The cyanotype was one of the earliest photographic processes and with its rich, blue color, remains one of the most beautiful. Invented in 1842 by the amazingly prolific Sir John Herschel, the easy-to-produce cyanotype lives on today in the dar

History of Photography Podcast 10 : The Kodak Brownie

Jul 28th, 2015

The Kodak Brownie camera was one of the most popular cameras in the history of photography. The Brownie popularized low-cost photography and introduced the concept of the snapshot to a public eager to preserve their personal and family memories

History of Photography Podcast 9 : Latent Image and Immediate Image

Jun 2nd, 2015

When light sensitive material is exposed to light, a chemical change happens, but this change isn’t necessarily visible. This idea is perhaps part of why early photographers – and early viewers of photographic images – had a hard time with the

History of Photography Podcast 8 : Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky

Apr 22nd, 2015

The photographs of pioneer color photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorsky (1863–1944) give us a remarkable view into a world that is now lost – the Russian Empire just before the Russian Revolution and World War I. In this podcast we ex

History of Photography Podcast 7 : Tina Modotti

Apr 7th, 2015

Tina Modotti (1896 – 1942) was an Italian photographer who was most active in Mexico between 1923 and 1930. Known for her romantic and business relationship with Edward Weston and her friendships with Diego Rivera, Frieda Kahlo and other Mexica

History of Photography Podcast 6 : Looking at Photographs

Mar 9th, 2015

John Szarkowski’s book Looking at Photographs: 100 Pictures from the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art is one of the best ways to learn not only about the history of photography, but also about photography’s aesthetics as well. Szarkowski,

History of Photography Podcast 5 : Gordon Parks

Feb 23rd, 2015

Photographer Gordon Parks, born 1912 and died 2006, was one of the most important figures of twentieth century photography. A humanitarian with a deep commitment to social justice, race relations, poverty, civil rights and honest depictions of

History of Photography Podcast 4 : James Van Der Zee

Feb 9th, 2015

Photographer James Van Der Zee was active from the 1920s through the late 1970s, working primarily in his native Harlem neighborhood in New York city. Through his elegant portraits and images of social, religious and athletic groups, he create

History of Photography Podcast 3 : The Family of Man

Jan 26th, 2015

When the exhibition The Family of Man opened in January of 1955, 60 years ago this month, visitors were greeted by more than 500 photographs and these words by the poet Carl Sandburg: “People! Flung wide and far, born into toil, struggle, blood

History of Photography Podcast 2 : Lisette Model

Jan 13th, 2015

Photographer Lisette Model, born in Vienna, Austria in 1901 and died 1983, was an important street photographer of the early 20th century, defining much of what would be considered part of the street photographer’s aesthetic for decades to com

History of Photography Podcast 1 : Photo History 2.0

Jan 8th, 2015

Welcome to the History of Photography Podcast 2.0! Having retired from my college teaching job, I’m no longer teaching the photo history class, but I have lots of other irons in the fire and want to continue the podcast with some new topics and

Photo History – Class 15 – Photograph as Document, Concept as Photograph

May 9th, 2014

The 15th and final class session examines documentary and conceptual photography, looking at the motivation and rationale behind them. We also try to tie up the ideas of the course with some concluding remarks. Slides for this class session Han

Photo History – Class 14 – Szarkowski: How To See

May 2nd, 2014

During his 29-year tenure as Director of the photography department at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the great curator and photographer John Szarkowski (1925 to 2007) changed the way the world saw photography. This short class session i

Photo History – Class 13 – The Atomic Age and New Frontiers

Apr 26th, 2014

The middle of the 20th century was a time of tremendous change in all areas of the world and especially in the world of photography. This class session looks at the changes that photography experienced during the atomic age through an examinati

Photo History – Class 12 – The Manipulative Impulse

Apr 18th, 2014

Is any photograph real? This question comes up as we trace the trajectory of the manipulated image in this class session. We also try to see if we can figure out where our digital photographic age is taking us and whether we want to go there. S

Photo History – Class 11 – Women in Photography

Apr 12th, 2014

Is anatomy destiny? This class session looks at women’s photography by examining the work of various female photographers as well as by looking at the bigger issue of whether the photographer’s gender changes the images that are made. Slides fo

Photo History – Class 10 – Cameras Big and Small

Mar 29th, 2014

This week, we examine photographers using large cameras and those using small cameras and try to examine the importance of the choice of tools to the photographer. Does the tool drive the idea, or the idea drive the tool? Slides for this class

Photo History – Class 9 – Stieglitz and the Photo Secession

Mar 20th, 2014

One of the great characters in the history of the medium, Alfred Stieglitz was also one of the most influential photographers and promoters of photography of the 20th century. In this class, we look at Stieglitz and the group of photographers a

Photo History – Class 8 – Muybridge, Marey and the Movies

Mar 12th, 2014

Stop-motion photography as practiced by Edweard Muybridge and Etienne-Jules Marey and others is the topic of this class session. These scientific experiments ultimately led to the development of motion pictures by Edison. Slides for this class

Photo History – Class 7 – Stereography and Standard Subjects

Feb 28th, 2014

A slightly shorter class session, as we cover three smaller topics: 1) the ideas surrounding stereoscopic photography, 2) the way 19th century photographers handled photographing standard subjects; once you take away subject, what other choices

Photo History – Class 6 – Photography and Painting

Feb 20th, 2014

The interactive relationship that painting and photography have had for 174 years is the topic of this class session. We attempt to look at how painting influenced photography and vice-versa. We also look briefly at how what photographs “look l

Photo History – Class 5 – Photography as Transport + On The Road

Feb 14th, 2014

Photography as a form of transportation is the topic for class #5. We look at how the advent of wet-plate collodion technology spurred the advance of travel and landscape photography, with a special emphasis on photography of the American west.

Photo History – Class 4 – Light and Likeness: Portrait Photography

Feb 7th, 2014

The 4th class meeting starts a more conceptual approach to the medium’s history. We look at 19th, 20th and some 21st century portraits and see if we can draw some conclusions about what makes a good portrait photograph. We also see if we can dr

Photo History – Class 3 – History Survey Part 2

Jan 31st, 2014

In this second part of a two-part survey, we continue our fast trip through the history of photography, attempting to get a handle on who did what, when they did it and how it happened. We start in around 1880 and finish up in the 1990s. Slides

Photo History – Class 2 – History Survey Part 1

Jan 25th, 2014

Class session #2 is the first part of a two-part overview of the history of photography; a sort of “condensed” history in order to get a sense of the medium’s “who, what, when and where.” This week, we cover from 1800 B.C. to 1888 A.D. Slides f