Although the beginning of the 19th century saw  photography progress and grow, it was an expensive art and with printing only available on wet plates to begin with it was not a easy art used in the average household and was left to the professionals.
Photography progressed more rapidly towards the end of the 19th century as transparent film was invented in 1889 'EASTMAN American Film' by company 'Eastman dry plates' which was founded by George Eastman (who invented the first dry plates with gelatin emulsion) and his partner Henry A Strong.
     Photography did not become popular in the average household until the release of  the 'Brownie' camera 1n 1900 depsite the devlopment throughout the 19th century.

Kodak's release of the Brownie camera made it possible financially for virtually anyone to take up photography as a hobby.
The camera was marketed for £1 and it was only around 15 cent per roll of film.
The Brownie was a big revelation in the photography world as before this point amateur photography was non existent virtually.

The Ancient World

Acient Egypt

The 'Book of the Dead' is an ancient Egyptian religious book. The book consists of over 2000 mythical characters and was printed on scrolls made out of papayas and buried with a deceased person's sarcophagus. The book literally means 'The coming (or going)' and consists of spells, charms, passwords and so on which was aimed for the deceased to use in the after life.

Books of dead were usually filled with illustrations of the deceased and their tests in the afterlife.


 

1920's Russia and Europe

Surrealism and Sexuality in Photography 1920's

Surrealism is a term that relates to a cultural movement that occurred during the 1920's when a group of artists and writers founded it )based on the idea of imagination, dreams and the opposite to reality basically) in France. Surrealism effected the cultural movement of the world and influenced the worlds artists and writers and changed the movement in the Art world.

Man Ray a French photographer was influenced by surrealism and created iconic imagery which combined both surrealism and sexuality and is one of the most dated influential surrealism photographers.

These images were taking by Man Ray in the 1920's in the early stages of photography.
The images include nude poses which was quite rare in the days when these were published which works well in the surrealism style as it is something unexpected and risky.

The American Civil War
One of the most significant events of the 19th century was the American Civil War and with the recent development of photography the war was documented by some early photographers. Mathew Brady was an American photographer who fought for access to the battlefields of the American Civil War to produce photographs despite the risks he would be taking. Brady was successful and his risk in taking his studio into the war earned him a name in history as a war documentary photographer as well as a celebrity photographer.The image below was captured by Mathew Brady during the civil war, the photo is really dramatic due to the realism it has. The black and white colour scheme (only option available at the time) makes our minds immediately believe that it is a documentary image and therefore the photo appears realistic. The photograph documents bodies of soilders on the ground of the battlefields, this picture will have been a new perspective for those in the 19th century and therefore more shocking when Brady published.

The image below was also captured by Mathew Brady also and is a powerful documentation and inside look at soilders at war. The image gives us an idea of the emotions and relationship the soilders had as we can see their facial expressions and body language around eachother.

Mathew Brady was a great influence on the documentary photography and war photography we see today for example the likes of Don McCullin.

The 17th and 18th centuries

The 17th and 18th centuries are known for showing wealth, power and class, this is reflected in the artwork created in this period.
The painting (left) was painted by artist Thomas Gainsborough called 'Mr and Mrs Andrews' and shows a couple on there estate. The man has a gun under his arm which to me represents power and wealth. He is stood in a proud manor which is a bit cocky which gives the idea that he is showing off and boasting his power.
The woman in the painting is sat at an angle that shows her full body and attire, both the man and woman are wearing clothes which suggest wealth due to the colours and materials which would only be available to higher classes such as the womans blue dress with gold trimming and accessories and her high heeled gold shoes. The woman is also sat elaborately on what appears to be a wooden bench, it is suggested that this painting was not finished of the woman's leg in order for a child to be painted in.

This painting is by Jean- Mark Nattier and shows a woman with her servants , slavery was popular during both the 17th and 18th century and in this image the woman is surrounded by slaves whilst she sits elaborately and proudly, the fact she is elevated and the slaves are on the floor shows her dominance in the image. The fabrics and clothing in the image suggest wealth also such as the thick rug which is on the floor and the rich red over coat that she is dressed in, both these are thick materials and contain red which is usually a colour associated with wealth.
The fact that the slaves are in the painting shows how people liked to boast their class as this woman choose to be painted with them to show her material items and that they are her property.

The Renaissance Patronage
Patronage in terms of art history is the act of wealth and power for example Kings and Popes paying those of the arts such as artists, sculpters, musicians and poets for their talent.

Florence is commonly known as the birth place of renaissance art, the patrons of Italy were the Medeci family for a large part of the renaissance period. The Medeci family who were known as a wealthy banking family had a lot of power and had a large influence on the political and art world.

The patrons of Florence encouraged and invested in many of the famous artists that we look back on today such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo.
Michelangelo Michelangelo was an Italian artist and poet known for his painting and sculpting, his most famous work is in the Sistine Chapel in Rome on both the ceiling and and the alter wall were he tells the story of genesis and the last judgement with his detailed paintings.
The Sistine Chapel Ceiling (Left) is 9 panels which are painted individually to illustrate the religious stories.
Michelangelo was considered before his time and therefore had a huge influence on the art world and the way artists paint today.

Leonardo Da Vinci 

Leonardo Da Vinci was one of the most influential artists from the Renaissance, Da Vinci was most known as a painter but was also a talented sculptor, architect, musician and inventor amongst other things.
One of Da Vinci's paintings is the 'Mona Lisa' (right) which is said to have been created between 1503- 1517. The portrait is one of the most famous paintings in the world and is most know for 'The Mona Lisa's' smile which makes people questions about what she was thinking and what is being portrayed there are some suspicions that the painting was not finished because of the intriguing smile, there has also been speculations that the painting is a portrayal of Da Vinci himself. The background of the portrait is a landscape which is said to be imaginary as the location is unknown. The 
background is a landscape consisting mainly of blue, green and brown tones, the green and blue tones are pale so that more attention is drawn to her face and the foreground of the landscape which is level with her body is brown which is lighter than the tones of her body, the foreground also has trails that lead to her shoulders therefore the colours in the painting work well on drawing attention to her face. The combination of pale and rich colours in the painting which make the Mona Lisa look almost ghost like and slightly glowing give show the photos Renaissance style.
 The Mona Lisa is Leonardo Da Vinci's most famous piece of art but his other creations such as 'Vitruvan Man' and 'The Last Supper' are regarded as treasures in the art world.

1900-1920

The early 20th century saw the release of the Brownie Camera (Eastman and Kodak) which allowed the average household to take up photography as a hobby due to the affordable cost. After this point photography was beginning to be seen as more as an art form as the variety of photography widened to abstract prints, nudity and landscapes. Nudity was becoming more accepted in the art world and this had a big influence on the work created in the 20th century from the likes of Clarence White for example.

As the popularity for photography was increasing, photographers became more experimental with their work in the early 20th century and this resulted in photographs been seen as a document and the start of
documentary photography.
Eugene Atget is a documentary photographer from the early 20th century who created work that still influences photographers today




The photograph below was taken by photographer Eugene Atget, although the image is from 1910 and is one of the earliest photographs from the documentary genre, it is still to the standard produced today and has all the main elements that a documentary photograph still consists of in this day and age.
The image is a candid shot of a police officer as he is not looking into the camera and doesn't seem aware or disturbed by the camera.
The image shows the man walking past a building which is a mythical creatures open mouth, the image has quite a humorous twist because of this, we still see humour in the documentary photography for example the work of Matin Parr; a documentary photographer who is known for his ironic or humorous shots.
The image has a lot of detail because of the sharp focus and the high contrast which makes the  image appear more real and like a document.

1930's in USA

The great depression are the years of decline that the world went through after the crash of the American stock market. The stock market declined in 1929 yet in most countries the great depression is known as 1930 to the late 30's/early 40's this meant that it was just before World War II.
The great depression saw an economical decline which effected both poor and wealthy families, the end of the great depression is usually marked by World War II by historians yet there is no real proof except that it did bring the unemployment levels down and the last effects ended when America joined the war.

Photography in 1930's

With the start of documentary photography in the early 20th century the great depression was documented by many photographers.

Dorothy Lange

The images above are by photographer Dorothy Lange and are dated during the years of the great depression. The image to the left is called 'The Migrant Woman' and documents a woman with her children.

The woman in the picture looks troubled due to her pose and facial expressions, she is also said to be aged 32 yet she looks much older which suggests she has had a stressful life. The way her children are holding her suggests that she is close to them as they look as though they are gaining comfort from her. All these factors suggest that she is struggling to cater for her children due to the great depression.

The image is quite contrasty which makes all the textures visible this is vital in the image as it shows the woman's wrinkles and the worn materials of the clothing.

Walker Evans

Walker Evans produced a lot of work during the Great Depression that documents the effects it had on people and the struggles they undertook.

1940's and 1950's

Documentary photography in World War II

In the 1930's documentary photography became a photographic genre and popular to photographers all over the world. World War II began in 1939 and ended around 1945 photographers documented this war which we use as historic documents today.

Photographers began to take risks when photographing the war by putting themselves on the front line and battlefields in order to document soilders and places effected and under target in the war.

W. Eugene Smith was known for his shocking and eye opening documentary images of the World War II his pictures rang from the battlefields to the Blitz in London. He has a collection of magnum images that document the soilders from close up and give us a inside look into the trenches.

1950's and 1960's

Documentary, Street and Fashion Photography 


Documentary and Street Photography

The late 1950's and 1960's were the prime years of street and documentary photographers such as Gary Winogrand and Lee Friedlander were taking over the art world with their photographs which still influence the great photographers of today.

Lee Friedlander
Lee Friedlander is known for his art in the 1960's and 1970's, like Winogrand, he created social documentary images in America, but Friedlander has his own distinguished style in his photographs and is known for the use of signs in his imagery.



The image above is a Friedlander image and the main feature of the image is the three woman in the centre of the the image, the shadows in this image look almost like stage lights drawing in on the women. The image is dated by the vechicle and the clothing, the woman are wearing short patterned dresses and heels and have their hair styled in a 'Beehive' which is an iconic 60's style therefore we get an idea of when the image was taken without any text. To the right of the image we see what appears to be a mother and her children waiting at the bus stop with the children looking at the women approaching. The family look like they are of a working class due to the clothing and the need for public transport whereas the woman in the image look of a middle class as they are appear to be shopping and are dressed in clothing that indicates some wealth.
The comparison of the two classes in the image is apparent and this appears to be intentional by the use of shadows, lighting and composition by Friedlander.

Gary Winogrand

Gary Winogrand is a photographer most known for his art in the 1960's and the way he documented the lifestyle of America during this time.
He re-shaped photography with his social documentary photographs which influenced the world of photography, documentary photography was becoming more of an art form with photographs of regular people opposed to world events such as wars.

The Late 20th Century To Now

Documentary Photographers 1970- present day

from the end of the 20th century to now we have seen some of the greatest and most well known documentary photographers such as Martin Parr, Don Mcullin and Chris Killip who created some of the most iconic work to date.

Chris Killip

Don McCullin

Martin Parr

The work of Martin Parr brought a new vibrant, colourful and humorous edge to documentary photography.
Parr concentrated on documenting England and the working class and did this at places such as beach resorts. Most of Parrs images are taken candidly and therefore appear more realistic which is successful in Parrs opinionated imagery that shows his heritage and the identity of Britain.

The Middle Ages - Celtic/Christian EuropeAfter the fall of the Roman Empire, Europe saw the years of the 'Dark Ages' or 'Early Medieval' during this time supposedly the population halved due to the plagues that occurred, Europe turned to the Christian Church and Christianity began to spread Northwards across Europe from Rome.

Insular art which comes from the Latin word 'Insula' meaning Island refers to the art produced during the time that Great Britain and Ireland had similar cultures, most of the art produced during this time was influenced by Celtic Christianity which was the merge of both Anglo Saxon (English) and Celtic styles.

The Book Of Kell's

The book of Kell's is one of the most popular masterpieces of insular art. It is an illuminated manuscript that was created in Medieval Britain it contains the four gospels of the new testament in Latin.It is a religious gospel influenced by Christianity with artwork such as humans and animals yet it is made up of Celtic style patterns and knots and therefore the two styles are merged.




                                                         Examples of Celtic Knots 

                                                                     

 The image (right, bello) is taken from the book of kells and it is the Chi Rho monogram. The artwork has bold lines and the main feature is the figure in the centre due to the fact that it is the boldest because of its size and the bright purple outline and it is illuminated with yellow in the middle all the illustrations in surrounding the figure are also illuminated with yellow which makes the figure stand out and there are Celtic patterns throughout the whole picture and lots of Celtic knots.
The combination of this illuminated figure and the Celtic knots shows the relationship between the Celtic Culture and Christianity and it is an example of insular art.

The image (right) is from the opening to the gospel of John in the Book of Kell's it is a brightly illuminated manuscript with vibrant colours that make up the detailed patterns.
This piece of art is made up of mainly red, lilac, purple and yellow which are the most common colours and most dominant throughout the book of kells, these vivid colours compliment each other in making the manuscript appear illuminated. 
The Celtic influence is obvious in this piece of art work as Celtic knots make up the majority of the image; filling almost every shape and gap.
With the illustrations and Celtic patterns and knots the merge of the two styles can be identified clearly although they work well together.

Evaluation

Narrative Photography

Whilst working with a brief around Narrative Photography I have gained a greater understanding of what this actually is and I believe this is because of the research I undertook.
I believe that every photograph has a narrative but a successful narrative photograph is one that is recognised as a narrative or makes the viewer ask a question or gain an understanding or message, this does not have to be the message that the photographer intended to portray per say but maybe their own personal narrative as an individual.
   I began the project with no ideas or clues on what to do so I began by going to a place that I spend a lot of time at and that means a lot and has a narrative in itself to me and my friends. I took these photographs on my mobile phone as I was just experimenting with how this idea worked. I continued to use this initial idea of place for both Part 1 and Part 2 of this narrative project as I like idea of capturing a place as it can have a personal narrative to me as a photographer yet have a different narrative soley as a place and to other people.
For Part 1 of my project I took images at the Headland Hartlepool due to the fact I like the historic feel to the area and I find the church really interesting as it has a really eerie feel, I also have a lot of memories at this place such as my parents wedding, therefore I thought the headland would be a good starting point. I tried to portray these feelings whilst creating my imagery at the Headland, I felt my images were successful in conveying the eerie spooky side of the church yet I felt I hadnt shown my personal connection which I had hoped in my final image for Part 1 and I would do this differently if repeated. 
   For part two I was inspired by the work of Martin Parr and how he portrayed his heritage through his images in his works such as 'Think Of England' and 'Only in England' and wanted to portray my own heritage in the style of Parr. I found this more difficult as first anticipated as I didnt realised how hard it can be to make an image look aged or make it timeless. I wanted to make my images look like they couldve been captured in the 90's in Parrs times of capturing England as I like the raw, traditional feel they have and the bright bold colour schemes that every photograph has in common. 
I tried to recreate this by taking my images with an external flash on TTI so that it goes through the lens in order to ulluminate my subject to the same as the background.  This worked well but I found that on my first shoot the images were all slightly over exposed and therefore I had lost quite a lot of detail so on my secound shoot I didnt use an external flash and used my cameras standard flash on a high setting and found this more successful yet I wouldve preferred all my images to be captured with an external flash in order to undergo the same process as Parr, therefore if I was to do it again I would experiment more with a  different external flash to see if I could create photographs with the correct exposure.
I used Lightroom to edit my photographs and I found this really successful as it is a simple layout and easy to import and export photographs. On the majority of my images I have increased the clarity, vibrance, hue and saturation in order to make my images have the bright bold striking look that I intended for when creating them.
   My final series of photographs are taken in Hartlepool at beach resorts and holiday parks such as Seaton, Crimdon Dene, Seaview Houses I choose to do this after looking at work such as 'Think Of England' in order to portray my heritage through the attractions in my town like Parr did but on a larger scale (the whole of england). I found it quite difficult due to the areas being quite quiet and out of season. If I was to repeat this brief I would create a wider range of photographs to make my narrative more obvious and successful.

FINAL IMAGES PART 2

 

PART ONE : FINAL IMAGE

This is my final image for Part 1 of my narrative project, I had the hopes of portraying the Headland as a historic, interesting place that is personal to me.
I feel in this image I have captured the historic and interesting feel by having a high contrast and therefore a lot of textures that add age.
I changed the image to greyscale as I felt it looked more like a document and therefore historical.
I dont believe I captured the personal aspects of the place that I intended on capturing and therefore I will not be continuing with the Headland for Part 2

TIFFS

I was unable to produce printable tiff images on a disc due to technical problems. My images are exports from Adobe Lightroom and when trying to change to Tiff format it could not be granted access, I believe this is because of the settings on Lightroom before exporting them. I will be converting my images to printable tiffs but unfortunately this will just be as a learning curve and development to apply to my next project and will not be in time for my crit this morning.

NARRATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY - Progressing My Imagery


After shooting with a flash in day light to make my images bright in the style of Martin Parr to get the same dateless, bold, striking imagery in order to produce a series of images that similar to his portray traditional aspects of a place (for example in Parr's case 'Think of England', 'Only in Britain' and 'Life's a Beach' are the some of the works in which he shows his British Heritage through). I used Photoshop to edit some of the photos from my first shoot yet after experimenting with this I decided to change to lightroom as I found it easier to get the result I wanted, on the majority of my images I have increased the clarity, vibrance and hue in order to make my images have bold colours and stand out and be striking, this worked well in making my photos look aged and dateless I believe. The majority of my photographs were taken at beach resorts and holiday destinations around my area (The North East) as most of my inspiration had came from Parrs work and I wanted to show my heritage how other people see it whilst still keeping the influence of my research in mind.
I will continue to use Lightroom to produce my photographs as I find it easier to produce the correct style I want I only find this easier by personal opinion due to the layout of the programme but I prefer to use Lightroom when managing digitial files as it acts as a database for importing and exporting which I also find easier.

Narrative Photography

 NARRATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY

After looking at the work of Martin Parr, I decided that I would like to take imagery in his style.
I wanted to use the same idea of high contrast, traditional local photos, therefore I went out to a seaside with my digital camera.
I used a flash coming through the lens when creating all my imagery in order to make my images bright and have high clarity and that boldness that Parr's images all have.
I decided to take images at this beach resort as it is local to me and that is what Parr did in his projects such as 'Think of Britain' and 'Only in England' which I have been looking at. I wanted to portray this idea on a smaller scale and document things that traditionally make me think of my heritage and home.
I look the image (Above, Right) after looking into Parr's project 'Life's a Beach' and finding similar photographs, I wanted to recreate his imagery with my own twist to begin with to get a feel for this idea and his style of photography, before I create my own version of narrative images.

I took the photograph with the intentions of creating a bright, bold image that has no real age, so that it could've been taken now or 10 years ago.
I edited my image on Photoshop Lightroom and increased the Vibrance, Clarity and Saturation to make the image look sharp and striking.
I used the image (left) from Martin Parr's collection for inspiration as I immediately thought of this image when taking mine and although they are different the main feature is still the same.

NARRATIVE PHOTO

After taking photographs using my mobile phone at an area that meant something to me, I wanted to continue with this idea and create imagery of places that have meaning to me or has history about it.
I  decided to take digital photographs at the Headland in Hartlepool as the place is personal to myself and also has a lot of historic features.

I took the images (right) on my first trip to the Headland to take photographs. I took this image from the grounds of St. Hildas Church, I was drawn to this church because of the eerie feel I think it had and I tried to portray this through my imagery.
My image is quite high contrast and has quite a high clarity which I did because I wanted to highlight all the textures in the image, such as the graves which are eroding and make the image feel more historic and more interesting.

FINAL IMAGES