Tuesday, March 5

Today's class discussion centered around the portrait in photoraphy. Be began class by looking at photos by Scarlett (which are great!). We then looked at several other portrait photographers. Nadar, a French photographer, was first studied. Nadar photographed in the 1850s and 60s and has a number of interesting photos. Many of his photos capture a subject who is not smiling and appears to be somewhat uncomfortable. This is far different from the norm today, where people must smile in portraits. We then looked at photos by Julia Margaret Cameron, an English photographer who photographed in the mid-19th century. Her images were the beginning of art photography. She used images of people to create a mood. She was much more interested in the poetic possibility of her images. August Sander, a German, was then studied. Sander photographed around the time of World War I and during the 1930s. He was interested in documenting everday life in Germany, and captured the Weimar Republic. Finally, we looked at photos by Bill Brandt who was a British photographer. Brandt was a documentary/environmental photographer who captured a number of subjects, including many coal miners. His photos of coal miners captures the reality of the job.

KEY WORDS/PEOPLE
*Nadar- was a French photographer who photographed portraits of people in the 1850s and 60s. Many of his photos capture subjects who are not smiling and appear to be somewhat uncomfortable, drastically different from portraits of today. He also photographed Catacombs.

*David Octavius Hill- (1802 – 1870) collaborated with the engineer and photographer Robert Adamson between 1843 and 1847 to pioneer many aspects of photography in Scotland. Their collaboration, with Hill providing skill in composition and lighting, and Adamson considerable sensitivity and dexterity in handling the camera, proved extremely successful, and they soon broadened their subject matter. Adamson's studio, "Rock House", on Calton Hill in Edinburgh became the centre of their photographic experiments. Using the Calotype process, they produced a wide range of portraits depicting well-known Scottish luminaries of the time, including Hugh Miller, both in the studio and in outdoors settings, often amongst the elaborate tombs in Greyfriars Kirkyard.

*Robert Adamson- (1821 –1848) was a Scottish pioneer photographer. See above

*Julia Margaret Cameron- was a British photographer who photographed in the mid-19th century. She created the beginning of art photography. She used imagery of people to create a mood. She specialized in soft focus. She was more interested in poetic possibility of imagery. She was conscious of photography as an art form. Many portraits are of her niece.

*August Sander- was a German photographer who photographed in and around the time of WWI and also in 1930s. He wanted to document everyday life in Germany. He also captured Weimar Republic, before it was destroyed.

*Bill Brandt- (1904 –1983) was an influential British photographer and photojournalist known for his high-contrast images of British society and his distorted nudes and landscapes. He also captured coal miners, and the reality of coal mining.

*Yousuf Karsh- (December 23, 1908 –2002) was a Canadian photographer of Armenian heritage, and one of the most famous and accomplished portrait photographers of all time. He created portraits of many famous people, including Winston Churchill, Humphrey Bogart, Einstein, etc.

*Richard Avedon- (1923 –2004) was an American photographer. Avedon was able to take his early success in fashion photography and expand it into the realm of fine art. Avedon was always interested in how portraiture captures the personality and soul of its subject. Avedon also created two famous sets of portraits of The Beatles.

*Environmental portraiture- when you took a portrait in the environment in which the subject either works or lives.