chapter 9 HIST OF PHOTO

Farm Security Administration

was a New Deal agency created in 1937 to combat rural poverty during the Great Depression. It is renowned for its extensive photographic documentation of American life, capturing the struggles and resilience of rural communities.

Advertising Photography

focuses on creating images specifically designed to promote products, services, or brands. It involves techniques such as staging, props, and editing to make the subject appealing and persuasive.

James Van der Zee

was a prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Photography Style: He is known for his studio portraits that captured the elegance and aspirations of Harlem's residents during the 1920s and 1930s. Invention: Van der Zee did not invent a specific photographic process but was known for his meticulous retouching and use of props to enhance his portraits

Gordon Parks

Parks was associated with the Civil Rights Movement. Photography Style: He documented American life with a focus on social justice, race relations, and the African American experience. Invention: Parks did not invent a specific photographic process but was influential in using photography to address social issues

Let us now Praise Famous Men

is a book by James Agee with photographs by Walker Evans, documenting the lives of impoverished tenant farmers during the Great Depression.

Ella Watson

was part of Gordon Parks' documentation of African American life. Photography Style: Parks' iconic photograph of Ella Watson, titled "American Gothic," captured her in a powerful and poignant pose, symbolizing the struggles of African Americans. Invention: Watson did not invent a photographic process but was the subject of Parks' influential work

An American Exodus: A Record of Human Erosion

is a book by Dorothea Lange and Paul Taylor, documenting the mass migration of farmers to California during the Great Depression.

Ma Burnham

was documented by Dorothea Lange as part of her work with the FSA. Photography Style: Lange's photograph of Ma Burnham captures the resilience and hardship of rural life during the Great Depression. Invention: Burnham did not invent a photographic process but was a subject in Lange's influential work

Migrant Mother

is an iconic photograph by Dorothea Lange, taken in 1936. It depicts Florence Owens Thompson and her children, symbolizing the plight of migrant workers during the Great Depression.

Marines Raising the American Flag on Iwo Jima

taken by Joe Rosenthal in 1945, captures six Marines raising the U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima. It became a symbol of American victory and perseverance during World War II.

Strobe Lighting

is a photographic technique that uses a flash to produce a brief burst of light, allowing photographers to capture fast-moving subjects with clarity and precision

Walker Evans

was a key figure in the documentary photography movement. Photography Style: He is known for his stark, unembellished images of American life during the Great Depression

Berenice Abbott

was associated with the Straight Photography movement. Photography Style: She is known for her detailed and precise photographs of New York City architecture and urban life

Twelve Million Black Voices

is a book by Richard Wright with photographs by Edwin Rosskam, documenting the lives and struggles of African Americans in the early 20th century

Rayograph

• Inventor: Man Ray1

• Description: A type of photogram created by placing objects directly onto photosensitive paper and exposing it to light.

Photogram

• Inventor: The technique was extensively used by László Moholy-Nagy

• Description: A photographic image made without a camera by placing objects directly onto the surface of light-sensitive material and exposing it to light.

Cinematograph

• Inventor: Auguste and Louis Lumière

• Description: A combined camera, projector, and film printer that played a crucial role in the development of motion pictures.Inventor: Auguste and Louis Lumière

• Description: A combined camera, projector, and film printer that played a crucial role in the development of motion pictures.

Zoopraxiscope

• Inventor: Eadweard Muybridge

• Description: An early device for displaying moving images, considered a predecessor of the movie projector.

Kinetoscope

• Inventor: Thomas Edison and William Kennedy Laurie Dickson

• Description: An early motion picture exhibition device designed for films to be viewed by one person at a time through a peephole viewer.

1. Platinum Print

• Inventor: William Willis

• Description: A photographic print made using platinum salts, known for its wide tonal range and exceptional durability.

1. Carbon Print

• Inventor: Alphonse Poitevin

• Description: A photographic print with an image consisting of pigmented gelatin, known for its high quality and resistance to fading.

Kodak Camera

• Inventor: George Eastman

• Description: The first camera that was simple and portable enough to be used by amateur photographers, introduced in 1888.

1. Celluloid Film

• Inventor: John Wesley Hyatt

• Description: A flexible plastic sheet used to capture images, which became the film stock of choice for motion pictures.

X-ray

• Inventor: Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen

• Description: Electromagnetic radiation used to create images of the internal structure of objects, particularly in medical applications.

1. Strobe Lighting

• Inventor: Harold Eugene Edgerton

• Description: A photographic technique that uses a flash to produce a brief burst of light, allowing photographers to capture fast-moving subjects with clarity.

Autochrome

• Inventor: Lumière brothers

• Description: An early color photography process using dyed potato starch grains to create color images.Inventor: Lumière brothers

• Description: An early color photography process using dyed potato starch grains to create color images.

Artist of "Cut with a Kitchen Knife" and the Process Used

Hannah Noch created this work using the process of photomontage, which involves cutting, gluing, rearranging, and overlapping two or more photographs into a new image

Process of Creating the Photographs

1. Setup: Muybridge set up a series of cameras along a racetrack at Leland Stanford's Palo Alto Stock Farm in California. Each camera was equipped with a fast shutter mechanism.

2. Trigger Mechanism: He used tripwires that the horse would break as it ran past, triggering the shutters of the cameras in rapid succession12.

3. Exposure: The cameras captured sequential images at intervals of about 1/1,000th of a second, producing a series of photographs that showed the different stages of the horse's gallop2.

4. Analysis: Muybridge's photographs revealed that there is indeed a moment during a horse's gallop when all four hooves are off the ground

The Age-Old Question

The question Muybridge's work answered was whether a horse's hooves all leave the ground simultaneously during a gallop. Prior to his photographic studies, this was a topic of debate among artists, scientists, and horse enthusiasts

3. Muybridge's sequential photographs provided clear evidence that during certain phases of a gallop, all four hooves are indeed off the ground13.

Muybridge's work not only settled this debate but also laid the foundation for the study of motion in photography and the development of motion pictures.