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Hello fellow men and women of the historical persuasion...
I have a few things to present to this forum, in general interest to those fascinated by early 19th century photography. First of all, I would like to introduce the photographer David Octavius Hill, who originally made his living as a landscape artist in Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1843 he was commissioned to paint a picture of the entire assembly of the Free Church of Scotland. Since there were 474 members in the assembly, he employed the photographer Robert Adamson to aid him in painting this enormous work. Over a four year period, the two men struck over 2,500 images of citizens, fishermen, buildings, and landscapes. The George Eastman House Collection contains over 300 of his photos, mostly taken in the 1840's. They are simply amazing. You can view them at:
Another photographer that I'd like to highlight is George N. Barnard, which many of you may be familiar with as he was the official war photographer who accompanied Sherman on his March to the Sea. Sixty-one of his photos from that campaign were published in 1866 in "Photographic Views of Sherman's Campaign", which made Barnard famous. However, in 1871, his studio and house were destroyed in Chicago's Great Fire; Barnard was in the blazes photographing the catastrophe with a stereo camera. Barnard also caught a fire at a grain mill in Oswego, New York on July 5, 1853 from a barge. It is perhaps one of the first news photograph in history, as it captured the event as it was happening.
You can view some of Barnard's panoramic works at the Library of Congress Site here:
The George Eastman House has 26 stereo views by Barnard:
Another subject that I'd like to touch upon is women photographers of the time. In America, there were women who were studio photographers, especially in the later stages of the western frontier. However, I will point to two well known European female photographers. Firstly, Julia Margaret Cameron. Cameron was born in Calcutta in 1815 and moved to England in 1863 with her English husband, at which time she was presented with a camera. She began photographing as an amateur at this time. She is known for her portraits of well-to-do citizenry of the Isle of Wright, where she kept her studio. She is also known for her photographs using servants and local children as models in Pre-Raphaelite art inspired scenes. Most of her work spans past the Civil War, but she did do some work that was within this time period. Nevertheless, her contributions and style caused a profound impact on 19th century photographic history. Cameron was to become the first world renowned female photographer.
You can view some of Cameron's work at the Getty Museum's online site:
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Another woman photographer of note was Scottish born aristocrat Clementina Hawarden. Born in 1822 in Scotland, she married Lord Hawarden in 1846 and began her photographic enterprises in 1857. She exhibited at the London Photographic Society twice where she was awarded the silver medal both times. Fellow photographer and children's writer Lewis Carroll purchased five of her photographs in 1864. Lady Hawarden died in 1865 of pneumonia. Hawarden is known for her intimate tableaux photos that create mini-dramas between her subjects and their environments.
You can view some of her works at:
The last photographer I would like to bring up is Gustave Le Gray. Le Gray studied painting in Paris, but found he made more money in photography. However, he ran up large debts and abandoned his family in 1861 for Egypt. He still continued exhibiting in photographic symposiums in Europe. He died in Cairo in 1884. Le Gray is most known for his maritime photos in which he would take two separate negatives and combine them into one image. He did this because photographic technology at the time did not allow for the diverse effects of a rolling sea and a cloudy sky to be photographed simultaneously, with full dramatic effect rendered properly. This was a new innovation at the time, and indeed his photographs are amazing in that a rolling sea and a cloud spotted horizon is present in one single image, although it is comprised of two separate negatives.
You can view Le Gray's photos at the Getty Museum. Be sure to try the interactive feature at the bottom of the "Seascape" segment:
I hope you enjoy this information and find that there are dozens of other photographers that are just as engaging and interesting! It's amazing to view photography of the era as the artform that the photographers saw it as in their own time.
~Natalie Baur
I have a few things to present to this forum, in general interest to those fascinated by early 19th century photography. First of all, I would like to introduce the photographer David Octavius Hill, who originally made his living as a landscape artist in Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1843 he was commissioned to paint a picture of the entire assembly of the Free Church of Scotland. Since there were 474 members in the assembly, he employed the photographer Robert Adamson to aid him in painting this enormous work. Over a four year period, the two men struck over 2,500 images of citizens, fishermen, buildings, and landscapes. The George Eastman House Collection contains over 300 of his photos, mostly taken in the 1840's. They are simply amazing. You can view them at:
Another photographer that I'd like to highlight is George N. Barnard, which many of you may be familiar with as he was the official war photographer who accompanied Sherman on his March to the Sea. Sixty-one of his photos from that campaign were published in 1866 in "Photographic Views of Sherman's Campaign", which made Barnard famous. However, in 1871, his studio and house were destroyed in Chicago's Great Fire; Barnard was in the blazes photographing the catastrophe with a stereo camera. Barnard also caught a fire at a grain mill in Oswego, New York on July 5, 1853 from a barge. It is perhaps one of the first news photograph in history, as it captured the event as it was happening.
You can view some of Barnard's panoramic works at the Library of Congress Site here:
The George Eastman House has 26 stereo views by Barnard:
Another subject that I'd like to touch upon is women photographers of the time. In America, there were women who were studio photographers, especially in the later stages of the western frontier. However, I will point to two well known European female photographers. Firstly, Julia Margaret Cameron. Cameron was born in Calcutta in 1815 and moved to England in 1863 with her English husband, at which time she was presented with a camera. She began photographing as an amateur at this time. She is known for her portraits of well-to-do citizenry of the Isle of Wright, where she kept her studio. She is also known for her photographs using servants and local children as models in Pre-Raphaelite art inspired scenes. Most of her work spans past the Civil War, but she did do some work that was within this time period. Nevertheless, her contributions and style caused a profound impact on 19th century photographic history. Cameron was to become the first world renowned female photographer.
You can view some of Cameron's work at the Getty Museum's online site:
Another woman photographer of note was Scottish born aristocrat Clementina Hawarden. Born in 1822 in Scotland, she married Lord Hawarden in 1846 and began her photographic enterprises in 1857. She exhibited at the London Photographic Society twice where she was awarded the silver medal both times. Fellow photographer and children's writer Lewis Carroll purchased five of her photographs in 1864. Lady Hawarden died in 1865 of pneumonia. Hawarden is known for her intimate tableaux photos that create mini-dramas between her subjects and their environments.
You can view some of her works at:
The last photographer I would like to bring up is Gustave Le Gray. Le Gray studied painting in Paris, but found he made more money in photography. However, he ran up large debts and abandoned his family in 1861 for Egypt. He still continued exhibiting in photographic symposiums in Europe. He died in Cairo in 1884. Le Gray is most known for his maritime photos in which he would take two separate negatives and combine them into one image. He did this because photographic technology at the time did not allow for the diverse effects of a rolling sea and a cloudy sky to be photographed simultaneously, with full dramatic effect rendered properly. This was a new innovation at the time, and indeed his photographs are amazing in that a rolling sea and a cloud spotted horizon is present in one single image, although it is comprised of two separate negatives.
You can view Le Gray's photos at the Getty Museum. Be sure to try the interactive feature at the bottom of the "Seascape" segment:
I hope you enjoy this information and find that there are dozens of other photographers that are just as engaging and interesting! It's amazing to view photography of the era as the artform that the photographers saw it as in their own time.
~Natalie Baur
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