal Camera Notes brought
the work of many of the earliest
pictorialists to the attention of
the public. Published from 1897
to 1903, it also contained arti-
cles written by leading Photo-
Secessionists and critics.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY AS ART • 65
Alfred Stieglitz. Paula, 1899.
Stieglitz’s mastery of light and
shadow marks most of his pho-
tographs.“Photography,” stated
Stieglitz,“is my passion.The
search for truth my obsession.”
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 66
and fashion photography.As a Signal Corps
cameraman during World War I he cap-
tured outstanding war images. Commis-
sioned a lieutenant commander in World
War II, he was in charge of all of the Unit-
ed States Navy’s combat photography in
the Pacific theater of war. Image Not Available
Aside from his own photographic
accomplishments, Steichen was also a cura-
tor of photography. From 1947 to 1962 he
served as director of photography at New
York’s Museum of Modern Art.The muse-
um had established a department of pho-
tography under the direction of Beaumont
Newhall in 1930, some ten years before
many other major nongovernment muse-
ums started adding photographs to their
collections. Under Steichen’s direction in
the years after World War II, the Museum
of Modern Art became one of the world’s
most important photographic repositories.
While at the museum, Steichen organized
the “Family of Man,” the most popular
photographic exhibition ever held. From is Steichen’s Flatiron—Evening, a gum Edward Steichen. Flatiron—
1952 to 1955 he traveled the world seeking bichromate print. It is a photograph Evening, 1905.
the most outstanding images available for marked by its soft, almost ethereal quality. At the beginning of the 20th centu-
the project.When mounted, the exhibition The contrast of the fragile tree limbs in the ry, the Flatiron Building in New
York City was one of the most com-
included those photographs he had selected foreground of the picture with the massive monly photographed of all structures.
from more than 2 million candidates. building in the background, and the dark Steichen’s is the best-known image
Eventually, the “Family of Man” was shadows accentuated by occasional splashes of the triangular-shaped building.
viewed by more than 9 million people in of light distinguish the picture as a master-
69 different countries. A book based on the ful artistic rendering.
exhibition has been the best-selling photo- Gertrude Käsebier, like Edward Stei-
graphic book of all time. chen, was another of Alfred Stieglitz’s out-
Perhaps more than those of any other standing protégés. As was the case with
American pictorialist, Steichen’s early artis- many pictorialists, her work was marked by
tic photographs are reminiscent of the the way she expressed her own deepest
paintinglike images produced by Peter feelings and emotions through her images.
Henry Emerson, George Davison, and Influenced by having grown up on the
Frank Sutcliffe. Typical of these images American prairie, Käsebier was a strong
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY AS ART • 67
advocate of the growing early 19th-century One of the most influential teachers of
American belief that, rather than be cod- photography was a shy, highly intelligent
dled, children should be encouraged to man from Ohio named Clarence H.White.
develop a sense of independence. She After spending several years as a bookkeeper,
expressed this conviction in many of her White began taking his first photographs in
photographs, particularly in her image 1894. Although Ohio was far removed from
Blessed Art Thou Among Women, which the center of Photo-Secession activities in
became one of the best known of all picto- New York, he became enthralled with the
rialist images. photographs he encountered in Camera
Almost all of the techniques employed Work and joined the Photo-Secession.
by those who sought to bring art to their In his pictures,White concentrated on
photographs can be seen in this picture, simple, innocent domestic scenes. He cap-
Gertrude Käsebier. Blessed Art which, in several ways, is allegorical in tured images of youngsters playing child-
Thou Among Women, 1899. nature.The child stands at the threshold of hood games and people caught in the
Käsebier was one of a number of a doorway, which implies that a major midst of peaceful reflection.Among White’s
women Photo-Secessionists who made development in her life is about to occur. most intriguing photographs is that titled
their mark by producing artistic pho-
tographs. She also ran a professional Her dark clothing contrasts dramatically Drops of Rain. In this typically soft-focused
portrait studio in NewYork. with the all-white garment of the adult image, White depicted a young boy gazing
woman, who may be her mother, a guar- into a glass globe, that object embraced by
dian, or even an angel.The soft, warm tonal the Photo-Secessionists as the symbol of
scale is the result of the platinum process their movement.
used for the print.The pose of the subjects Aside from his photographs, White’s
is simple and direct. But Käsebier’s message greatest contribution to the medium came
is also clear. By having the adult’s hand through his teaching. From 1907 to 1925 he
placed on the child’s shoulder, she shows taught photography at Columbia University.
the woman to be supportive and encourag- He was such an effective teacher that aspir-
ing of the youngster. At the same time, ing photographers traveled from all corners
by depicting the woman’s face in profile of the nation to take his courses. Among his
while presenting the child looking boldly students, many of whom credited him for
Image Not Available ahead of her, Käsebier tells us that this is launching their photographic careers, were
a girl being encouraged to act and think such future masters of the medium as
for herself. Dorothea Lange, Margaret Bourke-White,
The fact that photography has never Doris Ulmann, and Paul Outerbridge.
stagnated has been due to the vision and White was also the first president of the Pic-
influence of photographers of all kinds. torial Photographers of America, an organi-
Particularly important has been the pres- zation which, like the Photo-Secession,
ence of successful photographers who have played a key role in gaining acceptance of
devoted much of their time to passing on photography as an art form.
their skills to young men and women seek- Although the Photo-Secession captured
ing to follow in their footsteps. so much attention and produced so many
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 68
Clarence White. Drops of Rain,
about 1902.
White was a master at capturing those
he photographed in soft, natural light.
The glass globe was regarded by the
Photo-Secessionists as a symbol of
beauty and the many mysteries of life.
outstanding images and imaginative photo- Suddenly the simple, innocent, charming
graphic talents, its glory days were relatively life that had been the subject of so many
short. One of the reasons was that the pic- artistic photographs seemed out of touch
torialist approach of most of its members with the real world.
was regarded by many critics as a mere imi- But the decline of 19th- and early 20th-
tation of paintings.Alfred Stieglitz himself century pictorialism did not mean that art
was the cause of a number of photogra- photography was abandoned. Far from it.
phers abandoning the movement. Many Beginning in the 1920s, scores of photog-
photographers felt that Stieglitz, who was raphers took up where the early pictorial-
often dictatorial, played favorites in his ists had left off by adopting bold new
selection of those whose work was pub- approaches.
lished in Camera Work and exhibited in the These new art photographers eschewed
Photo-Secession gallery. soft-focus effects in favor of much sharper
The coming of World War I, with its images. Most of all, they created whole new
terrible toll of death and destruction, also forms of photography such as the pho-
played a major role in pictorialism’s decline. togram and the photomontage.Two men
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY AS ART • 69
Man Ray. Rayograph, about 1924.
Man Ray’s photograms were a result of his desire
to expand the boundaries of photography. He stat-
ed that his work “is designed to amuse, bewilder,
annoy, or inspire reflections. . . .The streets are full
of admirable craftsmen, but so few dreamers.”
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 70
Barbara Morgan.
Spring on Madison
Square, 1938.
Influenced by the work of
Man Ray, Morgan creat-
ed scores of intriguing
photomontages. A versa-
tile photographer, she also
became known for dra-
matic images of dancers
in performance.
a 35mm camera held at eye level. Rod- By the 1930s and early 1940s, the new
chenko added dramatically to the artistic art photography had gained wide accep-
effects of his pictures by photographing in a tance. Regular exhibitions of modernist
bold new way.“In photography,” he stated, works were increasingly held and were well
“there is the old point of view, the angle of attended. At the same time, photographers
vision of a man [with a waist-level camera] such as Edward Weston and Paul Strand (see
who stands on the ground and looks Chapter 9) applied their purist or straight
straight ahead, or as I call it, makes ‘belly- approach to producing images of great artis-
button’ shots. . . . I fight this point of view, tic merit. It became clear that rather than
and will fight it along with my colleagues dying out with the end of the Photo-Seces-
in the new photography. The most inter- sion, art photography had not only survived
esting angle shots today are those ‘down but had taken photography in exciting new
from above’ and ‘up from below,’ and their directions.The fact that photographs are
diagonals.” Rodchenko photographed from today proudly displayed alongside paintings,
windows, balconies, stairways, ladders, and sculpture, and other works of art in muse-
even trees to get extreme overhead views, ums and galleries throughout the world pro-
and laid on the ground or otherwise placed vides testimony to the achievements of both
the camera very low to get dynamic the early pictorialists and those who extend-
upward-looking angles. ed their vision.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY AS ART • 71
Image Not Available
Chapter
. . . . . . . . Five
...............................................................
Documentary Photography
A
t the same time that those who do, or are unable to do, to deal with the
were determined to gain acceptance immediate problems of their lives.There is
for photography as an art form were sometimes an impression that social docu-
first beginning to produce their mentary deals only with negative conditions
images, other men and women, who came and experiences, things that need to be
to be known as documentary photographers, reformed. However, much social documen-
were using their cameras to record people, tary work has the positive intent of making
places, and conditions more powerfully than viewers aware of good and successful social
ever before. Photohistorians have commonly conditions and programs that deserve sup-
placed the work of documentary photogra- port and encouragement.
phers into two categories, straight documentary Of all photographers, social documentar-
and social documentary. Both categories involve ians feel an obligation to be as truthful as
photographs of clearly defined groups of possible about their subjects. Of course, the
people and the conditions in which they live, choice of what to show and what to leave
but with differences in emphasis and intent. out, from how close or far away, and from
Straight documentary refers to pictures taken what angle of view may be influenced by
to capture specific ways of life before they unconscious preferences and dislikes. But
have vanished from an ever-changing world. the photographers make every effort to
Often the photographer engages in some avoid injecting personal interpretation.They
degree of interpretation by using a distinct try to select the details and information that
style of composition and printing to enhance present the real situation truthfully and
Dorothea Lange, shown here in the appeal or interest of the pictures. objectively.
1934, was one of the world’s
Social documentary pictures deal with a Straight documentary photography has
leading documentary photogra-
phers.“There is no real warfare specific social subgroup—coal miners of dealt with a wide range of lifestyles and
between the artist and the docu- Appalachia, agricultural workers in a drought people. Among the straight documentary
mentary photographer,” she area, people in a nursing home or retirement photographers was a woman named Frances
wrote.“He has to be both . . . the center, members of an inner-city gang, for Benjamin Johnston.A niece of Mrs. Grover
documentary photographer is try-
ing to speak to you in terms of example.The photographs concentrate on Cleveland, she was allowed within the White
everybody’s experience.” the individuals and the specific things they House, where she took pictures of President
.......................................................................
DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY • 73
Image Not Available
was then little more than 50 years old, she
obtained a commission from the officials of
the Paris Exposition of 1900 to record how
the system was working.The images she
captured of Washington, D.C., schoolchild-
ren inside their classrooms and on various
field trips provided not only a dramatic
portrayal of the free American school sys-
tem at work but revealed Johnston’s artistry
with a camera.
Her photographs were among the most
highly acclaimed of those shown at the
Paris Exposition and earned her several
other commissions. Among them was one
she received from African-American leader
Booker T.Washington, which would lead
to her most important work.
Image Not Available Washington, a former slave, invited
Johnston to travel to the South to record
life at Hampton Institute in Virginia and
Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, two schools
that had been established to offer African-
American students both educational
courses and training in skilled trades.
Almost all the parents or grandparents of
these students had once been slaves. From
the moment she arrived at the Hampton
school, Johnston was struck by the dedica-
Lewis Hine.Young boys in coal Cleveland and of several others who fol- tion of the teachers and students she en-
mine, about 1910 (top). lowed him in office. She also captured countered. She became determined to
Joseph Byron. Harrison Grey Fiske images of other famous people.These por- share her appreciation of what was being
Dinner, 1900 (bottom). traits made her one of the most successful accomplished through her camera.
Documentary photographers trained of all early women photographers, but she She took scores of pictures of young
their cameras on both ends of the social became determined to expand her photo- men and women learning to be carpenters,
spectrum. Hine’s picture shows child
laborers working from dawn to dusk graphic horizons and built a career taking milliners, cobblers, farmers, and tradespeo-
sorting coal, miles underground. Byron illustrations and writing articles on social ple. At first glance, it might appear that the
spent most of his career photographing topics for magazines and newspapers. ambitions of these young people were not
the lives of the wealthy, such as this Aware that nations around the world high.They were, after all, studying to be
group of business tycoons enjoying a
lavish banquet in New York City. were increasingly curious abut the Ameri- skilled laborers, not doctors or lawyers. But
can system of free public schooling, which in segregated America, filled with severe
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 74
Frances Benjamin
Johnston. Carpentry
students at Hampton
Institute, 1900.
Johnston was among the earli-
est and most successful of all
documentary photographers.
“The woman who makes
photography profitable,” she
wrote,“must have . . . good
taste, a quick eye, and a talent
for detail.”
racism, the education they were receiving American students seeking to enrich their
represented their best and, in many cases, opportunities, another early straight docu-
their only chance for bettering their lives. mentary photographer devoted his energies
Johnston’s photographs portray the dig- to recording a unique way of life before it
nity with which the young people of vanished forever. His name was Solomon
Tuskegee and Hampton went about their Butcher. He and his family were among
studies; they also disclose the remarkable the early settlers of the Nebraska Territory
sense of composition she brought to her of the American West.
images.This special talent can be seen in Butcher was particularly fascinated with
her photograph of students learning to be the sod houses that served as the first
carpenters. The picture as a whole is homes of so many families in the region
marked by a wonderful sense of balance. where he lived. Although the Nebraska soil
But as one studies the picture more closely was among the richest in the world, it con-
it becomes apparent that contained within tained almost no trees from which wooden
this one image are individual groupings houses could be built.The soil, however,
that could stand on their own as separate was matted with heavy grass that held it
images. It was a technique that Johnston together like rubber. The inventive Nebras-
employed in many of her photographs. ka pioneers cut the earth into long strips
While Johnston was determined to and used it like bricks to build their first
reveal the accomplishments of African- homes in the West.
........................................................................
DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY • 75
Solomon Butcher. Sod house
family, 1886.
Although Butcher’s primary intent
was to preserve a vanishing way of life,
he also wanted to produce masterfully
composed photographs. He arranged
the boys at the left of the picture by
height and framed the picture by plac-
ing all the family members to the left
and right of the window and door.
As more and more people poured into Through Butcher’s efforts, an impor-
the region, Butcher witnessed the replace- tant, vanishing type of American dwelling
ment of the sod houses by homes built of was preserved. But the pictures he took,
Arnold Genthe. The Butcher, about wood, carted in from distant areas. He such as the image above of a pioneer cou-
1895. became obsessed with capturing pictures of ple and their four sons, revealed much more
Genthe was an extremely versatile pho- the “soddies,” as they were called, before than perhaps even he could have envi-
tographer. In addition to his Chinatown they became a thing of the past. Day after sioned. As he asked this frontier family to
photographs, such as this one, he was an day he traveled the long distances between pose in front of its home, they became
accomplished portraitist who traveled
extensively throughout South America homesteads, taking photographs of the aware that this was perhaps their one
and Europe, where he captured striking unique dwellings and of the families that opportunity to have themselves and their
landscape and architectural images. lived within them. belongings recorded for future generations
to see. Like most of the families he pho-
tographed, they asked Butcher to wait
while they hauled their proudest posses-
sions—prized pieces of furniture, farm
implements, bird cages, pets and farm ani-
mals—to the front of their dwelling so that
they could be included in the picture.The
result was photographic documentation not
only of sod houses, but of the artifacts of life
on the American frontier.
Image Not Available The period in which the first American
documentary photographers operated, the
middle to late 1800s and early 1900s, coin-
cided with a great tide of immigration to
the United States. The vast majority of
these newcomers (some 30 million) came
from countries throughout Europe,
although many came from China and
Japan as well.
The first Chinese to arrive in the United
States actually made the journey before the
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 76
The Detective or Spy Camera
T
he real-life images C. P. Stirn Company.The its lens set into an orna-
that Arnold Genthe camera was worn under a mental tie pin.
captured in San Fran- vest with the lens looking The success of these
cisco’s Chinatown are through a buttonhole, and secretive cameras led to even
referred to as candid pho- pictures were taken by more sophisticated devices,
tographs.That is, they are pulling on a string in the some of which were used as
informal, unposed pic- user’s pocket. Another early spying devices in World Wars
great era of immigration began.They came tures. Genthe took his device was the Deceptive I and II. Cameras that pro-
to California in the 1850s, seeking to strike pictures by keeping him- Angle Box. Its hidden lens, duced clear, detailed images
it rich during the Gold Rush days.When self hidden from those he located on the side of the were inserted into match-
they arrived, they found that strict laws photographed. In the last camera, allowed its user to boxes, cigarette packs, and
quarter of the 19th centu- innocently point the cam- cigarette lighters. Perhaps the
against people from the Orient barred them ry, inventors began to era in one direction while most interesting of all the
from digging in the gold fields. Determined create all types of cameras capturing a picture of spy or detective devices was
to remain in America, they took in washing which would allow pho- unsuspecting people who the Doppel Sport Pigeon
and eked out a living in any way they could. tographers to take secret, were situated off to the Camera, developed in Ger-
candid photographs with- side. Other early detective many during World War I.
Between 1864 and 1869, many of these out having to hide. devices included tiny cam- These cameras, equipped
Chinese found jobs with the construction Known as detective or spy eras placed in the handles with automatic timers, were
crews that built the western half of the cameras, these devices of walking sticks, in the attached to pigeons that
transcontinental railroad. were either disguised as cases of pocket watches, in were to fly over enemy
everyday objects or hidden innocent-looking packages, forces and take pictures of
The prejudice that the Chinese encoun-
within familiar objects. in the bindings of books, their position and strength.
tered led them to band together wherever One of the earliest and even inside ladies’ Much to the Germans’
they settled in the United States.This was detective cameras was the garters. One of the most disappointment, almost all
particularly true in San Francisco, where, Stirn Secret Camera, popular of all these cameras the pigeons, weighed down
suspicious of outsiders, they created a large invented in 1885 by was the French Photo by the camera, crashed to
Robert Gray in New York Cravate, which featured a earth before completing
neighborhood that outsiders called China- and manufactured by the tiny hidden camera with their missions.
town. It was really a city within a city.
Aware that Americans were curious about
these people whose language, dress, and
customs were so different from their own, a
San Francisco photographer became deter-
mined to portray these people to the out-
side world.
This photographer, Arnold Genthe, had
come to San Francisco from Germany to
tutor the son of wealthy parents. He had
been highly educated in his native country
and was both an accomplished painter and Image Not Available
musician. Almost from the moment he
arrived in the United States he began his
attempts to depict Chinatown’s inhabitants
visually. At first Genthe tried to do so
through paintings, but whenever he took
out his sketchpad, the people he was
attempting to draw ran away. He then The detective camera featured in this ad from about 1890 was but one of scores of
decided to compile his record through devices invented to permit users to take pictures secretly.This particular detective camera
photographs. Once again he met with deep was disguised as a simple carrying case.
resistance.
.......................................................................
DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY • 77
his greatest pictures between the time he
Image Not Available was 10 and 12 years old.
When he was very young, Lartigue both
adored and was jealous of his older brother
Zissou, who was constantly experimenting
with new contraptions and finding new
adventures. In the diary that he kept
throughout his life Lartigue would later
write, “My brother Zissou had a vivid
intelligence and he invented so many
Jacques-Henri Lartigue. Delage Genthe refused to be discouraged. He things . . . but I was always the little boy, in
Racer at Full Speed, 1912. switched to a small camera which he kept the way, kept in the corner, dying to take
Many of Lartigue’s photographs are inside his pocket. By hiding in doorways or part.” In 1903, when he was seven, Lar-
marked by the sense of captured behind poles or signs, he managed to cap- tigue’s frustrations were put to rest when
motion.The contrast between the ver-
tical figures of the bystanders in this ture his subjects unaware by unobtrusively his father gave him a camera so that he
picture and the horizontal racing car taking out his camera, shooting the picture, could record what he saw around him, par-
is also typical of his technique. and slipping the camera back into his ticularly his brother’s adventures.The cam-
pocket.Typical of his Chinatown images is era was a huge contraption mounted on a
that of a butcher at work under the gaze of tall tripod. Lartigue was so small that he
a young onlooker. Genthe could not pose had to stand on tiptoe on a stool to take his
his subjects, nor could he spend any time pictures. But he had found his life’s pur-
composing his photographs.Yet this pic- pose. In his diary he wrote,“Photography is
ture, like many of his others, is marked not a magic thing. Nothing will ever be as
only by its dramatic content but by the much fun.”
expressive contrast of shadow and light that Lartigue began his picture taking by
he was able to record. Adding to the power capturing images of his large family at play,
of the image is the look on the butcher’s at home, at the seashore, and on vacation in
face suggesting that the man may well have the Normandy countryside.When he was
spotted the elusive Genthe just as he was 10, he acquired a hand-held camera and
taking the picture. began taking some of his most memorable
The desire to capture images of vanishing photographs. Many were of his brother and
or unique lifestyles was not confined to the his friends as they experimented with kites
United States. In France, for example, pho- and the earliest forms of airplanes. The
tographer Jacques-Henri Lartigue became prospect of the conquest of the air fascinated
a master of the straight documentary him and he constantly begged adults to take
approach. Under any circumstances, the him to a nearby airfield, where he pho-
images that Lartigue captured during his tographed pioneer pilots’ continual attempts
long career would rank him as one of the to fly. Before he was even a teenager, he
masters of photography. What is almost compiled one of the earliest and most accu-
impossible to believe is that he took some of rate records of the birth of flight.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 78
Lartigue’s fascination with machines French photographer, Eugène Atget, was
extended to the automobile. Among his making his own vital photographic contri-
most compelling images are those of the bution. An orphan, Atget went to sea when
automotive races at Orleans and Dieppe. he was very young, serving as a cabin boy.
He was also intrigued with the glamorous When his seafaring days were over, he
appearance of the elegantly dressed women spent more than 10 years trying to establish
of the day. The photographs he took of himself as a touring actor. Unable to earn
them on their daily morning walks or enough money on the stage, at the age of
attending horseracing events constitute yet 40 he decided to try his hand at photogra-
another photographic documentation of phy. Needing to begin selling his pho-
the era.The most distinguishing characteris- tographs almost immediately, he found
tics of his images were their total directness, an outlet for his images in the large Pari-
clarity, and the sense of excitement they so sian artists’ colony. Many of these artists
often conveyed. For one so young, it was a commonly purchased photographs of
remarkable achievement. parks, gardens, buildings, and other scenes
While Lartigue was capturing images of to use for visual reference for the paintings
the romance and spirit of his times, another they created.
Eugène Atget. St. Cloud,
about 1910.
A friend of Atget wrote
about him,“For some time
he had had the ambition to
create a collection of all that
which both in Paris and its
surroundings was artistic
and picturesque.”
........................................................................
DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY • 79
Eugène Atget. Avenue des Gobleins,
Paris, about 1910.
Atget’s storefront images rank among
the most outstanding of all his pho-
tographs. Even though they are absent
of people, there is an unmistakable
human quality about them.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 80
past” and “life at its greatest intensity.” She
was determined to document as much of
the city as possible before many of its build-
ings gave way to skyscrapers.
Abbott took hundreds of pictures from
both street level and rooftops.Time and
again she demonstrated a marvelous ability
to capture striking contrasts of patterns,
light, and shapes.Aware of the importance
Image Not Available
of her project she stated,“Photography can
only represent the present. Once pho-
tographed, the subject becomes part of
the past.”
Among the documentary photogra-
phers were those who made their mark by
recording what can best be described as the
human condition.Their goal was to photo-
graphically capture people of all types as
they made their way through life, docu-
menting the joys and frustrations, the good
and the not so good that are all part of the
human experience. One of the giants of
this approach was a man who gave himself
the name Brassaï.
His real name was Gyula Halasz, but
professionally he called himself Brassaï in be described as slices of life. Unlike Eugène Berenice Abbott. El, 1936.
honor of Brassov,Transylvania, the town in Atget, who photographed in the early Abbott’s Changing New York
which he was born in 1899.When he was morning hours, Brassaï preferred to work series revealed her mastery at captur-
four years old, his father brought him to mostly at night. He felt that the atmosphere ing the patterns formed by light and
shadow. She took this picture from
Paris and for the rest of his life he remained created by the evening light was most beneath one of NewYork City’s
in love with that city.As a young man he appropriate for capturing images of the many elevated railways.
studied art in both Hungary and Germany various types of people he wished to
and then moved permanently to Paris, photograph.
where he spent eight years working as a Brassaï was a highly intelligent man who
journalist. In 1929, encouraged by his gave great thought to every picture he
friend the well-known photographer took. He was a most deliberate photogra-
André Kertész, he took up photography. pher who would not snap his shutter until
The images that Brassaï captured from either the natural or artificial light falling
the time he turned to the camera can best upon his subjects and their expressions or
........................................................................
DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY • 81
gestures were exactly as he wished. He used keenness of powers of observation; patience
several different kinds of hand-held cam- and hawk-like speed on swooping on his
eras, but his genius lay not in his use of his prey; . . . spurning of color and the enjoy-
equipment but in his deep understanding ment derived form the restraint and sobri-
of what it took to capture an outstanding ety of black upon white; and finally, desire
documentary photograph. to get beyond the anecdotal and to pro-
The masterful documentary photogra- mote subjects to the dignity of types.”
pher, he wrote,“has respect for his subjects, Brassaï’s dedication to this vision made it
amounting almost to religious veneration; possible for him to produce unique and
Tina Modotti—Photographer/Revolutionary/Spy
A
s in all areas of the more dramatically. She tionary with whom she Three years later she died of recognition for the quality
creative arts, photog- became friendly with had begun a romantic rela- a heart attack while riding and power of the social
raphy has had its share some of Mexico’s most tionship. She was found in a taxi in Mexico City. documentary images she
of interesting and even active revolutionaries and innocent of that charge, Throughout her life- captured in Mexico. Hers
controversial characters. joined the Communist but the following year was time Tina Modotti was is a remarkable story, com-
One of the most intrigu- Party. It was during this accused of taking part in an known mainly for her piled by a woman whose
ing personalities of all was time also that she took her assassination attempt political activities. In more life was as dramatic as the
Tina Modotti, who took most outstanding pho- against Mexico’s president recent times she has gained pictures she took.
documentary and politi- tographs. Many were of and was deported. She first
cal-activist photographs in various types of Mexican went to Germany, where
Mexico in the 1920s. workers, whom she felt she photographed for a
Born in Italy in 1896, were being exploited by magazine. She then went
Modotti came to San an oppressive government. to live in Moscow, where
Francisco in 1913. Four Other pictures were she abandoned photogra-
years later she married a images with a strong phy in favor of working
poet and artist, Roubaix social-political message— full time for the Commu-
Richey. In 1918 she revolutionary propaganda. nist party.
became a movie actress, Among the strongest such From 1931 until 1934
and during the next three images were those in Modotti worked for a
years appeared in several which she grouped Russian relief agency called Image Not Available
HolIywood films. Just as together objects like an ear International Red Aid.
her movic career was end- of corn, a guitar, a sickle, During that time she was
ing, her husband died and and a bandolier (a broad also recruited by the Russ-
she became the compan- belt holding a long row of ian secret police and was
ion of American photogra- bullets) representing tradi- sent on spying missions to
pher Edward Weston, who tional Mexican ways of life several different countries.
taught her photography. contrasted with the strug- From 1935 to 1938 Mod-
In 1923 Modotti and gle against oppression. otti was in Spain, where
Weston moved to Mexico, Modotti’s revolution- during the Spanish Civil
where they eventually ary activities brought her War she worked in a hos-
opened two photographic to the attention of Mexi- pital and also supplied aid Tina Modotti. Mexican workers’ demonstration,
studios. It was while she can authorities. In 1928 to orphans. In 1939 she re- 1929.
was in Mexico that Mod- she was accused of helping tumed to Mexico and was In keeping with her revolutionary beliefs, many of Modotti’s
otti’s life changed even to murder a fellow revolu- granted political asylum. photographs reveal the difficult life of Mexican laborers.
.......................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 82
John Thomson. London
Nomades, 1876.
There is a genuine similarity
between many of Thomson’s
images and those of Frances
Benjamin Johnston. Like
Johnston,Thomson never
demeaned any of his subjects
haunting photographs.“I invent nothing,” in his photographs, even
those, like these British gyp-
he said,“I imagine everything.”
sies, who were living on the
The photographs taken by straight docu- edge of society.
mentary photographers provided a great ser-
vice to all those interested in preserving a
record of the past and in gaining insight into
the human condition.Thousands of images
Image Not Available
made their way into archives throughout the
world where they are still studied by stu-
dents, scholars, and the general public. Scores
of books have included these visual records.
It was, however, the images captured by
social documentary photographers that had
an even more direct impact. Building upon
photography’s ability to persuade as well as
reveal, those who took social documentary
photographs used their cameras to make
people aware of conditions that they felt
cried out for reform. need of reform was the British photog-
Many of these conditions involved peo- rapher John Thomson.
ple who lived in the city. By the middle of A passionate traveler, Thomson had
the 19th century, the movement from rural journeyed to the Far East between 1865
areas to cities was taking place in nations and 1870, where he captured images of
around the world.The cities were exciting people and places few in the Western world
places, filled with stores, restaurants, enter- had ever seen. Some of his most com-
tainment, and work opportunities of all pelling photographs, however, were those
kinds. For many, the city became a symbol he took of poor and destitute people living
of the progress that was being made in harsh conditions in London.They were
throughout the globe. But there was a real published in a book titled Street Life in Lon-
price to this progress. don to accompany text written by the
The factories that were located in most reform-minded reporter Adolphe Smith.
of the cities lured workers away from The publication of Thomson’s pictures
farming areas but paid very low wages. represented a photographic breakthrough,
Most factory workers could not afford to since in Victorian England the depiction of
live in clean, well-kept homes or neigh- the social problems of the “lower classes”
borhoods. Newly arrived immigrants, was thought to be in bad taste.The impact
most of whom were poor, also made up a that Thomson’s pictures had on the public
large part of the urban population. One of paved the way for other photographers
the first to train his camera on city poor who created even more shocking exposés
people and, in the process, produce pic- of particular social ills connected with
tures which showed conditions in urban life. Of these, the photographer who
........................................................................
DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY • 83
Jacob Riis.Woman and child
in a tenement, about 1888.
This photograph of an Italian
mother and her baby was typical
of the thousands of pictures that
Riis took inside NewYork City
tenements.According to Riis, his
purpose was to show “as no mere
description could, the misery and
vice that [I have] noticed . . . and
suggest the direction in which
good might be done.”
succeeded in bringing about the most dra- Riis made a concerted effort to portray
matic changes was the Danish-born Jacob his subjects in as dignified a manner as pos-
Riis, who came to America at the age of sible. Despite this, he often encountered
21. He lived in New York City at a time bitter resistance to his picture taking. Many
when millions of European immigrants in tenement dwellers, embarrassed or angry at
that metropolis were forced to live in terri- being photographed in such squalid sur-
bly crowded, dirty, multistoried buildings roundings, resisted his photographic
called tenements. attempts. On several occasions he was dri-
Riis was primarily a reporter, not a pho- ven from a dwelling by threats to his person
tographer. But when he was assigned to or by a barrage of thrown objects.
write newspaper articles about the slums of But he was not to be deterred. For sev-
New York he found that he needed to take eral years he continued to compile a dra-
photographs of the conditions he encoun- matic visual record of those in desperate
tered so that people would believe his need of help. Among the most telling
reports. He taught himself how to take of Riis’s photographs is his picture of a
pictures and, beginning in 1877, took his woman holding her baby in the basement
camera into the tenements and on to the of a tenement.The horrible living condi-
streets and alleys where the immigrants tions, the sparse belongings and the sense of
continually sought refuge from their crow- hopelessness, as reflected in the woman’s
ded, shabby dwellings. The faces of the expression, are all revealed.
people he photographed reflected the pain Riis’s images were widely circulated.
and bewilderment of the life they were Many were published in newspapers and in
forced to endure. books with such titles as How the Other Half
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 84
Lewis Hine’s photographs
became part of a national cru-
sade to abolish child labor.This
poster, from about 1915, is typ-
ical of the way his pictures were
used to make the public aware
of this national disgrace.
........................................................................
DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY • 85
Jack Delano. Farm couple, 1940.
Many of the Farm Security Administration
(FSA) photographers provided visual testimony
to the indomitable spirit of people caught up in
the worst of times. Dorothea Lange spoke for all
her fellow FSA photographers when she stated:
“I had to get my camera to register the things
about these people that were more important
than how poor they were—their pride, their
strength, their spirit.”
Image Not Available
positions sorting coal (see page 74). He Hine’s child labor photographs stirred the
took his camera to California, where he emotions of the nation. Due in great mea-
captured images of children standing all day sure to the evidence he captured with his
on wet, cold floors shucking oysters, often camera, the first national child labor laws
working with fingers sliced by the sharp- were enacted.
edged shells or the shucking knife. Many of Most documentary photographers
his most dramatic photographs were those either worked independently or for publi-
he took in the factories of New England cations. In the 1930s and early 1940s, how-
and the South where boys and girls worked ever, a group of 10 men and two women
from dawn to dusk operating immense, made their mark as documentarians by
highly dangerous machines. making an enormous photographic record
When Hine’s long and arduous docu- of work done by the Farm Security
mentation was completed, the National Administration (FSA), a United States gov-
Child Labor Committee presented his ernment agricultural relief agency. Collec-
images to Congress.They were also widely tively, the some 270,000 photographs they
published in newspapers and magazines. produced represent what is widely regarded
Like the pictures of the slums that Jacob as the most powerful single collection of
Riis had produced before him, Lewis images ever compiled. As far as documen-
tary photography is concerned, the Farm
Dorothea Lange.
Migrants, 1935. Security Administration collection is
Lange was always unique in another way as well. For within
aware of the impact that this massive compilation are both outstand-
her photographs of dis- ing straight documentary photographs and
placed farm families compelling social documentary images.
would have on the view-
The FSA photographic project came
ing public.“The cam-
era,” she stated,“is an about as a result of the most severe eco-
instrument that teaches nomic depression the United States had
people how to see with- ever experienced. As the stock market col-
out a camera.” lapsed, millions of people, beginning in the
Image Not Available early 1930s, found themselves out of work.
One part of the nation was particularly
hard hit. Farmers in both the Southeast and
the Southwest suffered from the economic
collapse that drastically forced down the
prices people could pay for food. In addi-
tion, those in the Southwest had experi-
enced years of drought that had turned
their soil into dust.Tens of thousands, having
lost their farms, took to the road, heading
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 86
Marion Post Wolcott.
Segregated movie theatre,
1939.
Although she has never
received the acclaim given to
Dorothea Lange and Walker
Evans,Wolcott was one of the
most talented and effective of
the FSA photographers.This
photograph not only reveals
the deep racial prejudice that
Image Not Available was part of the American
scene in the 1930s but also
stands on its own as a beauti-
fully composed image.
for California, Oregon, and Washington Stryker was a man who knew how to
State in search of agricultural jobs. seize an opportunity. He was aware that his
In Washington, D.C., President Franklin photographers needed to capture images of
D. Roosevelt established the Farm Security FSA agents helping people cope with their
Administration, designed to bring relief to desperate situation.That, after all, was the
the hard-pressed farmers.The agency, in stated purpose of the Historical Section. But
turn, created an Historical Section, one of he realized also that such an array of photo-
whose major tasks was to document photo- graphic talent, combined with government
graphically the help that the FSA would be support and funding, presented the unique
giving to those it was set up to serve. Roy opportunity to capture nothing less than a
Stryker, a Columbia University professor portrayal of a people and a nation.
known for his understanding of photogra- When Stryker gave his orders to his
phy’s value in making records as well as photographers he directed them not only
for his organizational skills, was chosen to to document the hard times that so many
direct the Historical Section. He began people were undergoing, but to capture
by hiring some of the nation’s most images of rural people and agricultural
socially committed photographers to workers of all types engaged in their daily
capture the images. Among them were activities. His goal, he stated, was to intro-
Dorothea Lange,Walker Evans, Russell duce America to Americans. The FSA
Lee, Arthur Rothstein, Jack Delano, and photographers responded by producing
Marion Post Wolcott. tens of thousands of documentary pictures
........................................................................
DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY • 87
chronicling almost every aspect of the peo- Walker Evans established himself as a
ple whose lives were most devastated by the photographic giant through the supremely
Great Depression. narrative quality of his work. In document-
Two of the FSA photographers in par- ing the plight of hard-hit southern farmers
ticular, Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans, Evans produced pictures that told more
earned fame through the pictures they about their condition, their possessions, the
took for the agency. Lange became known towns they frequented than pages of text
for the sensitivity she brought to each of could ever achieve. Many of his pho-
her images. She was able, better than any tographs spoke eloquently about people
other FSA photographer, to gain the confi- and their way of life through a portrayal of
dence of her subjects and to produce pic- their daily artifacts. As one photohistorian
tures that directly connect the viewer with stated,“Usually Mr. Evans has dismissed the
both the humanity and the emotions of dweller from his dwelling, but we can
people undergoing desperate hardship. deduce him.”
Walker Evans.
Country store, 1936.
Signs, calendars, everyday
objects and products—
these were all ingredients
of many of Evans’s most
compelling photographs.
Evans’s Let Us Now
Praise Famous Men,
compiled with author
James Agee, remains one
of the most important
photographic books ever
published.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 88
Paul Conklin.Young
Appalachian woman, 1965.
The United States Office of
Economic Opportunity (OEO)
project not only produced memo-
rable and moving images but
also gave its young photogra-
phers the opportunity to develop
their skills fully. As such it pro-
vided another example of the
vital role that government has
sometimes played in furthering
the advancement of photography.
Image Not Available
One of the most well known of Evans’s These images were captured by photogra-
images is his photograph of the interior of phers hired by the United States Office of
a country store. Distinguished by Evans’ Economic Opportunity (OEO). Included
ability to contrast light and shade and his among these photographers were such tal-
highly developed sense of composition, it is ented cameramen and women as William
reminiscent of Eugène Atget’s storefront Warren; Linda Bartlett;Arthur Tress, who
images. For it too speaks eloquently about later established himself as among the most
people and their way of life without con- innovative of modern photographers; and
taining a single human being. Marcia Keegan, arguably the most accom-
It is almost impossible to overstate the plished of all of today’s photographers of
importance of the FSA photographs to Native Americans of the Southwest.
photography in general and to documentary The people that the OEO photogra-
photography in particular. More than 60 phers recorded were among the millions
years after most of them were taken, the who dwelled in what some sociologists
evaluation of them made by photographer termed “the other America,” individuals
Edward Steichen still rings true.They are, he who, while living in one of the richest
stated,“the most remarkable human docu- nations in the world, found themselves on
ments that were ever rendered in pictures.” the edge of poverty. Unlike the FSA
One of the major contributions of the images, however, the OEO photographs
FSA photographers was the way in which, have remained almost unknown. Like
through their work, they set a standard for images captured by all those who mastered
all documentary photographers who the documentary approach, they make us
would follow. In the 1960s, for example, aware that the most outstanding pho-
another government-sponsored collection tographs are those that not only appeal to
of photographs portraying people caught the eye but touch deeply the emotions of
up in difficult circumstances was compiled. the viewer as well.
........................................................................
DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY • 89
Image Not Available
Chapter
. . . . . . . . Six
...............................................................
Photographs in Print
T
he history of photography has been Almost all the illustrations in these early
characterized by a continual series of publications were wood engravings made
technical advancements that have by technicians who, with their sharp cutting
made picture taking easier and have tools, traced the lines of a sketch, drawing, or
made photographs more accessible to the photograph that had been placed on a block
worldwide public. Among the most impor- of wood by a draftsman.They removed the
tant of these advances was the halftone unneeded wood, leaving the lines of the
printing process, introduced in the 1880s. picture in raised relief. Ink was then applied
This technique made it possible to publish and paper was pressed against the block,
photographs alongside words on the printed transferring the image to it, similar to using
page. It was a breakthrough that led the a rubber stamp.
photograph to become one of the chief All this changed with the perfection of
means by which people around the world halftone reproduction of pictures. Many
get their news and form their opinions individuals had worked toward making the
about world events. process a reality but major credit for its full
Nonphotographic illustrations had development is given to the inventors Fred-
appeared in newspapers, magazines, and eric Ives, Stephen Horgan, and Max Levy in
books since the late 1830s.The first weekly the United States and George Meissenbach
publication to use illustrations extensively in Germany.
was the Illustrated London News in 1842. Its The key to the halftone process is to
immediate success led to the establishment break up the continuous tones of a photo-
of similar publications around the world. graph into a pattern of dots that are essen-
The invention that allowed pho- Included in these picture weeklies were L’Il- tially unnoticeable to the eye.This is done
tographs to be published alongside lustration in France, L’Illustrazione in Italy, by making a copy photograph of the origi-
text led to the birth of photo- Revista Universale in Mexico, A Illustracato in nal with a rectangular mesh of fine lines—
graphic magazines. One of the
earliest was Germany’s Berliner
Brazil, the Illustrated Australian News, and somewhat like a window screen—in front
Illustrierte Zeitung (Berlin Harper’s Weekly and Frank Leslie’s Illustrated of the film.The intersecting lines on the
Illustrated Newspaper). Newspaper in the United States. screen break the image into a regularly
.......................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHS IN PRINT • 91
Image Not Available
spaced pattern of dots that are large in photographs are those that depict events of
dark-tone areas of the picture being repro- importance or interest at the time they take
duced, smaller in middle-tone areas, and place or immediately afterward. Photojour-
tiny in the lightest areas.The resulting neg- nalism is that form of photography in
ative is used to make a printing plate with a which pictures, usually in a series, are used
corresponding pattern of raised dots that as the main vehicle for telling a story. Series
receive the ink.When a print is made, the of this type usually appear in magazines.
black ink transferred from the largest dots The rapid growth and popularity of
runs together, or nearly so, in the darkest these new forms of picture taking created
areas. In the middle tones, more paper broad opportunities for photographers.
shows between the smaller dots and the eye Along with these opportunities came many
Image Not Available blends the amounts of black and white it new challenges, particularly for news pho-
sees to form the impression of various gray tographers. For what those who entered
tones. In the highlights, the very tiny dots this field quickly discovered was that there
are almost invisible; the eye sees mostly were special skills required in capturing
white paper and gets the impression of very effective images of newsworthy events.
light grays and white. Among these were the ability to anticipate
Frances Benjamin Johnston.
Whitening Process, about 1900. In modern printing, a halftone screen is when such an event was about to take
Photographs were used as a basis for
no longer used. Instead, the dot pattern is place, the talent to snap pictures at the exact
magazine and book illustrations well produced by scanning the original picture moment the event was happening, and the
before the halftone printing process was at high speed with a laser beam.The light stamina to be constantly on the move to
invented. Illustrators would use a photo- reflected from the print or transmitted fulfill photographic news assignments.
graph as the model for a woodcut that through a slide is electronically sampled In meeting these challenges, photogra-
copied the scene in the photograph as
closely as possible. Johnston’s photograph several hundred times a second.The indi- phers were aided immeasurably by signifi-
(top) of one step in the process of pressing vidual samples, called pixels (short for “pic- cant technological advancements that took
coins appeared as a woodcut (bottom) in ture elements”) correspond to dots.They place as news photography and later photo-
a popular magazine of the time. are recorded digitally by computer circuitry journalism became increasingly popular.
and used to control the intensity of another Primary among these advances was the
laser that exposes a printing plate. development of 35mm cameras, fast film,
The halftone process dramatically electronic flash equipment, and a variety of
changed the nature of newspapers and sophisticated lenses.
magazines. By the early 1900s, photographs The camera that had the greatest impact
began to appear regularly in many publica- on press photography was the Leica. It was
tions. In the process, new forms of photog- invented in Germany in 1913 by Oscar
raphy and a whole new category of Barnack and was marketed, beginning in
photographers, known generally as press 1925, by the German optical company E.
photographers, were created. Leitz Optische Werke.The Leica, which
From its beginnings, press photography used 35mm film, was light and easy to han-
has fallen into two basic categories: news dle and permitted taking 36 pictures before
photography and photojournalism. News having to be reloaded.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 92
The immediate success of the Leica led replaced. Rotogravure, also developed
to the development of other cameras suit- by Klic, in 1890, overcame these problems.
able for photojournalism, most notably the It produced gravure plates for printing
twin-lens Rolleiflex introduced in 1930, pictures and text simultaneously that
which used 120 size roll film.The work of were mounted on the large-diameter cylin-
press photographers was also made more ders of high-speed rotary presses. One of Image Not Available
effective by the development of small flash- the first weekly rotogravure newspaper sec-
bulbs and associated equipment such as the tions appeared in England in 1912. By the
Burvin Synchronizer, specifically designed 1920s newspapers around the world
to mount on small cameras like the Leica included a rotogravure section made up
for on-the-spot flash lighting. almost entirely of photographs in their
Two other technological advancements Sunday editions.
also had a significant effect on the growth In the late 1920s, press photography was
of press photography. One was the devel- greatly advanced by the perfection of an
opment, soon after the halftone was intro- electronic system that permitted pho-
duced, of rotogravure, an adaptation of the tographs to be transmitted by wire or cable
photogravure process invented by Karl Klic and later by radio. Using this system, a pho-
in 1879.The other was the invention of tographic news service in America, for
wire and radio transmission of images. example, inserted a photograph into a
The halftone process prints the same machine that was the forerunner of today’s
density of ink for every dot, whatever its fax machines and computer scanners.The Image Not Available
size.The photogravure process creates pits, machine directed a narrow beam of light in
rather than raised dots, to hold ink on the a series of lines across the picture and gen-
printing plate.The pits are all the same size, erated a varying electrical signal from the
but of different depths, so they hold various reflected light.The signal was transmitted to
amounts of ink.Therefore, the darkness or a recipient in the United States or overseas,
lightness of a printed tone depends on how where a receiving machine generated a
dense the ink is at each point.This is almost copy of it.
the same as in the original photograph, The speed with which photographs
where tones are created by different densi- could now be sent from field bureaus to a
ties of developed silver. Photogravure newspaper’s headquarters for printing in News photographers were greatly aided
reproductions can look almost like pho- the next edition was a giant step forward in meeting the demands of their work
tographs themselves.The process was used in bringing newsworthy images to the by the development of new lighter and
faster cameras.The German Leica (top)
by many art photographers such as Peter public as quickly as possible. It also acceler- and the Japanese Kwanon (bottom,
Henry Emerson in the late 19th century. ated the establishment of photographic later changed to Canon) in these adver-
However, it was impractical for newspaper departments within agencies such as the tisements from about 1930 were two of
and magazine printing, because it was Associated Press and United Press Interna- the most widely used.
expensive and time consuming to prepare a tional, to supply news photographs as well
plate and produced only a few thousand as written news reports to publications
reproductions before the plate had to be throughout the world.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHS IN PRINT • 93
Eddie Adams. General shoots
Viet Cong prisoner, 1968.
When he took this picture,Adams
had no idea of the impact it would
have or the fame that this single
image would bring him.Within a
year, the photograph was awarded
the Pulitzer Prize and took first
prize in almost every news photo-
graph contest throughout the world.
All these many advancements in equip- World War II fighting, of Dr. Martin Luther
ment, printing methods, and distribution, King, Jr., delivering his “I Have a Dream”
combined with the skills of individual news speech in 1963, to name but a few, have
photographers, led to some of the most demonstrated the power and the lasting
Captain Cecil W. Stoughton.
Lyndon B. Johnson taking oath as unforgettable photographs ever taken. Pic- effect of the news photograph.
President, 1963. tures such as that of Charles Lindbergh Some news photographs have had such
This photograph, taken shortly after landing in Paris after completing the first influence that they have profoundly affect-
President John F. Kennedy was assas- solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927, of the ed public opinion and changed the course
sinated, was printed in newspapers sudden fiery explosion of the German diri- of events. Such a picture was that taken
throughout the world.Vice President gible “Hindenburg” in 1937, of the raising during the Vietnam War by Associated Press
Lyndon B. Johnson is being sworn in
as President while a devastated Mrs. of the American flag on the island of Iwo cameraman Eddie Adams. In January 1968,
Kennedy looks on. Jima in 1945 after two months of brutal North Vietnamese troops invaded South
Vietnam. On February 1, some of these
troops infiltrated Saigon, South Vietnam’s
capital city. Informed of what was taking
place in the city,Adams rushed to the site.
As he arrived, he encountered a horrifying
sight. A South Vietnamese officer stood
with his pistol pointed at the head of one
of the North Vietnamese infiltrators. Adams
quickly snapped a picture only seconds
Image Not Available
before the officer fired and killed the man.
Adams’s photograph was developed in
the Associated Press Saigon office and
transmitted around the world. Outraged
viewers flooded Associated Press offices
with telegrams.The impact of the photo-
graph was greatest in the United States, a
country torn apart by bitter disagree-
ments over its participation in the war.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 94
The picture fueled efforts of those who Like the pictures taken by Jacob Riis, they
opposed the conflict and changed the helped inspire government officials to take
minds of a significant number of those who action to clean up the slums.
supported it. While Jesse Tarbox Beals took news
The vast majority of news photographs photographs of almost every type of hap-
have been taken by little-known photogra- pening or situation, another photographer
phers.There have, however, been some men made his greatest impact by training his
and women who, through the body of work camera on a particular type of subject. A
they produced, established themselves as Polish immigrant to America, his name was
masters of this photographic approach. Usher Fellig.When, in the early 1930s, he
Among the earliest was Jesse Tarbox Beals. went to work as photographer for several
As a young photographer Beals had been New York newspapers he adopted the
both a portraitist and a traveling camera- name Weegee.
woman. In 1902, impressed by her work, the In the 1930s and ’40s, mob wars and
Buffalo Courier hired her to head its newly murders carried out by crime syndicates Jesse Tarbox Beals. Family in
formed photographic department. In 1903 became commonplace in New York. It was tenement, about 1905.
she achieved what was probably the nation’s the kind of subject that attracted many Beals was one of the most prolific of
first news photography scoop when she readers to the newspapers for which all the early news photographers.This
photograph is one of the many she
covered a murder trial. Upon arriving at Weegee worked. He became a master at
took to accompany articles describing
the courtroom she found that the judge photographing mobster activities and the wretched conditions of the New
had refused to allow pictures to be taken of crime scenes.Typical of these images is the York City tenement district.
the proceedings. Demonstrating the perse-
verance that would mark legions of news
photographers to follow, Beals placed a
chair next to the courtroom door, on the
outside. She then climbed up on it and
took the only pictures of the trial by shoot-
ing through the transom above the door.
Many of the images that Beals captured
were taken in New York City’s tenement
districts. As seen in her photograph of a
father and his three children, she had a way
Image Not Available
of putting children at ease and getting them
to pose for her. As in many of her tene-
ment pictures, Beals positioned one young-
ster in the foreground of the image and
placed the father and the other two children
in a room at the rear, framed by a doorway.
The result was a picture that was three-
dimensional in effect. Beals’s tenement
images were published in many newspapers.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHS IN PRINT • 95
Image Not Available cation. Aware of their readers’ increasing
dependence upon pictures to get their
news, various newspaper publishers took a
bold step. Rather than printing only a sin-
gle picture that illustrated a newsworthy
event, they began including groups of pho-
tographs which, in themselves, told a story
or gave readers deeper insights into a par-
ticular subject.
This movement toward the picture story
Weegee (Usher “Arthur” picture he took of a group of people newly was most fully launched in Germany.
Fellig). Their First Murder, 1941. arrived at the scene of a murder.The pho- There, newspapers such as the Berliner Illus-
Weegee’s greatest talent was his tograph is marked by Weegee’s special abili- trierte Zeitung (Berlin Illustrated Newspa-
ability to capture the various emo- ty to capture the full range of human per), the Müchener Illustrierte Presse (Munich
tions registered in the faces of those
he photographed.“Many photogra- emotions.The girl in the left foreground Illustrated Press), and the Arbeiter Illustrierte
phers live in a dream world of beau- appears stunned.The woman in the center Zeitung (Worker’s Illustrated Newspaper)
tiful backgrounds,” he wrote.“It of the picture is obviously in anguish. Oth- increasingly filled their pages with stories
wouldn’t hurt them to get a taste of ers seem stunned or curious, while the told through photographs.
reality to wake them up.”
young man at the far left, for whatever rea- This approach became so popular that
son, sports a broad smile. soon magazines in which picture stories
Personally,Weegee was a most outra- dominated the pages were established.These
geous man. Early on, for example, he found early photograph-oriented publications
that he had problems photographing mob- included Picture Post in England, Vu and Paris
sters in their limousines.This was because Match in France, and Colliers, Fortune, and
most of their activities were at night and National Geographic in the United States. Out
the black limousines did not show up as of these new picture magazines grew both
well as he would have liked in his pho- photojournalism and the photo essay.
tographs. He actually had the audacity to Like the newspaper photographers who
contact some well-known mob bosses and faced special challenges in capturing events
ask them if they would switch to lighter- as they took place, the men and women
colored vehicles so he could photograph who became photojournalists were required
them better.Although they refused, his sug- to possess special skills in order to compile
gestion provided an example of how far he their photographic stories, or photo essays,
would go in an attempt to get the pictures as they came to be called. An effective pho-
he desired. Always a self-promoter, he tojournalist had to be able to conceive a
stamped the back of each of his pho- story that would be of significant interest
tographs with the statement, “Credit to viewers, had to plan what types of pho-
Weegee the Famous.” tographs would best convey that story,
By the end of the 1920s, photographs and had to have the ability to capture a
in newspapers had become one of the sequence of images that would best move
world’s most common forms of communi- the story along from beginning to end.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 96
Many photojournalists were able to meet W. Eugene Smith.
these challenges so well that they produced Photograph from “Country
photo essays that touched deeply on the Doctor” photo essay, 1945.
emotions of most who viewed them. Con- Smith was one of the most tal-
ented of all the photo essayists.
tained within some of these picture stories
This picture is from a photo
were individual photographs which have essay he created for Life maga-
remained etched in the public memory. zine depicting a day in the life
Many of the photographers destined to of a country doctor.The doctor
become masters of photojournalism were is seen stitching up a cut on a
child’s forehead, just one of many
either employed by or worked on special medical tasks he completed in a
assignment for a magazine called Life. single day as Smith followed
Launched in 1936 by Henry Luce, who Image Not Available him with his camera.
had previously founded Time, a news mag-
azine that used comparatively few pictures,
and Fortune, a business magazine that fea-
tured many photographs, Life became the
most widely read magazine of its day. It
brought photographs into the homes of
millions of people throughout the globe
and established the photo essay as one of
the principal means of conveying human
conditions and world developments.The de Janeiro in Brazil. Flavio suffered from
enormous scope of the magazine could be severe asthma attacks. Parks’s pictures of his
seen in its stated purpose.“To see life, to see suffering, of his parents and his brothers and
the world; to eyewitness great events; to sisters sleeping in one bed, and of the hor-
watch the faces of the poor and the ges- rendous conditions in general in which the
tures of the proud”; Life’s editors wrote,“to family lived elicited a huge emotional
see strange things; . . . to see man’s work; . . . response from Life’s readers. Letters poured
to see and take pleasure in seeing; to see into the magazine’s offices. Many contained
and be amazed; to see and be instructed.” money, which Life gave to Flavio and his
Many of the photo essays created by Life family. Some letters included offers to
photographers remain among the most adopt the boy. Thanks to the power of
powerful ever compiled. Some touched Parks’s photographs, the Children’s Asthma
Life’s readers so deeply that many of these Research Institute and Hospital in Denver
readers became personally involved with arranged for Flavio to be brought to its
the subjects of the picture stories. In 1961, facilities, where he was treated for his asth-
for example, Life published Gordon Parks’s matic condition free of charge.
picture story of a 12-year-old boy named Through the images they captured, sev-
Flavio da Silva who, with his poverty- eral Life photographers became interna-
stricken parents and their eight other chil- tionally known. One, Margaret Bourke-
dren, lived in a slum in the hills outside Rio White, became one of the most famous
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHS IN PRINT • 97
A skier flies through the
air over Innsbruck,
Austria, in the 1957
International Ski Jumping
Contest.The ability to
print photographs along-
side text led to the birth of
sports photography.
Pictures of athletic events
and achievements became
so popular that it was not
long before magazines
devoted entirely to sports
made their appearance.
photographers in the world. Raised in journalists who worked for countless other
Bound Brook, New Jersey, Bourke-White picture magazines frequently placed them
attended seven colleges before finally earn- in difficult and often dangerous situations.
ing a degree from Cornell University. Her In Europe, for example, the French pho-
life changed dramatically when, in the early tographer Henri Cartier-Bresson captured
1920s, she discovered photography.“We all many of his images at a time marked both
find something,” she would later write, by the prospect of war and a bitter conflict
“that is just right for us, and after I found itself. Cartier-Bresson was a man who had
the camera I never really felt a whole per- no doubts as to what constituted the vital
son again unless I was planning pictures or element in capturing a compelling photo-
taking them.” journalistic image.“Photography,” he stated,
The cover of Life’s very first issue featured “is for me . . . based on the pleasure of
a Bourke-White photograph. The main observing and the ability to capture a deci-
story in the initial issue was a photo essay sive moment in a constant struggle with
taken by her. For the next 21 years, she was time.” Over a long career, Cartier-Bresson
one of Life’s most prolific photographers. captured hundreds of such “decisive
She took pictures in almost every corner of moments.” In any situation, emotions, facial
the globe. She photographed miners in expressions, and movements are always
South Africa, wealthy landowners in Hun- shifting and changing, he explained.This
gary, and peasants throughout Europe. She creates a stream of instants when these
was the only non-Russian allowed to pho- things come together and make the mean-
tograph the bombing of Moscow by the ing or feeling of the situation visually clear.
Germans in World War II. In 1943, she Then that instant is gone, but others will
became the first woman photographer to fly follow. These are the decisive moments
on a United States combat mission. when pictures should be taken. Photohisto-
The many assignments carried out by rian Beaumont Newhall noted the photog-
Life’s photographers and by all the photo- rapher’s uncanny ability to capture such
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 98
Advertising and Fashion Photography
T
he ability to print brought a new look to the
photographs in maga- then still-infant world of
zines had a dramatic fashion photography in the
effect on the world of way he composed his pic-
advertising. Manufacturers tures. He arranged his
could now use photos in models into several groups
their ads which, in most and placed these groups at
cases, were far more effec- various places within the
tive as a selling tool than camera’s eye.This gave a
drawings.While many dramatic sense of design to
areas of business increas- the photographs, making
ingly turned to pho- them arresting images in
tographs to entice their own right. His pho-
customers to buy their tographic style changed to
goods, the greatest impact keep up with the styles of
was felt in the fashion the times, and he soon sur-
industry. For clothing passed De Meyer, who Image Not Available
designers and merchants, seemed less adaptable.
fashion photography pre- In the 1930s,American
sented the greatest vehicle photographer Toni Frissell
they had ever had for pioneered another impor-
introducing new clothing tant approach to fashion
trends and selling their photography. Frissell was
merchandise. Just as Life the first to take models
had introduced people away from the confines of
everywhere to photojour- the studio and to photo-
nalism and Fortune had graph them in exotic places
promoted the industrial around the world.These
photograph, magazines like dramatic settings and the
Vogue,Vanity Fair, Harper’s animated poses she created
Toni Frissell. Tyrall Plantation, Jamaica, 1948.
Bazaar, and Women’s Home for her models resulted in
Companion helped turn a whole new type of fash- Frissell changed the world of fashion photography by photographing her models in
fashion photography into ion image. Frissell’s tech- intriguing outdoor settings. It was a technique that soon became standard practice for
an art all its own. niques were soon copied fashion photographers.
Art et Decoration, in by fashion photographers
Paris, and Vogue were the throughout the world. neered big, bold closeups of as part of ongoing advertis- those who have focused on
two magazines that pio- By the 1950s, fashion lips and eyes to show new ing campaigns for specific capturing the lifestyles of
neered the fashion image. photography had become lipstick colors, eye shadow, clients. American Bruce the famous while featuring
As early as 1913, Vogue one of the most commonly and other cosmetics. Weber, for example, has their often trend-setting
began to feature the pho- encountered forms of the Richard Avedon’s become known for the choices in fashions.
tographs of Adolf de medium.Then and in the approach was, in many consistently imaginative Perhaps the best known
Meyer, the man who is decades that followed, two ways, the opposite of that photographs he has taken of today’s photographers
now commonly regarded photographers in particular, taken by lrving Penn. His for such clients as Ralph who have helped turn fash-
as the world’s first great Irving Penn and Richard fashion pictures had an air Lauren, Calvin Klein, and ion photography into an art
fashion photographer. De Avedon, elevated the fash- of energetic, unrehearsed Banana Republic, and form is the American
Meyer’s work was charac- ion image to new heights. elegance and sophistication which have appeared in Annie Leibowitz. One of
terized by his ability to Working with the simplest about them. Many of Ave- GQ, Details,Vogue, and the most admired portrait
capture the textures in the lighting and without spe- don’s techniques, including other fashion magazines. photographers, Leibowitz
clothing worn by his sub- cial props, Penn created his use of electronic flash to ln the l980s and ’90s, has become recognized as
jects in images that were pictures that captured dramatically freeze move- many of these publications well for her advertising
tonally rich and dazzling viewers’ attention through ment in mid-phase, have increasingly adopted the images. She won particular
with light. bold contrasts and poses been copied by today’s practice of using celebri- acclaim for the compelling
Edward Steichen’s pho- that emphasized the almost fashion photographers. ties, particularly movie and photographs she took
tographs of the latest styles abstract forms of the gar- In more recent times, television stars and noted for her advertising cam-
appeared in Art et Decora- ments. In other pictures he certain photographers have sports figures, as models for paigns on behalf of Ameri-
tion in 1911, and by the created striking still-life set new standards in fash- the clothing they featured. can Express and The Gap.
beginning of the 1920s arrangements of jewelry, ion photography through The British photographer Her fashion images contin-
Vogue was featuring his gloves, and purses, and the dramatic and colorful David Bailey has been ue to appear regularly in
fashion images. Steichen other accessories. He pio- images they have captured among the most prolific of Vanity Fair and Vogue.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHS IN PRINT • 99
occurred, pedestrians in Italy and Russia,
and picnickers along rivers in France. His
Image Not Available
subjects were in many ways the same kind
of people as the magazine readers who
would see the pictures.This “everyday,”
human quality of his photographs gave
them immense appeal. Some of his most
powerful images were those he took of
children in war-torn Europe. His picture of
youngsters playing in bombed-out ruins
Henri Cartier-Bresson. Children moments:“Cartier-Bresson is able to seize during the Spanish Civil War of 1936–39
playing among ruins, Spain, 1933. the split second when the subject stands stands out as one of his very best. By cap-
“Of all the means of expression,” revealed in its most significant aspect and turing the youngster in the right fore-
wrote Cartier-Bresson,“photography most evocative form.” ground just as he was climbing on some
is the only one that fixes forever the
precise and transitory instant.We pho- Cartier-Bresson began photographing debris and picturing the young man in the
tographers deal in things which are seriously after encountering a series of background just as he was about to throw a
continually vanishing, and when they Eugène Atget’s photographs. For nine years, stone, Cartier-Bresson provides evidence of
have vanished, there is no contrivance beginning in 1931, he photographed what he meant by “the decisive moment.”
on earth which can make them come
throughout Europe, demonstrating an His use of the huge hole in the wall to
back again.We cannot develop and
print a memory.” openness to the world that would character- frame the picture and the positioning of
ize all his work. In 1940, however, a year the other children in the image reveals the
after World War II broke out, he was drafted way in which almost all his photographs
into the French army. Captured by the Ger- were masterfully composed.
mans, he spent three years in a prisoner-of- Margaret Bourke-White and Henri
war camp. After three separate attempts, he Cartier-Bresson set a standard for all future
managed to escape from the prison camp photojournalists through the ways in which
and spent the rest of the war working in the they demonstrated their determination to
French resistance movement. capture the images they sought no matter
When the war was finally over, Cartier- how great the challenges. Beginning in the
Bresson resumed his photographic career, 1950s, a group of African photographers
carrying out assignments all over the world. followed in this tradition by demonstrating
Unlike photojournalists who pursued the their willingness to take enormous chances
physical action of events and the important in order to take pictures they felt the world
people involved, Cartier-Bresson most needed to see.These photographers worked
often showed how the events affected ordi- for the South African magazine Drum. They
nary people, how they reacted and continually risked their lives in order to
responded. Among his subjects were capture images portraying the evils of
Portuguese fishermen, villagers in Roma- apartheid (the name of the policy of racial
nia, Yugoslavia, and Greece, refugees in segregation in South Africa).
India and Pakistan, European residents in In presenting photographs of apartheid
China when the change to Communism and of black Africans’ struggle for freedom,
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 100
Drum’s owner, Jim Bailey, and editor
Anthony Sampson accomplished what can
be regarded as a publication miracle.
Image Not Available
Although many South African magazines
had been banned after printing such pic-
tures, Bailey and Sampson somehow man-
aged to include anti-apartheid photographs
in Drum along with pictures of weddings,
nightlife, and other events.
The photographers who contributed to
Drum were a talented and courageous lot.
In order to create their picture stories they
often donned disguises to get into places
from which they otherwise would have
been kept out. Some, determined to take
pictures inside South Africa’s notorious
prisons, actually got themselves arrested and
took hidden cameras inside their cells.Typi- that would make the world understand Peter Magubane. Couple
cal of these photojournalists was the South why black people are so angry in this dancing, 1957.
African photographer Peter Magubane. In country of South Africa. I said to myself,‘I Although Magubane devoted most of
1969 while he was taking pictures for don’t care. If I die for the cause, so be it. If I his photographic career to depicting
black South Africans’ struggle for free-
Drum and for a daily newspaper, Magubane see a picture . . . at all costs, I will try to get dom, he also photographed other sub-
was arrested for supposed crimes against that picture.’“ jects. Like many of his images, this
the state. After two years in prison he was The vast majority of photographs that picture appeared in Drum magazine.
released, but he was banned from taking appeared in Life, Drum, and the other news
photographs for five years. magazines were of people.There was, how-
When the five years were over Magu- ever, another type of subject which, begin-
bane resumed his photojournalistic career. ning in the 1930s, increasingly captured
Undaunted by continual government photographic attention.The picture maga-
scrutiny, he continued to take pho- zines had come into being at a time when,
tographs of apartheid practices, particular- after decades of industrial development,
ly the exploitation of black African machines and huge structures allied to
children. Late in his career Magubane industrialism increasingly dotted the land-
spoke for many of his fellow African pho- scape. For many people around the world
tographers when he stated,“In my work, these machines and structures, such as man-
and in the kind of pictures I chose to pro- ufacturing plants, bridges, and dams,
duce, I wanted to liberate myself, liberate became powerful symbols, not only of the
my people, liberate the oppressor and let progress that had been made but of even
the world understand through my images greater advancements that seemed to lie
what we were going through, what ahead. Aware of the fascination with the
apartheid meant . . . to capture the images icons of industrialism, those who published
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHS IN PRINT • 101
Margaret Bourke-White. Ammonia
Gas Tanks, 1938.
Bourke-White’s appreciation of the beauty
created by the lines of industrial structures
can be seen in this picture of giant storage
tanks.Along with photographing industri-
al objects in their entirety, Bourke-White,
like many other industrial photographers,
often focused her camera on details within
massive structures and machinery.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 102
aesthetic qualities as well as for their function.
That she took the picture while men,
dwarfed by the structure, were toiling atop
them, was not accidental. By doing so,
Bourke-White deliberately illustrated another
belief of those who championed industrial
progress.That was the conviction that no mat-
ter how huge or complex an industrial object
was, it could be controlled by human beings.
Bourke-White’s fellow photographer
Charles Sheeler was also motivated by the
shapes of structures that he found all around Image Not Available
him. Sheeler’s most masterful pictures were
those he took in the late 1920s under com-
mission of the Ford Motor Company. Ford’s
main manufacturing facility, called River
Rouge, was located just outside of Detroit. It
was the largest industrial complex in the
world.The photographs that Sheeler took
there were of men working amidst enormous
machinery, of elevated crosswalks that con-
nected operating areas, and of towering
smokestacks and gigantic blast furnaces.
Sheeler pursued a dual career as both an
artist and a photographer. His paintings, which
established him as one of America’s most tal-
ented and respected artists, often focused on
the beauty he saw in the lines and shadows
contained in such simple objects as barns and
staircases.This emphasis on shapes character- viewer into a specific aspect of the human Esther Bubley. Tomball Gasoline
ized his industrial photographs as well. experience. Plant, 1945.
Like Margaret Bourke-White, Esther As such, Bubley’s photograph is repre- Bubley first made her mark as an
Bubley also produced masterful industrial sentative of the power of photographs in FSA photographer. She solidified her
photographic career by producing dra-
photographs in which she conveyed man’s print, for among photography’s greatest matic industrial photographs such as
control of even the most towering and com- attributes is its ability to convey experiences this one in Tomball,Texas.
plex machinery and equipment. Bubley’s we all share.Thanks to news photos, photo
Tomball Gasoline Plant is a photograph that essays, and all other forms of photographs
goes beyond an eye-arresting industrial image. in print, this sharing of human experiences
It is a most human picture as well, taking the has become an almost daily occurrence.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHS IN PRINT • 103
Image Not Available
Chapter
. . . . . . . . Seven
...............................................................
War Photography
I
t is a sad fact of history that the story of When the war erupted, Fenton, who had
almost every nation is filled with its par- studied law and then had become a land-
ticipation in numerous and often tragic scape photographer, saw an opportunity to
wars. Since the early 1850s, barely a record the conflict. His undertaking was
dozen years after the birth of photography, officially approved by the British govern-
the camera has been on the scene to record ment and was funded by a commercial pub-
these conflicts. By the early days of the 20th lisher, both of which had specific reasons for
century, in fact, photographers had become doing so. Opponents of the war at home in
so numerous and so visible on the battlefield England had spread stories of the horrible
that during the 1912 Balkan War, King Fer- condition of the British troops in the
dinand of Bulgaria complained,“This pho- Crimea. Queen Victoria and the English
tography is not a profession. It is a disease.” government were hopeful that Fenton’s pic-
The first war photographs were taken by tures would disprove these stories.The pub-
a Rumanian, Carol Baptiste de Szathmary, lisher,Thomas Agnew, hoped that books and
who in 1853 captured images of conflict individual prints of Fenton’s pictures would
between Russia and Turkey over Wallachia be profitable offerings. For political and
and other Rumanian territory. His coverage commercial motives, it was understood that
was limited and the pictures were not wide- no pictures would be made of dead bodies,
ly distributed.The dispute that de Szath- the wounded, soldiers dying of cholera, and
mary witnessed soon grew into a much other devastating situations that a few news-
larger conflict. Known as the Crimean War paper correspondents had been describing
(1853–56), it pitted English, French,Turkish, for a year or more.
Many of the most emotionally
affecting photographs have been and Sardinian troops against Russian forces In order to carry out the first major
taken during armed conflict. In in a fight over the control of the Black Sea recording of an armed conflict, Fenton and
this picture, taken during the province of Crimea.This war became the two assistants journeyed to the Crimea by
Korean War by U.S.Army first to be recorded with a significant num- boat, taking with them five cameras, 700
Signal Corps photographer Al
Chang, a man comforts a fellow ber of pictures.They were taken by an Eng- glass plates, developing chemicals, tools, and
soldier who has just witnessed the lishman, Roger Fenton, who is recognized rations of food. Fenton also took a specially
death of a close friend. as the world’s first major war photographer. constructed wagon that was fitted out as a
.......................................................................
WAR PHOTOGRAPHY • 105
Roger Fenton used this wagon to
transport his heavy equipment
throughout the Crimea. He also
used it as a darkroom to develop
his wet plate negatives.
darkroom. He often found himself in real made famous by Alfred, Lord Tennyson in
danger, particularly when shells exploded his poem “The Charge of the Light Brigade.
around the highly visible wagon. Fenton’s Typical of the pictures that Fenton
photography was limited by the size and produced is his Camp of the Fifth Dragoon
weight of his equipment, and by the collo- Guards. The picture reveals the experience
dion wet plate process that he used to make Fenton had gained in producing large-scale
his glass-plate negatives. He had to prepare, landscape photographs before coming to
expose (for no less than three seconds the Crimea. It is an image that tells us as
under the best of conditions, most often 10 much about the Crimean terrain as about
seconds or more), and develop the plates on the military campaign.
the spot. As a result, he could not take After a year in the Crimea, Fenton was
action pictures. Instead, his pictures showed seriously sick with cholera and returned to
soldiers, camps, trenches, and fortifications. England for treatment and recuperation,
They also revealed the aftermath of the bringing with him 360 glass-plate nega-
fighting. Some of his photographs showed tives. His pictures were displayed both at
the ground littered with cannonballs that the Royal Photographic Society and the
had killed 600 English cavalrymen in an Victoria and Albert Museum. But the pub-
area called The Valley of the Shadow of lic was sick and tired of the war and the
Death. It was this slaughter that was later special taxes imposed upon them to pay for
Roger Fenton.
Camp of the Fifth
Dragoon Guards, 1855.
Fenton’s photographs of the
Crimean War were taken
before it was possible to
capture motion with a cam-
era. However, the many
compelling pictures he took
of military camps before,
between, and after battles
have earned him recogni-
tion as the world’s first
major war photographer. Image Not Available
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 106
Civil War photographers
captured images of every
aspect of the conflict,
including this group of
African-American Union
soldiers awaiting the call
to their next battle.
it, and the pictures did not sell. In 1862, the hundreds of daguerreotypes, cartes-de-
Fenton suddenly, and apparently without visite, cabinet photos, and other portraits his
explanation, gave up photography and studios produced and displayed. As soon as
began practicing law. Eventually a group of the hostilities started he became deter-
his negatives was purchased by Francis mined to organize a team of photogra-
Frith, who published two small books with phers, equip them, and send them into the
prints of the images pasted in. field to capture every aspect of the war.
Only five years after the Crimean War Only three days after receiving President
began, a much greater conflict captured the Abraham Lincoln’s permission to do so,
world’s attention.The American Civil War Brady began to establish photographic
was the most costly and tragic event in the bases in the various war zones and to assign
history of the United States. Before the war members of his team to each of these areas.
ended, some 623,000 men were killed and Throughout the entire course of the
hundreds of thousands of others were war, from 1861 to 1865, Brady’s camera
wounded. corps produced tens of thousands of pho-
More photographs were taken during tographs. Like Fenton, they used the wet
the Civil War than had been taken in any plate process and so could not take action
previous armed conflict. Some 300 cam- pictures. However, they recorded almost
eramen photographed the activities of the everything else, often first with a full-plate
Northern army alone. Among the lesser- camera and then again with a stereograph
known but talented of these photographers camera.The negatives were developed on
were George Cook, Thomas C. Roche, the spot, and the photographers kept field
Samuel A. Cooley, Jacob F. Coonley, and records—notes on the date, location, situa-
three brothers from Pennsylvania,A. J., S. L., tion or event, and the people in the pic-
and J. L. Bergstresser.The most important tures. Couriers collected the glass negatives
and productive photographers of the Civil and the field records at intervals and carried
War, however, were those hired and direct- them to Brady’s headquarters in Washing-
ed by Mathew B. Brady. ton, D.C. There the pictures were cata-
In 1861, when the Civil War began, logued, prints were made, and captions and
Brady had already established himself as descriptive text were written, based on the
America’s premier photographer through photographers’ notes. Harper’s Weekly had a
........................................................................
WAR PHOTOGRAPHY • 107
Image Not Available
Northern troops. Arguably the most pow-
erful of these pictures was a photograph of
the Confederate capital of Richmond,Vir-
ginia, taken in 1865 by Timothy O’Sullivan
after Northern troops and artillery had
devastated the city. The scope of the
destruction, which was O’Sullivan’s reason
The Civil War introduced the world contract for the use of Brady pictures and for taking the picture, is obvious.The pho-
to the largest weapons that had ever published more than 1,000 of them as wood tograph is made more compelling by the
been used.These weapons and the
engravings accompanying news articles. presence of the two women garbed in
soldiers who manned them were
favorite subjects for photographers The Civil War photographers captured black. The all-black clothing was not
who recorded the conflict. thousands of images of soldiers and their unusual for the day, but their dress, particu-
officers as they relaxed in camp or drilled larly that of the hooded figure, can also be
during long lulls between battles. Many of seen as a symbol of mourning for the
their most dramatic pictures were of the destruction and the loss of a way of life.
extensive artillery batteries and of the men And one wonders if it was an accident that
who operated some of the largest weapons O’Sullivan’s picture highlights the stirring
the world had ever known.They also took of life among the ruins.
scores of photographs of the sailors and the There has always been controversy over
ships that were part of the naval aspect of how many of the Civil War photographs
Photographic portraits have always the conflict. Field hospitals, long lines of Mathew Brady actually took himself.We
revealed more than simple likeness-
es. Portraits taken during the Civil
supply wagons, acres of piled-up muni- know that many of the images were cap-
War, such as this daguerreotype tions, military trains, hastily erected bridges, tured by Timothy O’Sullivan, George Gib-
from about 1864, disclose the telegraph corpsmen—everything that had son, John Reekie, David Knox, and George
incredible youth of many of the sol- to do with the war was photographed. Barnard.We know also that thousands of
diers on both sides of the conflict. The pictures they took revealed the others were taken by Alexander Gardner
extraordinary youth of the men in both and his son James.The Gardners took so
armies.They also disclosed the incredible many outstanding photographs during the
human price paid by both sides.The most conflict that when the war was over they
haunting of all their photographs were were able to publish 100 of them in two
those of individual soldiers dead in the for- volumes titled The Photographic Sketchbook of
est or behind sandbags and earth embank- the Civil War.
ments, and of long rows of dead lying As for Brady, in 1861 he did take some
Image Not Available
beside stone walls or in open fields imme- photographs during the first Battle of Bull
diately after battle. People had never seen Run, in Virginia, near Washington. His
such stark, devastating images before.The greatest contribution, however, was in
reality of the photograph made the horror keeping most of his team together, motivat-
of war inescapable. ing and directing them, and going deeply
That was true, too, of the images of into debt to finance the operation. He also
Southern cities left in ruins by advancing did the public a great service by exhibiting
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 108
Timothy O’Sullivan. Ruins in
Richmond,Virginia, 1865.
By the end of the Civil War, many
of the great cities of the American
South had been destroyed.Viewers
around the world were shocked by
the photographic record of the devas-
tation the war had caused.
many of the pictures in his Washington stu- of the 1900s technical advances in photo-
dio. Said one newspaper,“Mr. Brady has graphic equipment had brought additional
[brought] home to us the terrible reality significant changes. There were now a
and earnestness of war. Crowds of people number of small hand-held cameras avail-
are constantly going up the stairs [of the able that made moving quickly from one
gallery]. Follow them and you will find scene of military action to another easier
them bending over photographic views of than ever before. Faster film emulsions and
the fearful battlefield, taken immediately accurate shutters made it possible to photo-
after the action.” graph action of all kinds. In addition, the
Brady had hoped that once the war was rise of photographic news magazines made
over he would be able to sell enough of the demands for pictures of wartime action
photographs to the government to cover greater than ever before. All of these
the heavy costs he had incurred in carrying advancements and developments came into
out his operations. But the government, play in the years between 1914 and 1945
anxious to put the bitter war behind it, did when nations from around the globe
not respond in the way he had hoped. In became immersed in two world wars.
January 1896, mired in poverty, he died as a In 1914, political disputes in Europe that
result of injuries suffered when he was could not be resolved ignited a war that
struck by a horsedrawn streetcar. It was a pitted two giant alliances of nations against
sad end to what had been a brilliant career. each other. On one side were the Central
The limitations that the wet plate Powers (Germany,Austria-Hungary,Turkey,
process imposed on Roger Fenton and the and Bulgaria). On the other side of the
Civil War photographers were eliminated conflict were the Allied Powers (Great
with the coming of dry plates and film in Britain, France, Italy, and Russia). In 1917,
the 1870s and 1880s, and by the first decade the United States was drawn into what
........................................................................
WAR PHOTOGRAPHY • 109
Image Not Available
became known as World War I on the side men were involved and more than 45 mil-
of the Allied Powers. lion people, including millions of civilians,
World War I marked the first time that were killed.
armies established their own official photo- More pictures were taken during World
graphic units, usually as part of their exist- War II than in any other conflict, exceeding
ing signal corps, whose sole task was to by far those taken in the Civil War. In addi-
document the conflict.The photographs tion to the work of photographers in every
that these cameramen were allowed to military service, countless other pictures
take, however, were tightly controlled.The were taken by newspaper photographers
governments of the warring nations, anx- from around the globe, and by men and
ious to keep morale up at home, often for- women employed by the world’s picture
bade the photographers from taking magazines and news and photo agencies.
pictures of the dead and dying and often A significant number of World War II
prevented them from showing their troops photographers had previously experienced
suffering a defeat. the horrors of armed conflict.The Hungar-
In 1939, the major nations of the world ian-born Robert Capa, for example, had
went to war again. Unlike World War I, established himself as arguably the world’s
which was fought entirely in Europe, premier war photographer through the
World War II was a truly global conflict, dramatic images he had captured during
Their ability to capture motion enabled with battle zones around the world.The both the Spanish Civil War (1936–37) and
World War I photographers to compile war pitted Germany, Japan, and Italy, coun- the Japanese invasion of China (1938). In
some of the most dramatic war images tries seeking world power, against England, World War II, the photographs that Capa
ever taken. In this photograph from
1918, the cameraman froze the action France, Russia, and, beginning in 1941, the took in Europe, along with those taken by
at the moment a soldier was about to United States. Before the conflict was over, W. Eugene Smith in the Pacific, set a stan-
be felled by poison gas. some 70 million soldiers, sailors, and air- dard for all photographers who covered the
conflict. Many of these cameramen—and
women—had a special motivation for tak-
ing their World War II photographs.This
motivation was expressed by Edward Ste-
ichen, who stated,“If we could really pho-
tograph war as it was, . . . in all its monstrous
actuality, that could be a great deterrent to
war.” Steichen himself played an important
Image Not Available
role in the conflict. Rejected by the United
States Army because it felt he was too old,
Steichen was accepted by the Navy. Com-
missioned a lieutenant commander, he
organized a photographic unit that cap-
tured dramatic images of the naval and aer-
ial aspects of battles in the South Pacific.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 110
Image Not Available
Many of the pictures that Steichen’s close enough.”The result was pictures that G. L. Hall Optical Company. Boat
photographic unit took went beyond that transported viewers directly into the action. Exercises—Naval Training Station,
Hampton Roads,Va., 1918.
of recording the war.They were outstand- The result also was the increased number
ing photographs in and of themselves. Such of photographers who were killed while Wartime photographers captured mili-
tary preparations at home as well as bat-
a picture is that of crew members of an air- capturing their images. Capa himself died tle abroad.This panoramic photograph
craft carrier awaiting the return of the when he stepped on a land mine while shows one of the premier training centers
planes and air men they had launched into covering the Indochina War in 1954. for naval personnel during World War I.
battle (page 115).The photograph, taken by Some of the most gripping photographs
Wayne Miller, is marked by the photogra- are those that depict the range of emotions
pher’s use of the waning light of day to displayed by both military participants and
capture the men in silhouette. A portion of civilians affected by war. During World War
a propeller in the left foreground empha- II, for example,Toni Frissell captured an
sizes the setting. A dramatic element is pro- unforgettable image of a young boy sitting
vided by the way Miller captured the crew in front of his London home, which had
members in postures clearly indicating their just been destroyed by a German bomb
concern as they anxiously waited to learn (see page 113). His mother, father, and
the fate of their comrades. brother lay dead in the rubble.The expres-
As in World War I, the governments of sion that Frissell caught on the youngster’s
the various warring nations tried to control face speaks legions about the horrors of
the types of pictures the World War II pho- war and of the way in which even the most
tographers took or their editors published. innocent civilians are affected by it.
No photographs of dead United States sol- Another photograph which, like the
diers, for example, were released to the Frissell image, had enormous impact on the
public until late in the conflict. Some pic- worldwide public when it was widely
tures presented as “on the spot” action
During World War II, the intense
scenes actually were posed. Others were interest on the part of the public to
cropped by the photographer—or more receive photographs of the action
usually by editors—to achieve the most taking place around the world
dramatic effect. But the vast majority of motivated manufacturers of cam-
eras and film to produce even more
World War II images were authentic, taken advanced equipment.This ad from
by combat photographers and accredited about 1943 was for a wartime
war correspondents who accompanied the Image Not Available Kodak camera.
troops into battle.
One of the major outcomes of World
War II, as far as photography was con-
cerned, was the way in which people
throughout the world came to expect to
see photographs taken in the heat of battle.
Robert Capa expressed it this way:“If your
pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not
........................................................................
WAR PHOTOGRAPHY • 111
Margaret Bourke-White: War Photographer
T
hrough the pioneering Two years later Bourke- notably in Italy’s Cassino
industrial photographs White had an even more Valley, the site of some of
she took for Fortune harrowing experience. She the bitterest fighting of the
magazine and the pho- was aboard a troopship war. Her most memorable
tographs and photo essays headed for the American pictures, however, were
she produced for Life, and British invasion of taken in the spring of
Margaret Bourke-White North Africa when the 1945, shortly before the
became one of the best- ship was sunk by a torpedo war in Europe ended. On
known magazine photog- from a German submarine. April 11th she accompa-
raphers of her time. She Although she spent a nied troops led by General
was one of the most pro- frightening night in a George Patton as they book in order to give his comrades their
lific and accomplished lifeboat in the middle of the entered the German con-
moment of privacy adds to the poignancy
war photographers as well. ocean not knowing what centration camp at
Her combat assign- daylight would bring, she Buchenwald where thou- of the photograph.
ments began in 1938 when managed to capture com- sands of Jews and others As far as photographers were con-
Life sent her to Spain to pelling photographs of her had been slaughtered by cerned, the deadliest conflict in history was
photograph that nation’s companions in the lifeboat. the Nazis. Describing what the Vietnam War, fought in the 1960s and
civil war. But it was during Only a month after this she encountered as “more
World War II when she expenence she talked her than the mind could the first half of the 1970s between commu-
took pictures of the action way aboard the lead plane grasp,” she took pictures of nist North Vietnam and United States—
in Great Britain, North of a bomber group whose naked corpses and starving backed South Vietnam. During this long
Africa, Italy, and Germany mission was to destroy the camp survivors that, when and divisive war, more than 70 North Viet-
that she made her mark as most important airfield in published around the
namese photographers were killed, and
a war photographer. North Africa. She thus world, became forever
Bourke-White’s World became the first woman embedded in the memory more than 135 cameramen and camera-
War II experience began ever to fly on a bombing of all who saw them. Later women from other nations lost their lives.
in July 1941 when she run. Despite the fact that she photographed other Among photographers from around the
went to Moscow on the temperature in the concentration camps, globe who recorded the conflict were two
assignment from Life to unheated plane, flying at entering one even before
photograph the German l5,000 feet, was -40°F, she American troops arrived. South Vietnamese brothers, Huynh Thanh
air raids that were wreak- managed to keep her cam- After the war, Bourke- My and Huynh Cong Ut, both of whom
ing havoc on that Russian era from freezing and took White was asked to took pictures for the Associated Press. In
city. She was the only non- some of the most spectac- describe what motivated 1972 Huynh Cong (“Nick”) Ut captured a
Russian photographer to ular of all the bombing her to take such horrifying
record the attacks. During raid pictures produced pictures.“Difficult as these
photograph of children running away from
one of the raids a bomb during the war. Life print- things may be to report or an American-aided napalm bomb attack in
exploded near the roof of ed them in a long story photograph,” she replied, South Vietnam. Eventually awarded the
a building upon which she titled “Life’s Bourke-White “it is something we war Pulitzer Prize, the highest honor a photo-
was photographing. She Goes Bombing.” correspondents must do.
graph can receive, the picture is regarded by
saved herself and her pre- During the rest of the We are in a privileged and
cious camera by diving conflict Bourke-White sometimes unhappy posi- many as the single most powerful image
through a skylight and took thousands of pictures tion.We see a great deal of taken during the entire war. It is also
falling shaken, but safe, to in various European the- the world. Our obligation viewed as one of the most influential war
a floor below. atres of operation, most is to pass it on to others.” photographs ever taken. Its impact was
most eloquently described by the Ameri-
printed in newspapers and magazines was a can writer Sally Quinn: “When people
picture taken by U. S. Army Signal Corps who had been for the war saw the picture,
photographer Al Chang during the Korean they thought ‘Oh my God, what are we
War (1950–53), fought by North Korea, doing?’ It was the beginning of the end of
supported by China, against South Korea, the war. For all the words that had been
aided by United States and other United written about Vietnam, there was nothing
Nations troops.The photograph (page 104) that had the power of this picture.”
captures the scene as an American soldier is By the time theVietnam War was fought,
comforted by a fellow Marine moments television had come to play an important
after learning that his best friend has been role in the lives of millions. Increasingly
killed.The inclusion in the picture of the it became the major way that countless
third Marine paying close attention to his people obtained their news. Television,
.......................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 112
however, has not diminished the impor- Toni Frissell. Boy in ruins
tance of the war photograph.Television of his house, 1945.
reportage, no matter how immediate and “The story of my life,” wrote
dramatic, appears on the screen for a few Frissell,“is told in terms of pho-
tographs I have taken, places I
moments and then is gone. A war photo- have visited, and people I have
graph, like all still pictures, has a perma- met.This is as it should be. A
nence that allows it to be studied and photographer keeps a biographical
considered over and over again.This vital record with every new assignment
and the photographer’s subjects
attribute of the war photograph was clearly
help shape her destiny.”
evident in the coverage of more recent Image Not Available
conflicts such as the Persian Gulf War, the
hostilities in Bosnia and Kosovo, and in
other armed confrontations around the
world.What has become clear is that there
is no more powerful or lasting means of
visually recording the heroism, the
indomitable human spirit, and the triumph
and tragedy of armed conflict than the war
photograph.
Huynh Cong (“Nick”) Ut.
Children running from
bombing attack, 1972.
This photograph of children
running in terror from a
napalm bombing attack has
become a symbol of the horror
and frustration of the Vietnam
War. It is yet another reminder
of the power that photography
has in influencing peoples’
thoughts and opinions.
........................................................................
WAR PHOTOGRAPHY • 113
World War II in Pictures
The extraordinary number of photographs taken during
World War II revealed all aspects of the first truly global con-
flict in history. Robert Capa gained international fame for
combat pictures such as the one shown here of a soldier
pinned down by enemy fire during the Allied invasion of
German-held France. A German photographer captured Nazi
troops parading before German dictator Adolph Hitler shortly
before Germany launched all-out attacks on its neighboring
Image Not Available
countries.The images of the fighter plane returning to its car-
rier base and the carrier crewmen on deck are two of the tens
of thousands of pictures taken by members of Edward
Steichen’s Naval Aviation Photographic Unit. Joe Rosenthal’s
picture of the American flag being raised at Iwo Jima has
become the most famous of all World War II images.
Robert Capa. Normandy
invasion, 1944.
Photographer unknown.
Nazi troops, 1942.
Photographer unknown.
American soldier administering blood plasma, 1945.
Charles Kerlee.
Fighter plane returning to carrier, 1945.
Joe Rosenthal.
Iwo Jima flag raising, 1945.
Barrett Gallagher.
Carrier crewmen on deck, 1943.
Photographs in Color
F
rom the time that scientists and for the task. In addition, the daguerreotype
inventors began their attempts to image was very delicate and easily damaged
Image Not Available produce a permanent photographic by a careless brushstroke.They solved their
image, one of their main goals was to problem by turning to a whole new type of
capture pictures in color. In describing his craftsman—the hand-coloring expert.
earliest experimentations to his brother, for In the United States, where the daguer-
example, Nicephore Niépce, who in 1826 reotype gained its greatest popularity, hand-
succeeded in producing the first photo- coloring by specialists became a common
graphic image, stated emphatically,“I must practice. Several books on the subject were
Hand-coloring a daguerreotype was succeed in fixing the colors.” Louis published, providing instruction on how to
a delicate process. But many skilled Daguerre felt that, despite his enormous tri- get the best results from watercolors, pastels,
daguerreotype artists were able to
produce images of great beauty, umph in producing the first usable photo- and colored crayons. During the daguerreo-
including this one from about 1850. graphic process, it was not a complete type era, the American Artists’Association,
success, because daguerreotypes were unable an organization made up exclusively of pro-
to capture images in natural color. fessional colorists, was formed.
Daguerreotypists who took their cam- As the daguerreotype was replaced by
eras outdoors knew that there would be a new forms of photographs, many colorists
large market for scenes in color. By the mid turned to hand-painting ambrotypes and
1840s, the public, which only five years ear- tintypes. During the American Civil War,
lier had been thrilled simply to be recorded when many soldiers carried tintypes of their
This color photograph of activity in a in a photograph, was increasingly expressing loved ones, a colored tintype was an espe-
street on New York City’s East Side
was taken by photographer Henry a yearning for likenesses in color. In cially treasured possession.
Peabody of the Detroit Publishing response, photographers tried to use paints, The first person to make a photographic
Company.The color image was pro- crayons, and colored pencils to hand-color presentation of the principles on which all
duced through an early color electro- the images their cameras produced.What color photography would eventually be
printing process that the company used
some 30 years before the development they soon learned was that hand-painting based was the British physicist James Clerk
of color film made color photography daguerreotypes was a tedious and very diffi- Maxwell, who built on the early 19th-cen-
practical for almost everyone. cult undertaking. Few had the artistic skill tury work of Thomas Young and Hermann
.......................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHS IN COLOR • 117
Tintypes, such as this rare
image of an Indian chief and
his wife from about 1880, were
less fragile than daguerreotypes
and thus easier to hand color.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 118
a full-color slide. Plates were made in stan- Heinrich Kühn.
dard sizes, 3 1/4 by 4 1/4 inches and larger. Group, 1908.
The Lumières patented their plates The autochrome, one
under the name Autochrome in 1904 and of the first forms of
color photography,
three years later began manufacturing them allowed photogra-
for sale. Photographers around the world phers to produce
rushed to adopt the new process. In that delicate, beautiful
same year,Alfred Stieglitz introduced this images.The German
photographer
new miracle of photography to America
Heinrich Kühn was
through a major exhibition of autochromes an early master of
taken by himself, Edward Steichen, and the autochrome.
another Photo-Secessionist, Frank Eugene.
For the next three decades the Lumières’
process, although somewhat limited in
choice of subject by the long exposure time
required, dominated color photography. Image Not Available
In the mid 1930s a breakthrough took
place that would do for color photography
what George Eastman’s Kodak camera had
done for photography itself. Just as the
Kodak placed the camera in the hands of
millions, the introduction of Kodachrome
film made taking pictures in color possible
for almost everyone.
The invention of Kodachrome film was
due, in great measure, to the efforts of two
young men, Leopold Mannes and Leopold
Godowsky. Both men were talented musi-
cians. Mannes was a third-generation the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and
member of the Damrosch family, which the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
made major contributions to the develop- The two Leopolds met at Riverdale
ment of serious music in the United States, Country School in New York.They quick-
and whose parents established the world- ly discovered that they shared not only a
famous Mannes School of Music in New passion for music but for invention as well.
York City. He would become a celebrated After attending a physics class in which the
concert pianist, would write acclaimed instructor explained the challenges faced in
chamber and orchestral music, and would achieving an easy-to-use form of color
inspire countless future musicians through photography, they joined forces to attack
his teaching. Godowsky was an accom- the problem.
plished violinist who, among other musical The school gave them permission to use
achievements, would hold chairs in both its physics laboratory and Mannes’s parents
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHS IN COLOR • 119
From the earliest days of
photography, those who
expressed the desire to go
beyond black and white
were particularly eager
to capture the beauties
of nature in color.This
1938 Kodak ad
announces that the desire
can now be realized.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 120
Image Not Available
printing done by a commercial firm, these and color photography once stated,“Those Photographer unknown. Boating
products and others introduced shortly who say that color photography, will even- party, 1915.
thereafter by several companies, including tually replace black and white are talking A number of Japanese photographers
Fuji of Japan, created an enormous increase nonsense.They are different means to dif- were among those who, in the early
20th century, worked toward achieving
in amateur color photography. As a result of ferent ends.” an efficient means of color photogra-
this continued flow of products and Despite the challenges of color pho- phy.Their work was marked by the
processes, the vast majority of pictures were tography, many photographers have way they used color to enhance the
soon being taken in color. become masters of the approach. They graceful presentation of their subjects.
Perhaps the greatest challenge that color have, for example, been able to produce
presents to the photographer is the beauty color images that feature striking textures,
of color itself.The temptation is great to designs, and patterns. Certain of those
capture a blaze of hues in the belief that photographers have effectively used spe-
color alone will make an outstanding pic- cific colors in their images to express
ture. But just as tonal range alone does not emotions and feelings evoked by the sub-
make a great black-and-white picture, it is ject in front of their camera. Others have
not colors themselves but the photograph- been able to use color to convey the feel-
er’s sensitive use of them that produces a ing of light and atmosphere in special and
fine photograph. Some of the most master- exciting ways.
ful of all color images are those composed One of the greatest of the early modern
of subtle tones with carefully selected masters of the color image was Eliot Porter,
accents of color. As photographer Edward a man whose photographic contributions
Weston, a master of both black-and-white were made after an abrupt change in
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHS IN COLOR • 121
Eliot Porter. Great Spruce Head
Island, Maine, about 1955.
Porter had a lifelong interest in birds.
His color photographs of them, taken
with long-distance lenses, are marked
by their clarity and the way he was
able to “arrest” his subjects in flight.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 122
of color, had captured images that were
both lyrical and at the same time often
mysterious.
The work of Jan Groover has been
marked by the way in which she has car-
ried on the approach of the artistic photog-
raphers who in the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s
brought a new, modernistic vision to pho-
tography. In the 1970s Groover made Image Not Available
images primarily concerned with form and
design, rather than literal content.Among
other innovations, she often created pic-
tures that present architectural details in
three groups. For example, in one photo-
graph the lower corner of a bronze door
and the columns and steps that surrounded
it are shown from three different distances
and angles of view.
In the 1980s, Groover’s concern with life. He produced a compelling book made Joel Meyerowitz. Bay/Sky,
sculptural form led her to create a series of up entirely of pictures of red-headed peo- Provincetown, 1977.
photographs in which manufactured goods ple. But he has responded to nature, too. Meyerowitz has said that the spe-
are contrasted with natural objects. For Another book focused on the beauty of cial sense of mood and light in his
Cape Cod pictures was inspired by
example, household implements such as wildflowers. Some of his most memorable the paintings of some of his favorite
eggbeaters, spatulas, pie pans, and cups and work has used color to capture the beauty artists, including Edward Hopper.
saucers are presented alongside the leaves of light in the natural world.
and blossoms of plants. In other pho- The variations in illumination presented
tographs, common household utensils are by sunlit beaches, dramatic sunrises and
arranged to reveal their form and structure sunsets, and often spectacular storms on
by the play of ambient color reflected from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, has provided
their surfaces. Groover’s work has continued Meyerowitz with scenes that are particular-
to evolve and she is today regarded as one of ly appropriate for his mastery of light and
the outstanding artists of color photography. shadow. Especially compelling is Meyer-
Like the photographs of Eliot Porter, owitz’s photograph Bay/Sky, Provincetown
Joel Meyerowitz’s images are characterized contained in Cape Light, one of many
by their contrasts and subtlety of tones. books that have featured his images. In the
While Porter concentrated almost entirely picture, Meyerowitz captured the soft pink
on objects he found in nature, Meyerowitz hues of the clouds amid the remaining blue
has focused on a variety of subjects. He of the sky.The play of light on the water,
spent several years photographing the wide on the lone person in the image, and on
range of colors presented by urban street (Continued on page 126)
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHS IN COLOR • 123
The Glory of Color
Since the time it became widely available, color photography has been applied to a great range of
purposes. Initially it was used mainly for advertising and fashion photography; Louise Dahl-Wolfe
was among the first fashion photographers to use color.Toward the end of the Farm Security
Administration project (see page 86), documentary photographers such as Marion Post Wolcott
began to capture their images in color. Although color was not much respected by the art world until
the 1970s, contemporary photographers such as Ernst Haas,Andreas Gursky, and Joel Sternfeld have
received critical acclaim for their innovative use of it.William Wegman, another prominent photog-
rapher (see page 141), uses color to emphasize the details in his humorous photographs.
Louise Dahl-Wolfe.
The Covert Look, 1949.
Ernst Haas.
New York skyline, 1975.
William Wegman.
Harvest, 1994.
Joel Sternfeld.
Andreas Gursky. McLean,VA, December 1978.
Chicago Board of Trade, 1997.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 126
Jay Maisel. Boy blowing
bubble, about 1985.
Maisel’s photographs appear
in magazines and advertise-
ments as well as in art gal-
leries.Widely traveled, he
photographs only in color.
“I see in color,” he says.
“Everyone does.”
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHS IN COLOR • 127
Photography has pro-
foundly changed our
vision of the universe.
Astronauts, armed with
cameras, have given us
spectacular pictures of
man’s travels beyond
the earth’s atmosphere
such as this one of a
space walk.
a way that features hidden or unclear to the produces a picture that reveals, through var-
naked eye are revealed. Patterns formed by ious colors, properties of the object that
specific colors in these photographs enable otherwise might remain unknown.
archaeologists to discover buried sites, mili- Perhaps the most dramatic use of color
tary personnel to locate camouflaged areas, has been its use in photographically prob-
and geographers to produce the most accu- ing the deep reaches of outer space.The
rate maps ever created.The world of medi- extraordinary revelations made through
cine has also benefited greatly from the use color images taken by cameras in the hands
of color photography. Computer-enhanced of astronauts, or mounted on powered tele-
X rays, which permit different densities of scopes, or aboard space satellites has resulted
bone, marrow, and tissue to be revealed in nothing less than a much deeper under-
through specific colors, have made medical standing of our universe. One can only
diagnosis a more exact science than ever imagine what the reaction of innovators
before. Scientists in some fields are now like James Clark Maxwell, the Lumière
aided by what is called electrophotography. brothers, or Leopold Mannes and Leopold
Using this process an object is placed on a Godowsky would be if they could see what
sheet of unexposed film. A burst of elec- their pioneering efforts in color photogra-
tricity from a metal plate beneath the film phy have spawned.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 128
Color Films and Papers
C
olor photography is and blue wavelengths they sensitive emulsion is sensi- the camera, each layer of
based on the Young- send composite signals to tive to red and blue light. film records only its own
Helmholtz three-color the brain, which interprets Because all the emul- color. The film is then
theory of vision. Accord- them as all the colors we see. sion layers are sensitive to exposed to white light and
ing to this theory, the cen- Based on this theory, blue, color films have a thin developed so that dyes are
tral portion of the retina modern color film has three yellow filter layer under the produced in each emulsion
of the eye contains recep- light-sensitive layers. One top blue-sensitive layer to layer. Any remaining
tor cells called cones that layer, containing blue-sensi- prevent blue wavelengths silver in the emulsions is
are individually sensitive tive emulsion, is sensitive to from reaching the green- bleached out along with
to one of the primary col- blue light. Another layer, and red-sensitive layers the yellow filter, leaving a
ors of light: red, green, or containing green-sensitive below (a yellow filter ab- full-color image. The pro-
blue.When the cones are emulsion, is sensitive to sorbs blue).When color cessing of color print paper
stimulated by various green and blue light. A film is exposed to light is essentially the same as
strengths of red, green, third layer, containing red- from a scene in front of that of the color film.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHS IN COLOR • 129
Image Not Available
Chapter
. . . . . . . . Nine
...............................................................
Modern Photography
I
n the 1960s, toward the end of his long impart as much meaning to his images as
photographic career, 84-year-old Edward possible. Speaking of his approach to taking
Steichen expressed his opinion as to pictures, for example, he stated,“It is one
what lay ahead for the medium to thing to photograph people; it is another to
which he had contributed so much. “In make others care about them by revealing
the past few years,” he wrote, “there has the core of their humanness.”
been such a larger number of free-spirited, Strand’s desire to give meaning to his
independently thinking young photogra- images is often marked by the simplicity and
phers—seekers, probers, and explorers of directness of his pictures.Typical of most of
new horizons—than we have heretofore his photographs is the picture titled The
encountered.They give ample assurance Family, Luzzara, Italy, 1953. Like so many of
that the future of photography is richer in his images, it is a photograph characterized
prospect and potential than ever before.” by such directness in both form and subject
Steichen has been proved correct.What that it does not cause an immediate sensa-
he could have added, however, was the fact tion. But as one studies it more closely, the
that photography’s ability to remain an ever- sensitivity and the power of the picture
changing, ever-growing medium is due not become apparent.
only to the skills and imaginations of mod- The photograph is a masterpiece of
ern-day photographers but also to the ways composition, framed on one side by the
in which they have learned so much from man leaning against the building and on the
Sebastião Salgado. Serra Pelada,
Brazil’s Klondike, 1986. those who have gone before them. other by the family member leaning against
Salgado captured dramatic images of Paul Strand was one of those photo- his bicycle.The group of three figures in the
men and women who, despite tech- graphic giants whose work has both in- doorway presents a powerful focal point.
nological advancements, continue to spired and instructed scores of today’s The varying shapes and forms of the house-
work at hard labor.The photographs photographers. He captured thousands front and doorway, and the soft play of light
in his Workers series, such as this
of images of people, places, and nature contrasted with the dark interior beyond
one of a gold mine in Brazil, have
been acclaimed as a visual tribute to throughout the world. He was a most sensi- the entrance, add to the picture’s appeal. So
labor and the human condition. tive photographer who constantly sought to too does the way in which Strand was able
.......................................................................
MODERN PHOTOGRAPHY • 131
Paul Strand. The Family,
Luzzara, Italy, 1953.
Through honest yet sensi-
tive images, Strand offered
proof of photography’s abil-
ity to penetrate the human
soul.“I have come,” he
wrote,“to value photogra-
phy more and more for
those things which it alone
can accomplish.”
to capture the differing expressions on the the extraordinary forms that he encoun-
faces of the family members.That so many tered along the Pacific coastline. Along
photographers working today have taken with capturing magnificent landscape
up the search for the elegant apparent sim- images, he also focused on specific natural
plicity that Strand achieved is the greatest objects. Almost everything in nature
testimony to the influence he exerted. became a subject for his camera—tangled
The work of Edward Weston has also trees and stumps, rock formations, and
had a profound impact on modern pho- shells. He saw beauty in every natural form,
tography.A native of Illinois,Weston moved even in commonplace vegetables.To him,
to California in 1911, where he opened his the delicate, precise overlapping of layers in
own photographic studio. Influenced by an artichoke sliced down through the mid-
the pictorialists, his earliest photographs dle was as photographically intriguing as
were artistic and sometimes abstract in the towering mountains or crashing surf
nature. In the early 1920s, he went to Mex- that were also objects of his camera.
ico along with fellow photographer Tina Among Weston’s most intriguing images
Modotti. There he changed his photo- is the picture titled Cypress, Point Lobos,
graphic approach. Abandoning pictorial- 1929. It is a photograph that exemplifies his
ism, he decided that what he really wanted ability to see things that others could not
to do was to photograph the world around initially perceive.When Weston encoun-
him.“The camera,” he wrote,“should be tered the root, the pattern of the lines of
for a recording of life . . . whether it be pol- growth made it appear as if it were on fire.
ished steel or palpitating flesh.” He captured this feeling by photographing
In 1927,Weston returned permanently the root close-up from the angle that best
to California. He had a small portrait studio conveyed his perception.As we study the
but devoted as much time as possible to image we can understand what renowned
personal work. He began to photograph photographer Cecil Beaton meant when
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 132
Image Not Available
........................................................................
MODERN PHOTOGRAPHY • 133
and Bowery neighborhoods. But in the
1940s he began to take very different kinds
of pictures.
Stating that “for the first time in my life
subject matter as such . . . ceased to be of
Image Not Available primary importance,” Siskind began to
concentrate on making abstract images.
For the next two decades he took close-up
photographs of everyday objects that are
usually ignored. Focusing on the patterns
he saw all around him, he photographed
the designs on walls and discarded pieces of
metal. He also captured intriguing designs
created by oil and water stains on various
textures of paper.
Siskind’s approach went beyond influ-
encing the work of many photographers
who followed him. It also inspired design-
ers in other fields who incorporated the
shapes and patterns he captured into their
own creations.
While Callahan and Siskind became
Minor White. Windowsill imaginative use of multiple exposures to heralded for the artistic qualities they
Daydreaming, 1958. combine several views into a single picture. brought with them, another mid-20th-
White once defined his photographs as And he became a master of modern color century photographer, Robert Frank,
mirages, meaning that they were not photography. gained acclaim for a very different type of
what they appeared to be. His images
challenge each viewer to bring his or Callahan’s photograph of a weed reveals photograph. Frank began his career as a
her own interpretation to the picture. his fascination with line and form. It is a fashion photographer and then entered the
striking example of the way in which he field of photojournalism, carrying out
was able to produce an intriguing image assignments for such magazines as Life,
even when training his camera on the sim- Look, and Fortune. Frank, however, who
plest of objects. was endowed with a passionate sense of
Like Harry Callahan’s, the work of individuality, came to dislike working for
Aaron Siskind has had significant influence others, particularly corporate-minded mag-
on scores of modern photographers. azine publishers.
Siskind’s career was marked by the com- In 1955, with the aid of his friend Walk-
plete about-face he took in his approach to er Evans, he applied for and received a
the medium. Early on he concentrated on Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship,
capturing starkly realistic images of such which enabled him to undertake a two-
subjects as life in New York City’s Harlem year photographic tour of the United
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 134
Harry Callahan. Detroit,
about 1947.
In the hands of a masterful
photographer, even the sim-
plest object can be made to
represent something beyond its
States. Using a 35mm camera he criss- natural form. In this Callahan
crossed the nation capturing images of photograph, a weed takes on
roadside bars, parades, automobiles, high- an appearance both human
ways, gas stations, and billboards. Many of and abstract.
his pictures included the presence of the
American flag hanging on buildings,
adorning parade reviewing stands, and Image Not Available
waving above large outings.
In many ways Frank’s photographic jour-
ney was similar to that undertaken earlier by
Evans for the Farm Security Administration.
Both men were sensitive to how much the
artifacts with which people surrounded
themselves revealed about their way of life.
But whereas Evans celebrated various
aspects of American life, Frank’s images were Aaron Siskind. Jerome,
a far less positive portrayal. Arizona, 1949.
In 1958 Frank’s photographs were pub- When they first appeared,
lished in Paris in a book titled Les Ameri- Siskind’s images disturbed
cains and the next year as The Americans in many photographers who felt
they were more like abstract
the United States. Regarded by most paintings than photographs. It
reviewers as downbeat, the book at first was not long, however, before
elicited a negative reaction from much of they came to be appreciated for
the public as well.What those who railed what Siskind intended them
against it failed to recognize was that in to be—works of art and
design that remain within the
Frank’s portrayal of loneliness and despera- realm of photography.
tion there was also beauty and tenderness.
Frank’s own evaluation of what he had dis-
covered and photographed was contained
in his explanation of why he had taken his Image Not Available
pictures in black and white instead of color.
“Black and white,” he stated,“is the vision
of hope and despair.”
In the next decade a dramatic turn-
around took place. The Americans became
nothing less than a bible to many of the
thousands of those caught up in the youth-
ful rebellion against the corporate culture,
social inequity, and certain long-held values
that was a major part of the 1960s. In the
........................................................................
MODERN PHOTOGRAPHY • 135
Diane Arbus. King
and queen of the ball,
about 1967.
Arbus’s images of sub-
jects not commonly pho-
tographed include
pictures of older people
trying to appear younger
than they are.This is her
photograph of a couple
who had been crowned
king and queen of a they really look.They have self-images that
senior citizens’ ball.
Image Not Available to a large extent only they themselves see.
“I really believe,” she wrote, “there are
things which nobody would see unless I
photographed them.”
Over the years, many people have been
disturbed by the content of Arbus’s pho-
tographs. Some viewers, for example, were
upset when her picture of a man and
woman who had been awarded the title of
king and queen of a senior citizens’ ball was
process, The Americans became a book that published. They felt that Arbus had
has had a profound influence on scores of demeaned the couple by making them
today’s photographers. look foolish. Others who encountered the
Robert Frank. Political rally, Another photographer whose work has photograph, however, praised the image for
1956.
inspired the approach of many modern its honesty. As one critic evaluating Arbus’s
Frank believed that a photograph cameramen and women captured images pictures as a whole has written,“[They are
should be able to stand on its own
without any text. Many of his that were not usually the subject of the photographs] very difficult to stay out of. . . .
photographs, such as this one of a camera’s eye. Her name was Diane Arbus. What disturbs people more than the sub-
tuba player at a political rally, are She seemed a most unlikely person for pro- jects of these pictures is the intensity of
playfully ironic. ducing the kind of photographs she took. their power to . . . stop us . . . and ask our-
A small woman, easily moved to tears, she selves who we are.”
grew up in a wealthy household in New In an increasingly urbanized world, it is
York City.Yet some of the photographs that not surprising that the city and those who
brought her fame were of retarded people, dwell within it is today one of the most
of disadvantaged children, and of misshapen popular of photographic subjects. Among
men and women who were often cruelly those who have mastered the art of what is
referred to as freaks. Others were of commonly referred to as street photogra-
“fringe” people: hippies, transvestites, top- phy is Lee Friedlander. A dedicated New
less dancers, street people. Yorker, Friedlander has used that city and
Image Not Available Arbus’s purpose in taking these pictures its inhabitants as a means of exploring the
was not to demean her subjects. Rather, it modern human condition. Operating with
was to make viewers pause and reflect a 35mm camera, he has obtained many of
upon the fact that they should not take his pictures by mingling inconspicuously
whatever advantages they had in life for among city crowds and buildings until
granted. Ironically, the images that created finding a subject that intrigues him. Some
the angriest response were those of “nor- of his favorite subjects have been store win-
mal” people, ordinary middle-class individ- dows, monuments and statues, church
uals. Her straightforward photographs steeples, city intersections, construction
revealed that most people are blind to how sites, and men and women often lost in
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 136
thought as if contemplating the realities of overhanging streetlights, the automobiles. It
city life. Many of his photographs feature is a simple photograph, yet striking in the
reflections of people and objects seen in way it captures the atmosphere of a partic-
windows, mirrors, and showcases. ular place at a particular time.
Among Friedlander’s most arresting In recent decades the world of photogra-
images are the street scenes he has cap- phy has benefited from the emergence of
Lee Friedlander. New York
tured.The untitled photograph of a man masterful photographers from countries not street scene, about 1965.
walking along a sidewalk toward the cam- previously heralded for their contributions
Writing about his photographic
era is typical of these pictures. Like almost to the medium. In Mexico, for example, experience, Friedlander stated,
all Friedlander’s street photographs, it is a three photographers in particular, Graciela “I was finding myself at times in
deliberately informal picture taken on the Iturbide, Pablo Ortiz Monasterio, and the landscape of my photography.
spur of the moment but rich with infor- Manuel Alvarez Bravo, have garnered world- I might call myself an intruder.
At any rate [my photographs]
mative, expressive elements.The man is sur- wide attention for the quality of their work. came about slowly and not with
rounded by artifacts of city life—the Although Graciela Iturbide has pho- plan but more as another discov-
prominent store sign, the lamp poles, the tographed throughout much of Latin ery each time.”
........................................................................
MODERN PHOTOGRAPHY • 137
Image Not Available
Alexander Raota. Breaking America, she has been primarily motivated tance and the growth of photography in his
horses, about 1985. by a desire to discover the Mexico of her native country.
Raota is a modern Argentinean ancestors. She has spent much of her time It has been only recently that Alvarez
photographer. His photographs are living among the Indians of her country, Bravo’s work has received the full recogni-
marked by a dramatic sense of
action and his ability to portray the documenting their daily lives and customs. tion that it has long deserved. Perhaps that
emotions of his subjects. Pablo Ortiz Monasterio has been driven by is because, unlike so many photographs
his desire to depict the collision between noteworthy for their power and dramatic
Mexican values and traditions and the chal- effects,Alvarez Bravo’s images are so often
lenges of everyday modern life. His most subtle, almost hushed in tone. Rather than
outstanding work has been accomplished photograph what might be considered life’s
in Mexico City, where he has portrayed the most telling moments he has always
contrasts between old and new and the focused on the much quieter happenings in
struggles of the many poor people to main- between. As photohistorian Kathryn Liv-
tain their dignity in a metropolis of more ingston has noted,“Alvarez Bravo’s genius
than 20 million. lies in seeing the wrinkles of the life around
Manuel Alvarez Bravo is widely regard- him—the indecisive moment as it were. . . .
ed as the greatest of all Mexican photogra- What he captures best is life in the rests
phers. In a career that has spanned almost between the notes.”
seven decades, he has not only produced Some of today’s photographers have
countless masterful images but is credited worked in well-established forms of the
with being the inspiration for the accep- medium, adding their own special talents
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 138
and unique vision to take pictures that are able to portray the dignity of each of the
as strong as anything that has been done people he photographs.
before—even stronger, in the judgment of In contrast to the approach of photogra-
many people. Such a photographer is the phers such as Salgado, many modern pho-
Brazilian photojournalist Sebastião Salgado. tographers have made their mark by
A self-taught photographer, Salgado has continuing the medium’s proud tradition of
spent the last 25 years taking pictures of blazing new and imaginative trails.This has
armed conflict around the globe. He has been particularly true of Cindy Sherman,
gained his greatest acclaim thus far, howev- who has risen to international fame by
er, through the images that resulted from a producing images that have been termed
huge photographic project he conducted. “true theatre.”
In a world where new technology is In the 1980s Sherman created a sensa-
rapidly replacing old methods of working, tion when she compiled a series of 69 pho-
Salgado, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, tographs she called Untitled Film Stills. Her
took his camera to many nations to docu-
Manuel Alvarez
ment men and women still involved in Bravo. Optical
manual labor. Published in 1993 in a book Parable, 1931.
titled Workers, Salgado’s photographs depict Bravo’s genius can be
such scenes as thousands of laborers toiling found in the way he
with pickaxes and shovels in a Brazilian gold portrays ways of life in
mine (see page 130), other laborers working a casual yet powerful
manner. His messages,
the sulfur mines of Indonesia, and men dig- wrote one critic,“reach
ging the Channel Tunnel between England us by slow and contin-
and France. Since their publication, the pic- uous flight; little by lit-
tures in Workers have been acclaimed as tle they saturate us.”
offering a profound commentary on the
human condition while, at the same time,
providing a powerful tribute to labor. Image Not Available
In the late 1990s Salgado added to his
growing reputation through another lengthy
photographic project.This time he traveled
throughout India and other developing
nations to capture unforgettable images of
people being dispossessed of their land.
Salgado has proved to be as much at
home capturing pictures of individuals and
landscapes as he is in recording huge groups
of people at work. Perhaps his greatest abil-
ity is the way in which, even while pho-
tographing scenes of general despair, he is
........................................................................
MODERN PHOTOGRAPHY • 139
purpose in creating the images was to sati- dressed herself in the ornate costumes typi-
rize the stereotypical ways women had cal of the clothing worn in the portraits she
long been portrayed in many movies. Sher- was satirizing.
man appeared in each of the photographs, Sherman’s wide acceptance in the gen-
assuming such roles as a bored housewife, a eral art world is evidenced by the fact that
femme fatale, a rebellious teenager, and a vic- her photographs are included in major col-
tim of abuse. She left it to each viewer to lections of such prestigious museums as the
imagine a story line for each picture. Pompidou in Paris, the Museum Folkwang
Sherman followed up this provocative in Essen, Germany, and New York’s Muse-
series by creating another one titled History um of Modern Art. As photohistorian
Portraits, designed once again to call atten- Revel Golden has noted, it is a success due
tion to the historic stereotyping of women. to Sherman’s unique ability to produce
This time her subject was the world of art images, that “shock us into reassessing cul-
rather than the world of movies. Her pur- tural icons that have become so ingrained
pose was to parody the ways artists from in daily life we have actually stopped ques-
the past had traditionally portrayed women. tioning their purpose.”
Once again Sherman appeared in each Another of today’s highly regarded pho-
photograph. She donned various wigs and tographers does not photograph people at
Cindy Sherman. Untitled Film
Still, 1977.
Sherman is the most prominent
feminist photographer, known for
images of herself in various
assumed roles. Here she is posed
as a young innocent in a poten-
tially dangerous situation, perhaps
about to be rescued by some hero.
........................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 140
Jerry Uelsmann. Apocalypse II,
1967.
Many of Uelsmann’s images were
created not to impart information but
to challenge the viewer to bring his
own thoughts and perceptions to the
picture.This photograph was made by
combining several negatives and
printing them as a single image.
all.William Wegman (see page 125) concen- began repeatedly to wander in front of the
trates on taking whimsical pictures of dogs, camera whenever he was taking a picture.
providing us with a delightful example of Rather than be upset, Wegman made a
the way humor has come to be accepted as bold decision; he would include the dogs in
a legitimate element in seriously conceived his photographs. It was an inspired move.
photographs. For more than 25 years Wegman has used a
A graduate of the Massachusetts College succession of dead-panned, sometimes cos-
of Art, where he studied painting,Wegman tumed Weimaraners as the stars of hundreds
turned to photography in 1966. In 1970 of images acclaimed not only for their
two events took place that were to change humor but for the more serious, often satir-
the course of his career.While attending a ical message the viewer is apt to find in
party he came across a plate of salami. Fasci- each picture.
nated with the small specks of peppercorn From the earliest serious, no-nonsense
on the salami slices, he constructed a photo- images of those who sat before the
graph, which he titled Catto, in which the daguerreotype camera to William Weg-
specks had apparently leapt out of the slices man’s innovative portrayals of his dogs,
and covered his hand.This image, which photography has taken mankind on a jour-
launched Wegman into that modern-day ney that has changed the way we view the
whimsical form of photography known as world. Photography has become the uni-
constructed reality, became an instant hit versal language understood by people
wherever it was shown. everywhere.
It was in 1970 also that Wegman re- Photography has become the world’s
sponded to a newspaper ad for Weimaraner shared experience, involving us emotionally
puppies. He named the dog he purchased in the triumphs and the tragedies, the joys
Man Ray after the innovative American and sorrows of people throughout the
photographer. Little did he know at the world. It has provided us with an indelible
time that Weimaraners were to affect his record of who we are, where we’ve been,
professional life even more dramatically than and where we seem to be headed.
the success of his Catto image. Because photography has become so
As Man Ray and a second Weimaraner much a part of our lives, it is impossible to
that Wegman purchased grew older they recount all the ways in which we encounter
........................................................................
MODERN PHOTOGRAPHY • 141
Instant Photography
T
oday we live in a world roll of negative paper con- Current Polaroid cam-
where taking pho- nected by leaders were eras made for use by ama-
tographs is the most loaded into the top and teur photographers feature
popular hobby for tens of bottom of the camera film packs of individual
millions of people around through the back.After a sheets that combine nega-
the world. Much of this is picture was taken, the pho- tive and positive layers and
due to the way in which tographer pulled on the processing chemicals all in a
modern technology has leader tab that extended single sheet.When a picture
made picture taking easier through one end of the is taken, a motor drive
than once thought possi- back.This pulled the print forces the sheet through the the controversy, the issue was whether or
ble. One of the most revo- paper and the negative rollers and out of a slot in
lutionary breakthroughs in paper together between a the camera. A color image not what might be regarded by some as
this modern technology pair of rollers.The rollers processes in full light in one tasteless or offensive art should be publicly
was the creation of the broke a pod of processing to three minutes.There is shown.The issue was not whether pho-
Polaroid Land Camera, chemicals at one end of nothing to discard. Polaroid tography is an art form.That this was taken
created by the American the print paper and spread black-and-white and color
for granted, even during this emotional
scientist and inventor Dr. these chemicals evenly films for professional use in
Edwin H. Land.The first between the two papers. large-format cameras have debate, is yet another solid indication of
camera to provide instant After one minute, the fin- individual peel-apart nega- how far the acceptance of photography
prints to the user, the Land ished print could be tive and positive sheets. has come.
Camera first appeared on removed from the camera Some provide a film nega- Technologically, the advances made in
the market in 1948. through a flap in the back. tive that can be used in an
The original Polaroid When all the pictures had enlarger to make additional photography in recent times have been
Land Camera worked been taken, the negative prints.There is also a nothing short of remarkable. Among these
this way:A large roll of roll was discarded and the Polaroid color slide film has been the perfection and widespread use
print paper and a smaller camera reloaded. for 35mm cameras. of inexpensive disposable cameras. Made of
plastic with 35mm film sealed within them,
it.The sporting events and outdoor con- disposable cameras come equipped with
certs we attend, for example, are punctuated viewfinders and a built-in flash. Some dis-
by the constant flash of cameras.The nature posables take panoramic pictures, while
of tourism has changed. Safaris to Africa, for others have a built-in zoom lens.
instance, are now enjoyed by travelers Once all the pictures have been taken,
armed with cameras rather than guns. Fam- the user takes the camera to a store that
ilies commonly choose vacation sites based develops film.There the film is removed
on pictures of a particular spot or area.The and prints are made.The store sells the used
badge of the tourist has become the camera device back to the manufacturer, where the
draped around the neck. materials are recycled to be used for mak-
Ironically, one of the most revealing ing new disposable cameras.
examples of how prominent a role photog- The most recent marvel of photography
raphy plays in our lives is the occasional is the digital camera, which captures images
controversy it stirs.When, for instance, an electronically on a removable disk or card.
exhibition of Robert Mapplethorpe pho- As each picture is taken the user can view it
tographs featuring sexually explicit pho- on a screen at the back of the camera.The
tographs was held, the furor it caused user then inserts the image disk or card into
reached all the way to the halls of the Unit- a computer, where the pictures are clearly
ed States Congress. displayed on the monitor screen.The pic-
The exhibition became a political issue, tures can be stored for future viewing and
with many congressmen demanding that it can be printed out or e-mailed to family
be closed down and that funding be with- and friends.
drawn from the National Endowment for Among the most intriguing of all the
the Arts, the government agency that had items introduced into the world of photog-
financed the exhibit. Other congressmen, raphy has been computer software for
arguing that art should never be censored, working with photographic images.The
stood behind the exhibition.Throughout most widely used such program is called
.......................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 142
Robert Rauschenberg.
Retroactive II, 1964.
Rauschenberg is one of a number
of artists who have produced com-
pelling collages using a variety of
materials, including photographs.
Pop artists of the 1960s, such as
Andy Warhol, embraced photog-
raphy as the most popular, or
democratic, of all mediums.
......................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 144
1872 1907 1946
Eadweard Muybridge captures motion with a Edward Curtis begins publishing his 20- Eastman Kodak introduces Ektachrome, the
camera, through successive frames. volume The North American Indian. first color film that can be processed by the
photographer.
1881 1910s
The Eastman Dry Plate Company is founded. Lewis Hine takes his child labor photographs. 1947
Karl Klic introduces the photogravure process. Dr. Edwin Land introduces the first instant
1913 print camera, the Polaroid Land Camera.
1888 The Leica camera is introduced.
1955
George Eastman introduces the Kodak hand-
held camera and flexible film. 1921 The Family of Man photographic exhibition
Man Ray creates his first rayogram. begins its long run at New York’s Museum
The halftone printing process is perfected.
of Modern Art.
1890 c.1925
1959
Jacob Riis’s How The Other Half Lives is László Moholy-Nagy begins creating his
photograms. Robert Frank’s The Americans is published.
published.
Photographic transmission by wire or cable 1963
1891 is perfected.
The Kodak Instamatic Camera is introduced.
The Linked Ring is founded in Europe.
1930
Edison develops the motion picture camera 1966
utilizing Eastman’s flexible film. The twin-lens Rolleiflex camera is intro-
duced. Flash cubes are introduced.
1895 1969
1934
Eugène Atget begins to photograph Paris. Astronauts take the first pictures on the
Automatic flash equipment is designed for
hand-held cameras. moon.
1897
Alfred Stieglitz begins publishing Camera Notes. 1977
1935
Cindy Sherman begins her photographic
1900 The Farm Security Administration (FSA)
series Untitled Film Stills.
Eastman Kodak’s Brownie debuts, selling for photographic project begins.
$1.00. 1987
1936
Both Kodak and Fuji introduce disposable
1902 The first issue of Life magazine is published.
cameras.
The organization known as Photo-Secession is
1937
formed in the United States. 1988
Kodachrome color film, developed by
Sony and Fuji introduce the first digital
1903 Leopold Godowsky and Leopold Mannes, is
cameras for consumer use.
Alfred Stieglitz begins publishing Camera Work. introduced.
PhotoMac,the first image manipulation pro-
1904 1940 gram for Macintosh computers,is intro-
Ansco and Agfa color films are introduced. duced.
The Lumière brothers introduce the
autochrome color process. 1990
Adobe Photoshop is introduced.
......................................................................
CHRONOLOGY • 145
Photography Listed below are some of the major muse-
ums where you can view photographs taken
by recognized masters of photography and
A museum with a huge collection of Euro-
pean and American photographs, the Getty
offers a range of special exhibitions.
......................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 146
Illinois Michigan Housing works by photographers from all
periods of the medium, this museum is
Art Institute of Chicago Detroit Institute of Arts
known for the quality of the special photo-
111 Michigan Avenue 5200 Woodward Avenue
graphic exhibitions it regularly holds.
Chicago, IL 60603 Detroit, MI 48202
312-443-3600 313-833-7000
www.artic.edu www.dia.org New York
Spanning the history of the medium, this This institution is the fifth-largest fine arts George Eastman House/
museum’s holdings contain images taken by museum in the United States. Within its International Museum
many of the world’s most celebrated pho- more than 100 galleries are several devoted of Photography
tographers. Exhibitions of photographs by to the exhibition of photography. 900 East Avenue
such masters as Eugène Atget, Paul Strand, Rochester, NY 14607
and Alfred Stieglitz are regularly held. Minnesota
716-271-3361
www.eastman.org
Walker Art Center
Kansas The George Eastman House’s photograph-
Vineland Place
ic collection is justifiably regarded as one of
Spencer Museum of Art Minneapolis, MN 55403
the most comprehensive in the world. Just
1301 Mississippi Street 612-375-7600
as George Eastman revolutionized photog-
University of Kansas www.walkerart.org/jsindex.html
raphy, this museum that bears his name has
Lawrence, KS 66045 The Walker Art Center is known for its revolutionized the world of photographic
785-864-4710 major exhibitions of 20th-century art, mul- exhibitions.
www.ukans.edu/~sma tidisciplinary approach, and innovative edu-
The Helen Foresman Spencer Museum of cation programs. The International Center
Art is the art museum of the University of of Photography (ICP)
Kansas, Lawrence, and has a large photo- Missouri 1133 Avenue of the Americas
graphic collection. New York, NY 10036
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
212 860-1777
4525 Oak Street
Massachusetts www.icp.org
Kansas City, MO 64111
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 816-751-1278 The International Center of Photography
466 Huntington Avenue www.nelson-atkins.org is a museum with changing exhibits, a
Boston, MA 02115 school, and a center for photographers and
One of the country’s premier art institu-
617-267-9300 photography. Each year, ICP presents the
tions, this museum’s holdings range from
www.mfa.org Infinity Awards for excellence in photogra-
the beginnings of photography to the pres-
phy, one of the most prestigious photo-
One of the nation’s leading museums, the ent, including a large collection of Francis
graphic awards.
MFA holds continual exhibitions of the Frith prints of Egypt.
work of photographers ranging from some Metropolitan Museum of Art
of the world’s first cameramen—and Saint Louis Art Museum 1000 Fifth Avenue
women—to photographers working today. Forest Park New York, NY 10028
St. Louis, MO 63110 212-879-5500
314-721-0072 www.metmuseum.org
www.slam.org
......................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY MUSEUMS AND WEBSITES • 147
Founded in 1870, the “Met,” as it is fondly Pennsylvania Nicephore Niépce. It has regular photo-
called, is one of the finest museums in the graphic exhibitions.
Philadelphia Museum of Art
world. Its photographic collection and
26th Street & Benjamin Franklin Parkway
exhibitions have long been acclaimed Washington
Philadelphia, PA 19130
worldwide.
215-763-8100 Seattle Art Museum
Museum of Modern Art www.philamuseum.org 100 University Street
11 West 53rd Street Among the largest art museums in the Seattle,WA 98101
New York, NY 10019 United States, it has one of the nation’s old- 206-654-3100
212-708-9400 est photographic collections and holds regu- www.seattleartmuseum.org
www.moma.org lar exhibitions of both old and new works. One of the most user-friendly museums in
A pioneer in mounting photographic the nation, it complements its exhibitions
shows, this museum, known as MOMA. Texas with films and lectures.
was the site of the historic 1955 “Family of Amon Carter Museum
Man” exhibition. 3501 Camp Bowie Boulevard AUSTRALIA
Fort Worth,TX 76107
Whitney Museum of American Art 817-736-1933 Australian Center for Photography
945 Madison Avenue www.cartermuseum.org 257 Oxford Street
New York, NY 10021 Paddington, NSW, 2021
212-570-3676 Specializing in all aspects of American art,
the Amon Carter houses the work of scores Sydney, Australia 02 9332 1455
www.whitney.org www.acp.au.com
of American photographers.
The Whitney, founded by Gertrude The mission of the center is to “promote
Vanderbilt Whitney, houses one of the Dallas Museum of Art and enrich the understanding of photo-
world’s foremost collections of 20th- 1717 North Harwood Street based art in Australia” through exhibitions,
century American art. It holds regular pho- Dallas,TX 75201 education, and publications. It houses exhi-
tographic exhibitions. 214-922-1200 bition spaces, an extensive workshop, and a
www.dm-art.org research library.
Ohio This museum has many programs designed
Cleveland Museum of Art especially for young people. It holds both
permanent and temporary photographic
CANADA
University Circle
11150 East Boulevard collections. Glenbow Museum
Cleveland, OH 44106 130 Ninth Avenue SE
216-421-7340 Harry Ransom Humanities Calgary, Alberta T2G OP3
www.clemusart.com Research Center Canada
P.O. Box 7219 403-266-4100
Collections at this museum span from
Austin,TX 78713 www.glenbow.org
ancient Egypt to works of contemporary art.
512-471-9124
Its photography department mounts perma- The Glenbow is a museum, art gallery,
www.hrc.utexas.edu/
nent, temporary, and traveling exhibitions. library, and archive, all of which focus on
The Ransom Center at the University of the human history of Canada’s Northwest.
Texas is an interdisciplinary archive and It features exhibitions of work by Canadian
museum that holds more than 5 million photographers throughout the history of
original prints and negatives, including the medium.
the first photograph ever taken, by Joseph
......................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 148
National Gallery of Canada Located inside a 15th-century barn, this FRANCE
380 Sussex Drive museum commemorates the life and work
P.O. Box 427, Station A of William Henry Fox Talbot. It holds exhi- La Maison Européenne de la
Ottawa, Ontario K1N 9N4 bitions of a broad range of work by con- Photographie
Canada temporary and 19th-century photographers. 82 rue François Miron
613-990-1985 75 004 Paris
www.national.gallery.ca Imperial War Museum France
This museum features regular exhibitions Lambeth Road 33 1 44 78 75 00
of works by Canadian cameramen and London SE1 6HZ www.mep-fr.org/us/default.htm
women, as well as photographs from England The permanent collection of the European
European and American photographers. 44 207 416 5320 House of Photography consists of more
www.iwm.org.uk than 15,000 images and is representative of
Vancouver Art Gallery international photography from the end of
This museum is dedicated to an understand-
750 Hornby Street the 1950s to the present.
ing of the history of modern war and “war-
Vancouver, British Columbia V6Z 2H71 time experience.” It has a comprehensive
Canada collection of photographs taken from World
604-662-4700 War I to the present day and holds regular JAPAN
www.vanartgallery.bc.ca exhibitions of war photography.
Featuring the work of Canadian photog- National Museum of Modern Art
raphers, this museum holds both perma- 3 Kitanomaru Koen
National Museum of
nent and temporary exhibitions. Chiyoda-Tokyo 102-8322
Photography, Film & Television
Japan
Bradford
Justina M. Barnicke Gallery 813-3214-2561
West Yorkshire BD1 1NQ
Hart House 813-3272-8600 Information service
England
7 Hart House Circle www.momat.go.jp
44 1274 20 20 30
University of Toronto The National Museum of Modern Art was
Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H3 Founded in 1983 as part of the National
opened in 1952 as Japan’s first national art
416-978-8398 Museum of Science and Industry, it holds
museum. Along with works by photogra-
www.utoronoto.ca/gallery an impressive photographic collection,
phers from many nations, its exhibitions
including the world’s first negative, created
Although specializing in images captured feature images taken by acclaimed Japanese
by William Henry Fox Talbot.
by Canadian masters of the medium, this photographers.
gallery regularly displays the work of pho- Victoria and Albert Museum
tographers from around the world. Tokyo Metropolitan
Cornwall Road
Museum of Photography
South Kensington
1-13-3 Mita
London SW7 2RL
ENGLAND England
Meguro-ku
Tokyo 153-0062
44 207 942 2000
The Fox Talbot Museum Japan
www.vwm.ac.uk
Lacock, Chippenham 813-3280-0031
Wiltshire SN15 2LG One of the most renowned museums in the www.tokyo-photo–museum.or.jp
England world, the Victoria and Albert contains 146
The exhibits and photographic holdings of
44 1249 730 459 galleries. The works of masters of British
this museum are primarily by Japanese
photography are regularly exhibited at the
photographers.
museum.
......................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY MUSEUMS AND WEBSITES• 149
Further General Histories of Photography
Beaton, Cecil, and Gail Buckland. The
Magic Image:The Genius of Photography
Rosenblum, Naomi. A World History of
Photography. New York: Abbeville, 1997.
Sandler, Martin W. America, A Celebration!
Reading from 1839 to the Present Day. London:
Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1975.
New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2000.
———. American Image: Photographing One
Frizot, Mitchel, Colin Harding, and Pierre Hundred Fifty Years in the Life of a Nation.
Albert, eds. A New History of Photography. Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1989.
New York: Könemann, 1998.
———. The Story of American Photography:
George Eastman House. Photography from An Illustrated History for Young People.
George Eastman House, Rochester, NY. New York: Little, Brown, 1979.
New York:Taschen, 1999.
Stepan, Peter, ed. Icons of Photography: The
Goldberg,Vicki, and Robert Silberman. Twentieth Century. New York: Prestel,
American Photography: A Century of 1999.
Images. San Francisco: Chronicle, 1999.
Szarkowski, John. Looking at Photographs:
Newhall, Beaumont. The History of Photogr- 100 Pictures from the Collection of the
aphy: From 1839 to the Present. 5th rev. ed. Museum of Modern Art. Greenwich,
New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1982. Conn.: New York Graphic Society,
1973.
......................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 150
Goldberg,Vicki, ed. Photographs in Print: Willis, Deborah. Reflections in Black: A Jones, Edgar. Father of Art Photography:
Writings from 1816 to the Present. New History of Black Photographers, 1840 to the O. G. Rejlander, 1813–1875. Greenwich,
York: Simon & Schuster, 1988. Present. New York: Norton, 2000. Conn.: New York Graphic Society, 1973.
Greenhill, Ralph. Early Photography in Wood, John, and Merry A. Foresta. The Art Karsh,Yusuf. Karsh: A Sixty-Year
Canada.Toronto: Oxford University of the Autochrome:The Birth of Color Retrospective. Boston: Bullfinch, 1996.
Press, 1965. Photography. Iowa City: University of
Maddox, Ben. Edward Weston, His Life and
Iowa Press, 1993.
Guggenheim Museum. In/Sight, African Photographs:The Definitive Volume of His
Photographers, 1940 to the Present. New Photographic Work. Millerton, N.Y.:
York: Abrams, 1996. Individual Photographers Aperture, 1979.
Haworth-Booth, Mark. The Golden Age of Alinder, James, and John Szarkowski. Ansel Metzger, Jerald C., intro. Walker Evans:
British Photography 1839–1900: Adams: Classic Images. Boston: Little, Photographs for the Farm Security
Photographs from the Victoria and Albert Brown, 1986. Administration. New York: Da Capo,
Museum with Selections from the Callahan, Sean, ed. The Photography of 1973.
Philadelphia Museum of Art . . . . New Margaret Bourke-White. Boston: New Michaels, Barbara L. Gertrude Käsebier:The
York: Aperture, 1984. York Graphic Society, 1975. Photographer and Her Photographs. New
Hurley, F. Jack. Industry and the Photographic Daniel, Pete, and Raymond Smock. A York: Abrams, 1992.
Image: 153 Great Prints from 1850 to the Talent for Detail:The Photographs of Miss Millstein, Barbara Head, and Sarah M.
Present. New York: Dover, 1980. Frances Benjamin Johnston, 1889–1910. Lowe. Consuela Kanaga: An American
Margolis, Marriane Fulton, ed. Camera New York: Harmony, 1974. Photographer. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Brooklyn
Work: A Pictorial Guide. New York: Ford, Colin, ed. An Early Victorian Album: Museum, 1992.
Dover, 1978. The Photographic Masterpieces Newhall, Nancy. P. H. Emerson:The Fight for
Meredith, Roy. Mr. Lincoln’s Camera Man: (1843–1847) of David Octavius Hill and Photography as a Fine Art. New York:
Mathew B. Brady. 2d rev. ed. New York: Robert Adamson. New York: Knopf, 1976. Aperture, 1975.
Dover, 1974. Frank, Robert. The Americans. New York: Plimpton, George, intro. Toni Frissell,
Newhall, Beaumont. The Daguerreotype in Pantheon, 1986. Photographs: 1933–1967. New York:
America. 3rd rev. ed. New York: Dover, Frank,Waldo, et al., eds. America and Alfred Doubleday, 1994.
1976. Stieglitz: A Collective Portrait. Millerton, Sobieszek, Robert A., and Odette M.
Peterson, Christian A. Alfred Stieglitz’s N.Y.: Aperture, 1979. Appel. The Daguerreotypes of Southworth
Camera Notes. New York: Norton, 1993. Frith, Francis. Egypt and the Holy Land in and Hawes. New York: Dover, 1980.
Rosenblum, Naomi. A History of Women Historic Photographs. New York: Dover, Steichen, Edward. The Family of Man:The
Photographers. New York: Abbeville, 1994. 1980. Photographic Exhibition. New York: Simon
Gernsheim, Helmut. Julia Margaret & Schuster, 1955.
Stryker, Roy Emerson, and Nancy Wood.
In This Proud Land: America as Seen in the Cameron, Her Life and Photographic Work. ———. A Life in Photography. Garden City,
FSA Photographs. Boston: New York 2d. ed. Millerton, N.Y.: Aperture, 1975. N.Y.: Doubleday, 1981.
Graphic Society,1973. Hurley, F. Jack. Marion Post Wolcott: Trachtenberg, Alan. America and Lewis
Sullivan, Constance, ed. Great Photographic A Photographic Journey. Albuquerque: Hine: Photographs 1904–1940. New York:
Essays from Life. Boston: New York University of New Mexico Press, 1989. Aperture, 1977.
Graphic Society, 1978.
......................................................................
FURTHER READING • 151
Page references in boldface type refer Arbus, Diane, King and Queen of the Ball,
to illustrations. 136
Archer, Frederick Scott, 13, 144
Abbott, Berenice, 80–81 Architectural photography, 48–49
Changing New York, 80, 81 Paris street scenes, 80
Adams, Ansel, 47–48, 66, 133 Plumbe dageurreotypes of
Adams, Eddie, 94 Washington, D.C., 13
Adamson, Robert, 26–27, 48, 58 See also street photography
Adobe PhotoShop, 142–143 Art et Decoration (Paris), 99
Advertising photography, 20, 21, 26, 124 Artistic photography, 34, 56–71, 134–
African Americans 135
Portraits of, 34–35 Art photography movement, 34, 57–59,
Schools and school children, 74–75 62–69
Agee, James, 88 Atget, Eugène, 79–80, 81, 100
Cabinet card, 28
Cahoon, C. D., 9
Callahan, Harry, 133–134, 135
Calotypes, 7, 10–11, 27, 48
Image Not Available Camera, fundamental features of, 11
Camera Club of New York, 65
Camera Notes, 65
Cameras
35mm cameras, 92
Camera obscura (dark chamber), 8
Detective, or spy camera, 77
Digital cameras, 142
Disposable cameras, 142
Eastman’s Brownie camera, 21
Kodak instamatic camera, 20, 21, 119,
......................................................................
PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 152
Leica, 92–93 Handcoloring of, 117 Royal Photographic Society display,
“Mammoth” camera, 40, 46 Studios, 25–26 106
Pinhole camera, 19 Dahl-Wolfe, Louise, 124 Trans-Mississippi International
Polaroid Land Camera, 142 Dali, Salvador, 36 Exposition (1898), 32
Rolleiflex twin-lens, 93 Daniels, John T., 150 Victoria and Albert Museum, 106
Stereographic camera, 16, 40 Davison, George, 62–63, 67 World’s fairs and expositions, 31
Camera Work, 65, 68, 69 Berkshire Teams and Teamsters, 62 Expedition photography. See survey
Cameron, Julia Margaret, 29–31, 30, 66 De, Szathmary, Carol Baptiste, 105 photography
Candid photography, 77 Deceptive Angle Box, 77
Capa, Robert, 110–111, 114 Degas, Edgar, 63 “Family of Man” exhibit, 67
Cape Light (Meyerowitz), 123 Delano, Jack, 86, 87 Farm Security Administration (FSA),
Carlyle,Thomas, 30 Demachy, Robert, 63, 64 photo project, 86–89
Carte-de-visite, 16, 32 De Meyer, Adolphe, 64, 99 Fashion photography, 99, 124, 134
Cartier-Bresson, Henri, 98, 100 Depression era. See Great Depression Fellig, Usher. See Weegee
Castiglione, Countess, 22 Detroit Photographic Company, 117 Fenton, Roger, 105–106, 109, 144
Celebrity photography, 27–28, 35–36 Direct positive image, 8–9 Ferrotypes (“ferro”). See tintypes
Censorship, 142 Disdéri, Adolphe Eugène, 16 Film
Chang, Al, 112 Documentary photography, 72–89 Color films, 129
Chiaroscuro, 35, 57 Farm Security Administration project, Ektachrome slide film, 120
Child labor photographs, 85–86 86–89 Ektacolor film, 120
Children of the Tenements (Riis), 85 Political activist photography, 82 Fast film, 92
Chinatown photographs, 76–78 Social documentary, 73, 83 Flexible film, invention of, 20–21
Chintamon, Hurrychind, 32 Straight documentary, 73, 82 Fuji film, 121
Church, Frederick Fargo, 6 Doppel Sport Pigeon Camera, 77 Kodachrome film, 119
Churchill,Winston, 36 Dresden Albuminizing Company, 59 Fiske, Harrison Grey, 74
Civil War photography, 29, 42, 107, 108, Drum (South African magazine), Fortune, 96, 97, 99, 102, 134
109 100–101 Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, 91
See also Brady, Mathew Dry plate process, 17–18 Frank, Robert, 134–136
Cleveland, Grover, 73–74 Du Camp, Maxime, 40 Friedlander, Lee, 136–137
Club-der-Amateur Photographers, 63, Dunmore, John, 55 New York Street Scene, 137
64 Frissell,Toni, 99, 111, 113
Coburn, Alvin Langdon, 57 Eastman Dry Plate Company, 145 Frith, Francis, 40, 41, 48, 107
Colliers, 96 Eastman, George, 6, 7, 20–21, 119, 143, Fuji (Japanese film company), 121, 145
Collodion wet plate process, 13–17, 39, 145
106, 107, 109 Eastman Kodak, 120 Gallagher, Barrett, 115
Colorado River, 42 Edgerton, Harold, Flying bullet, 5 Galleries. See museums and galleries;
Color photography, 50, 116–129 Eggleston,William, 122–123 photographic studios
Agfachrome, 120 Electrophotography, 128 Gardner, Alexander, 16, 28–29, 108
Autochrome, 119 Elliot, John, 32 Gardner, James, 108
Ektachorome slide film, 120 Emerson, Peter Henry, 59–60, 63, 67, Garo, John, 35
Films and papers, 129 93 Genthe, Arnold, 76–78
Kodachrome, 119–120 Eugene, Frank, 119 Geological surveys. See survey photogra-
Combat photography. See war photogra- Evans, Frederick Henry, 49, 59 phy
phy The Sea of Steps-Wells Cathedral, 49 Gibson, George, 108
Composite prints, 58 Evans,Walker, 37, 87, 88–89, 134 Godowsky, Leopold, 119–120, 128
Compte, Fr. Louis, 32 Country store, 88, 89 Golden, Revel, 140
Computer-enhanced photography, Exhibitions Gray, Robert, 77
127–128, 142–143 Club-der-Amateur Photographers Great Depression, photographic projects,
Conklin, Paul, 89 exhibitions, 63–64 80–81, 86–88
Cook, George, 107 Eggleston’s color prints at MOMA, Great Pyramid, Egypt, 40
Cooley, Samuel A., 107 122–123 Groover, Jan, 122, 123
Coonley, Jacob F., 107 “Family of Man” exhibit, 67 Gum-bichromate process, 63, 64
Cos, Charles, 118 Kunsthalle Museum exhibit, 64 Gursky, Andreas, 124, 125
Crimean War, 105–107, 106 Linked Ring exhibit, 64
Critcherson, George, 55 Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession Haas, Ernst, 124
Curtis, Edward S., 50, 52–53, 145 (studio “291”) exhibits, 65–66 Halasz, Gyula. See Brassaï
Kutenai duck hunter, 52 London Photographic Society annual Halftone printing process, 91–92
exhibition, 31 Halsman, Phillipe, 36–37
Daguerre, Louis Jacques Mandé, 7–9, Mapplethorpe exhibit, 142 Hampton Institute,Virginia, 74, 75
117, 144 Paris Exposition (1900), 74 Harper’s Weekly, 91, 107–108
Daguerreotypes, 7–9, 11, 12, 23–25, 24, Photo-Club de Paris, 64 Hauron, Louis Ducos du, 118
26 Porter exhibit, 122 Hawes, Josiah, 24–26, 26
Challenges of sitting for, 25
......................................................................
INDEX • 153
Hayden, Frank F. V., 42 Latimer, Horace A., 54 National Child Labor Committee,
Helmholtz, Hermann von, 118, 129 Lawrence, George R., 46 85–86
Helsby,Thomas, 32 Lee, Russell, title page, 87 National Geographic, 96, 126
Henning, John, 27 Le Gray, Gustave, 58 Native American portraits, 31–32, 33,
Herschel, Sir John, 29, 30, 31 Leibowitz, Annie, 99 52–53, 89, 118
Hill, David Octavius, 26–27, 48, 58, 66 Leica (camera), 92–93, 145 Naturalistic Photography for Students of the
Hiller, Mary, 30 Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (Agee Art (Emerson), 60
Hillers, John, 42 and Evans), 88 Nature photography, 45–47, 59–61, 122,
Hindenburg explosion, 94 Levy, Max, 91 132–133
Hine, Lewis, 74, 85–86, 145 Leys, Robert, 32 Near East photography, 39–41, 48
Horgan, Stephen, 91 Life (news magazine), 97, 98, 101, 112, Negative-positive calotype process,
How the Other Half Lives (Riis), 84–85 134 10–11
Huynh Cong Ut (“Nick” Ut), 112, L’Illustration (France), 91 Newhall, Beaumont, 67, 98
113 Lincoln, Abraham, portraits of, 29 Newman, Arnold, 36
Huynh Thanh My, 112 Lindbergh, Charles, 94 Newspaper photography, 35, 90–103,
Hyposulfite (“hypo”), 9 Linked Ring, 62, 63, 64 110
Lipka, Jann, 143 New York City
Ibarra, Gregorio, 32 Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession Mobster activities, 95–96
A Illustracato (Brazil), 91 (studio “291”), 65–66 Skyline, 124
Illustrated Australian News, 91 Livingston, Kathryn, 138 Slum and tenement living, 84, 95
Illustrated London News, 91 Look (news magazine), 134 Street scenes, 67, 80, 81, 116, 137
Immigrants, 76–77, 84–85 Luce, Henry, 97 Niepce, Joseph-Nicéphore, 7, 117
Industrial photography, 99, 102–103 Lumière, Louis and Auguste, 118–119, The North American Indians (Curtis),
Instant photography, 142 128 53, 145
International Center of Photography
(New York City), 147 McCosh, John, 48 Office of Economic Opportunity
Iturbide, Graciela, 137–138 Maddox, Richard Leach, 17 (OEO), photo project, 89
Ives, Frederic, 91 Magubane, Peter, 101 Ortiz Monasterio, Pablo, 137–138
Maisel, Jay, Boy blowing bubble, 127 O’Sullivan,Timothy, 42, 43
Jackson,William Henry, cover, 42, 44, Mannes, Leopold, 119–120, 128 Black Cañon of the Colorado, 14
45, 117 Man of the Twentieth Century (Sander’s Ruins in Richmond, 108, 109
Johnson, Lyndon B., 94 photo project), 33, 34 Outerbridge, Paul, 68
Johnston, Frances Benjamin, 15, 73–75, Mapplethorpe, Robert, 142
92 Marcelin, Yesteryear and Today, 27 Panchromatic sensitivity, 118–119
Joly, John, 118 Maskell, Alfred, 64 Paris
Jumpbook (Halsman), 37 Matson, Edith (Yanktiss), 50 Lindbergh landing, 94
Matson, G. Eric, 50–51 Storefront images, 80
Shepherd with his flock, 51 Street scenes, 80
Kanaga, Consuelo, 34–35 Matson Photo Service, 52 Paris Match, 96
Karsh,Yousuf, 35–36 Maxwell, James Clerk, 117–118, 128 Parks, Gordon, 97
Käsebier, Gertrude, 67–68 Meissenbach, George, 91 Pedro II, Dom (emperor of Brazil), 32
Blessed Art Thou Among Women, 68 Meluish,William, 32 The Pencil of Nature (Talbot), 48
Keegan, Marcia, 89 Mexican photographers, 137–138 Penn, Irving, 59, 99
Kennedy, Jacqueline, 94 Meyerowitz, Joel, 122, 123, 126 Photo-Club de Paris, 65
Kerlee, Charles, 115 Middle East photo project, 51–52 Photo Cravate, 77
Kertész, André, 81 Miller,Wayne, 111 Photograms (“Rayographs”), 70
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 94 Modern photography, 130–143 Photographic clubs, 31, 62, 63, 64, 65
Klic, Karl, 93 Modotti,Tina, 82, 132 Photographic magazines, 91
Knox, David, 108 Moholy-Nagy, László, 70, 133 Photographic process
Kodachrome, 119–120 Morgan, Barbara, Spring on Madison Developing the latent image, 8–9
Kodak camera, 20, 21 Square, 71 And emulsion, 17, 63
Korean War photography, 104, 105, 112 Morgan, J. Pierpont, 52 And emulsion for panchromatic
Krist, Bob, Mount Orgueil Castle, 126 Morse, Samuel F. B., 12, 24 sensitivity, 118
Kühn, Heinrich, 119, 146 Mount Orgueil Castle, England, 126 Fixing the image, 9
Kunsthalle Museum (Hamburg), exhibit, Müchener Illustrierte Presse (Munich See also names of specific processes
64 Illustrated Press), 96 The Photographic Sketchbook of the Civil
Muybridge, Edweard, 18–19, 63, 143, War (James and Timothy Gardner),
Land, Edwin H., 142 144 108
Landscape photography, 38–55 The Horse in Motion, 18 Photographic studios
Lange, Dorothea, 68, 72, 73, 86, 87, 88 Brady studios in New York and
Lantern slides, 118 Nadar (Gaspard Félix Tournachon), 23, Washington, D.C., 12, 29, 107
Lartigue, Jacques-Henri, 78–79 28, 29 Description of, 25–26
Delage Racer at Full Speed, 78
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PHOTOGRAPHY / AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY • 154
This photograph of an American
family was left behind on the
lunar surface as evidence of man’s
visit to the moon.
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INDEX • 155
Straight documentary, 73, 82 Uelsmann, Jerry, 141 White, Clarence H., 34, 68, 69
Strand, Paul, 59, 66, 71, 131–132, 133 Ulmann, Doris, 32–34, 68 Drops of Rain, 68, 69
The Family Luzzara, Italy, 131, 132 Untitled Film Stills series (Sherman), White, Minor, 133
Street Life in London (Smith), 83 139–140 Windowsill Daydreaming, 133, 134
Street photography, 67, 80–81, 83, 116, Whitman,Walt, 16
136–137 Valera, Florencio, 32 Willis,William, 59
Stryker, Roy, 87 Venice (Italy), 56 Wolcott, Marion Post, 87, 124
Studios. See photographic studios Vietnam War photography, 94–95, 112, Wollaston,William Hyde, 144
Survey photography, 41–44 113 Women, stereotyping of, 140
Sutcliffe, Frederick Meadow, 60–62, 67 Vogue fashion photography, 99 Workers (Salgado), 130, 131, 139
Water Rats, 61 Vu (France), 96 Work Progress Administration (WPA),
photo projects, 80–81
Talbot,William Henry Fox, 48 War photography, 67, 104–115 World War I photography, 67, 77, 109,
frontispiece, 7, 8, 10–11 Warren,William, 89 110–111, 114–115
Lacock Abbey, 10 Washington, Booker T., 74 World War II photography, Iwo Jima
Leaves of Orchidea, 10 Watkins, Carleton E., 41, 144 photo, 94, 114, 115
Talbotypes. See calotypes El Capitan, 42 Wright brothers flight, 150
Tennyson, Alfred Lord, 29, 106 Weber, Bruce, 99
Theatrical photography, 27–28 Wedding portraits, 37 Yanktiss, Edith. See Matson, Edith
Thomson, John, 83 Weegee (Usher Fellig), 95 (Yanktiss)
Tice, George, 59 Wegman,William, 125, 141 Yellowstone area, 43, 44
Tintypes, 15, 117, 118, 144 Wells Cathedral (England), 49 Yosemite Valley, Calif., El Capitan, 41, 42
Tournachon, Gaspard Félix. See Nadar Weston, Edward, 59, 71, 82, 121, 132–133 Young,Thomas, 117, 129
Tress, Arthur, 89 Cypress, Point Lobos, 1929, 132, 133
Tripe, Linnaeus, 48 The West. See American West Zoopraxiscope, 19–20
Tuskegee Institute, Alabama, 74–75 Wet plate process. See collodion wet
plate process
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PHOTOGRAPHY • 156
Picture Aperture, Paul Strand Archives: 132; Art
Institute of Chicago: 70 bottom, 136 bot-
tom; Associated Press: 94 top, 113 bot-
116, 124 top right, 133, 136 top, 137,
141, 150; Courtesy, Jann Lipka: 143 bot-
tom; Magnum Photos: 100, 114 top;