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This is a course aimed at introducing you to thehistory of photography in the 19th century. It combines theory with practice,giving you the option to respond to some of the iconic images we will explore,and to create and share your own images.
It will provide an introduction to theprocesses, people and images associated with early photography, starting in 1839when Louis Daguerre announced the daguerreotype image in France, and WHF Talbotunveiled the calotype process in England. You will have the chance to learnabout the personalities, processes and social contexts of the rise ofphotography.
Throughout, you will hear from arange of people who are passionate about photography in the 19thcentury. We will focus on specific images and techniques, ranging fromhigh end studio portraiture, iconic landscapes and cityscapes and the rise ofitinerant and beach photography for the masses. There will be opportunityfor you, the course participant, to respond to some of these images with yourown photographic experiments and to share your own family album.
The course islinked to a new major exhibition from the National Museum of Scotland calledPhotography, A Victorian Sensation.
Follow the discussion on twitter: #vicphotomooc
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Week 1 - First Images
Introduces the first photographic processes, unveiled in 1839 - the daguerreotype, by Parisian Louis Jacque Mandé Daguerre and the calotype, by Englishman WHF Talbot, which Hill & Adamson used to produce around 3,000 images between 1843 and 1848.
Week 2 - 1851: A Year to Remember
With the Great Exhibition in London and two major milestones in the development of photography: first, stereoscopy, the 3D sensation and second, the new, faster wet collodion process that made outdoor photography much easier.
Week 3 - Studio Photography, Amateur Photography
In 1851 there had been about a dozen photographic studios in London; by 1866 this number had increased to 284. Photography became extremely fashionable, particularly in the new carte-de-visite and stereo forms. Amateur photographer, Julia Margaret Cameron, photographed the writers, artists, scientists in her social circle.
Week 4 - Stereo Sensation
Following the presentation of the lenticular stereoscopic viewer at the Great Exhibition, viewing the world in 3D became a Victorian craze. The experience of using a stereoscope was described as ‘mesmerising’. The Londo Stereoscopic Company, formed in 1854, had as its slogan: ‘no home without a stereoscope’.
Week 5 - Photography for Everyone
We look at how photography rapidly moves from an expensive, amateur hobby, to eaching the masses, with the growth of cheap ‘tintypes’ and beach photography, and end with the impact of the Kodak camera, marketed with the slogan "You press the button and we do the rest".
