2nd Photo History Prep Flashcards
2nd Photo History Prep
Why did the French Commission on Historical Monuments hire photographers? Which process did they mostly use?
O. Mestral. Cahors, Pont Valentre’ 1851 Calotype. To provide a census of France’s architectural patrimony. To preserve and modernize France. Documenting aged and crumbling edifices slated for restoration. Under Napoleon III.
Which photographic process was most used in the land surveys of the American West in the mid-late 19th century?
Using the cumbersome wet plate process. Edward Muybridge. Clouds Rest. Valley of Yosemite. 1870 Albumen Silver Print.
Who, what, when, where and how?
Timothy O’Sullivan, Tufa Domes, 1867, albumen print
Who, what, when, where and how?
Edward Curtis, The Vanishing Race, c. 1904, Platinum Print
What challenges did early war and reporting photographers face? How did this affect their pictures?
Very limited
– no way to stop action, no way to disseminate image
Yet
- a better way to capture current events than before
Stylistic approach
– no close ups or unusual viewpoints
– straight-on, distant views that included the entire scene
Difficulty of using collodion in the field
– Photographs are mostly of preparations and aftermaths of battle
Logistics of travelling with dark room. dust impacted quality of photos. Limited subject matter. couldn’t caputre motion.
Who, what, when, where and how?
Roger Fenton, Valley of the Shadow of Death, 1855, Albumen print
How was photographic documentation of the Civil War in the United States different from previous documentation of other wars?
❏ After Crimean War -
A shift in images of war
❏ Made independently of governments
❏ Showing the horrific side
❏ Importance on getting the image to the public ASAP
- Matthew Brady’s
coverage of the Civil War: new idea of camera as historian
- Used portable wagon darkroom – called “whatsit wagons”
How do these cartoons drawn by Nadar describe the divide between photography and painting in the mid-late 19th century?
Photography just asking for a little place in the exhibition of fine arts. The ingratitude of painting refusing the smalest place in its exhibition to photography to whom it owes so much.
Lady Elizabeth Eastlake = yes or no?
Is Photography an Art? Yes
Thomas Eakins = yes or no?
Is Photography an Art? Yes
Sir William Newton = yes or no?
Is Photography an Art? No
Baudelaire = yes or no?
Is Photography an Art? No
Who, what, when, where and how?
Oscar G. Rejlander, The Two Ways of Life, 1857, albumen print
This is an example of what kind of photographic process?
Albumen Composite Print - Henry Peach Robinson, Fading Away 1858
Who developed the theory of “Naturalism” in photography?
Peter Henry Emerson, In the Barley Harvest 1888 - Photo Gravure Print. In the publication entitled Naturalistic Photography….
Who, what, when, where and how?
Chronophotography. Eadweard Muybridge. Galloping Horse, Motion Study. 1878 Collotype.
What did chronophotography and movement studies become the basis for?
Motion Pictures
What was Eastman Kodak’s motto?
You press the button we do the rest.
Who, what, when, where and How?
Jacques, Henri Lartigue Avenue du Bois de Boulogne, Jan 15, 1911 Gelatin Silver Print
What was the goal of Pictorialist photographers? How did their style reflect it?
Photographs should be regarded as pictures in the same sense as images made entirely by hand. Judged for artistry and ability to evoke feeling rather than their power of description.
Who, what, when, where and how?
Gertrude Kasebier, The Picture Book, 1903 Gravure Print.
What did this photo of a gallery hope to achieve? Pictorialist.
Display photographs as art in a one by one view.
