History of Photography

By lcheong
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    Lewis Hine

    Social documentary photographer
    Photographed child labour in the US
    American photographer
    Created composite portraits
    Worked on the Ellis Island project with students, photographed people entering the US
    Used to be a teacher
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    Imogen Cunningham

    1883: Born in Portland, Oregan
    Known for plant images, developed an interest in horticulture when she stayed home to raise her kids
    Had a chemistry background
    1907 - 1909 works as an assistant to Edward Curtis
    Early work is characterized as pictorialism
    1932: She becomes a founding member of the group f/64 with several other photographers including Ansel Adams and Edward Weston
    Did street photography in the 1950's - 60's
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    Dorothea Lange

    Had polio as a young child
    Born in NY in 1985
    Emotional documentarian
    Talked to her subjects, interacted with them, recorded a lot of notes
    1919 owned a studio
    "Migrant Mother" is her most famous work
    Known for capturing the great depression
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    Alfred Eisenstadt

    Lived in the US
    Used a 35mm camera for photojournalism (Leica)
    German/American photographer
    Staff photographer for Life magazine
    Known for working with available light
    Served WW1 before getting injured
  • First Graflex camera is released

  • Kodak Brownie Camera is released

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    The Rise of Modernism in Art

    Modernism was a rejection of Victorian era tradition that focused on the exploration of the industrialized era and the real life problems and politics that came with it. Many avant-garde French artists were iconic contributors to the movement. Impressionism and post-impressionism were the catalyst to Modernism and subsequent movements include cubism, dada and surrealism.
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    Manuel Álvarez Bravo

    Open a museum showcasing Mexican photography
    Created a publishing company to produce books on Mexican artists
    His work was associated with surrealism
    Self taught
    Did own a commercial studio
    Images were rooted in exploring indigenous Mexican culture
    Was a part of the Mexican art Renaissance and focused on the industrialization and modernization of Mexican society
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    Harold "Doc" Edgerton

    Interested in two things: photography and electricity and is credited with being the inventor of electronic flash
    Learns to use a camera from his uncle
    Was a professor as well, teaching in the Science field
    Motivation to do photography was to help him understand things in real life: speed, fluid dynamics, electronics etc.
    Had a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Nebraska
  • First airplane flies

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    Margaret Bourke-White

    Independent woman who achieved many great "firsts"
    Moved from industrial photography to documentary/portraits
    First female staff photographer for LIFE magazine, her image was on the first cover and was part of the first true photo essay
    First western photographer allowed into the Soviet Union to shoot
    Attended the Clarence H. White School of Modern Photography
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    Henri Cartier-Bresson

    Painting and drawing were his first love
    Well traveled, took photos around the world
    Formed Magnum Photo
    Known for the Decisive Moment
    French photographer
    Covered Spanish Civil War
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    Julius Schulman

    Architecture photographer
    Comes out of retirement at the age of 90 to work with Juergen Nogai (a German architecture, art and documentary photography)
    2009 - passes away at the age of 98
    Was interested in nature at a young age, so understood natural light well - this is seen in his work
    His client list included many famous names including Charles and Ray Eames and Frank Lloyd Wright
    Case Study 22 is a well known series
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    Gordon Parks

    Composer, author and film maker
    Most iconic image is a shot of Ella Watson
    Photographed a lot of challenges for the Black community
    1948 First African American photographer for LIFE
    Directed The Learning Tree - a movie based on his life
    Also did the movie Shaft
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    WW1

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    Hiroshi Hamaya

    Photojournalist
    Created images for propaganda
    Originally trained in aerial photography
    First published image was in Home Life Magazine
    First Japanese photographer for Magnum
    Later in his career switched to nature photography too, unspoiled landscapes
    Social, economic photography earlier in his career
    Also worked in long format project which were published in books
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    Women's Suffrage in Canada

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    Irving Penn

    Born in Plainfield, New Jersey
    Attended the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Arts
    Known for his fashion, portrait and still life photography
    Traveled to Mexico
    1943 hired by Alexander Liberman
    Early 60s - Starts to explore different printing methods as he sees a decline in the print quality of his images
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    Diane Arbus

    1923 born in New York
    1941 Marries Allen Arbus who is a photographer and they worked together as a team
    Grew up in a very wealthy family
    Arbus once said, “May favourite thing is to go where I’ve never been”
    Known for striking and confrontational images of people on the streets
    By 1960 she had over 100 photographs published in magazines like Esquire and Harper's Bazaar
    Her suicide drew a lot of attention to her work
    Arbus was criticized for not being compassionate towards her subjects
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    Richard Avedon

    Becomes interested in photography at a young age and joins the Young Men’s Hebrew Association (YMHA) camera club at the age of 12
    Portrait photographer
    Born in New York
    Shot for Harper's Bazaar, eventually becoming lead photographer
    Had many styles throughout his career (minimalist portraits, motion blur/out of focus portraits)
    Started shooting ID photos
    Worked mostly in black and white
  • First 35mm Leica is introduced at Leipzig Spring Fair

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    Vivian Maier

    Worked as a nanny for more than 40 years
    Did street photography
    Did a lot of self portraits
    There were still many undeveloped rolls of film when she passed away
    Work was discovered and recognized after her death
  • First transmitted TV signal

  • First Rolleiflex camera is released

  • Wall Street crashes and triggers the Great Depression

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    WW2

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    Sebastiao Salgado

    Documentary photography
    Joined Magnum Photos in 1960
    Joined his own agency with his wife after leaving Magnum
    Later in his career, switched to taking photos of wildlife and landscape
    Traveled the world documenting people, places, poverty, human condition
    Did long format projects - could take him years to finish a series
    Paid a lot of attention to foreground and background
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    Hiroshi Sugimoto

    Became interested in photography in high school
    Heavily inspired by minimalism/conceptualism
    1970: Graduated fro St. Pauls in Tokyo
    1971: Starts study at Art Center College of Design, receives BFA in 1974
    1978: Begins the Theatre series, shooting movies with long exposures, called this "time exposed"
    Time is a big theme throughout his work
    He not only works in photography but also explores other mediums like installation, architecture
  • The first Polaroid camera is released

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    Annie Leibovitz

    Her family is living in the Philippines when she becomes interested in photography
    Worked for Rolling Stone magazine and she became chief photographer
    1970: Given her first assignment for Rolling Stone magazine to photograph John Lennon
    Enrolled in the San Francisco Art Institute to pursue painting but decides to pursue photography
    Chief photographer for Vanity fair too
    Becomes the second living photographer and first woman to exhibit at the National Portrait gallery in Washington, DC
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    Carrie Mae Weems

    American photographer
    She received her first camera as a birthday present
    Traveled to Europe for the first time in 1975
    1969 gives birth to her only daughter named Faith
    Well educated in photography, received her BFA and MFA
    Her work addressed questions of race and representation
    Her most iconic series is the Kitchen Table series which was published as a book
    Another one of her famous series is Family Pictures and Stories which exhibited at the Multi Cultural Gallery in San Diego
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    Nan Goldin

    Left home at a young age of about 13 or 14
    She is known for her documentation of the LGBTQ2S+ community
    Became her school photographer - how she got into photography
    Focused personal and candid portraits of the people around her
    Describes her work as "the diary I let people read"
    At the age 18 moves in a with a man that introduces to a group of drag queens who she befriends and photographs
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    American Civil Rights Movement

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    Cindy Sherman

    Known self portraits
    Often in series
    Captured the art of self expression
    Met fellow artist Robert Longo at SUNY then they moved to NYC together
    Born in New Jersey, grew up in Long Island, the youngest out of many siblings
    Untitled Film Stills is her most iconic series (1977 - 1980)
    Addresses the male gaze and feminist art
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    Vietnam War

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    Cuban Missile Crisis

    16 October – 20 November 1962
  • Events of May 68 in France

  • Moon landing

  • The internet is born

  • Digital cameras hit the market

  • First smartphone is released