Photographers

I’m currently using this project post to list the photographers we’ve covered during the course, and why they’re of interest. I’ve linked to more detailed information for future reference.

Joseph Nicéphore Niépce (1765 – 1833) was a French inventor, now usually credited as the inventor of photography and a pioneer in that field. Niépce developed heliography, a technique he used to create the world’s oldest surviving product of a photographic process: a print made from a photoengraved printing plate in 1825. In 1826 or 1827, he used a primitive camera to produce the oldest surviving photograph of a real-world scene. (Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicéphore_Niépce). First landscape photo fixed in lavender oil.

Jean-Baptiste Gustave Le Gray (1820 – 1884) has been called “the most important French photographer of the nineteenth century” because of his technical innovations, his instruction of other noted photographers, and “the extraordinary imagination he brought to picture making.” He was an important contributor to the development of the wax paper negative. (Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_Le_Gray). Used hands to affect amount of light entering camera and manipulate images.

Ansel Easton Adams (1902 – 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist. His black-and-white images of the American West, especially Yosemite National Park, have been widely reproduced on calendars, posters, books, and the internet. Adams and Fred Archer developed the Zone System as a way to determine proper exposure and adjust the contrast of the final print. (Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansel_Adams).

William Henry Fox Talbot (1800 – 1877) was an English scientist, inventor and photography pioneer who invented the salted paper and calotype processes, precursors to photographic processes of the later 19th and 20th centuries. He was the holder of a controversial patent which affected the early development of commercial photography in Britain. He was also a noted photographer who contributed to the development of photography as an artistic medium. (Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Fox_Talbot). First photographer as we know it, with negatives.

Louis Daguerre (1787 – 1851) was a French artist and photographer, recognized for his invention of the daguerreotype process of photography. He became known as one of the fathers of photography. Though he is most famous for his contributions to photography, he was also an accomplished painter and a developer of the diorama theatre. (Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Daguerre).

Todd Hido (born 25 August 1968) is an American contemporary artist and photographer. Currently based in San Francisco, much of Hido’s work involves photographs of urban and suburban housing across the U.S.. He has produced a number of well received books, had his work exhibited widely and included in various public collections. (Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_Hido, http://www.toddhido.com).

Rut Blees Luxemburg (born 1967) is a German photographer. She primarily akes photographs at night, mostly exploring the urban landscape. (Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rut_Blees_Luxemburg and http://www.rutbleesluxemburg.com).

Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908 – 2004) was a French humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 35 mm film. He pioneered the genre of street photography, and viewed photography as capturing a decisive moment. His work has influenced many photographers. (Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Cartier-Bresson).

Robert Frank (born 1924) is a Swiss-American photographer and documentary filmmaker. His most notable work, the 1958 book titled The Americans, earned Frank comparisons to a modern-day de Tocqueville for his fresh and nuanced outsider’s view of American society. Frank later expanded into film and video and experimented with manipulating photographs and photomontage. (Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Frank)