1800s-Era Portraits of Patients from Notorious British Psychiatric Hospital
These are the portraits of some of the men and women who attended the infamous Bethlem Royal Hospital, better known as Bedlam, in the 1800s.
Listen to a Photographer Born in 1843 Talk About Documenting the Wild West
In an interview conducted in 1941 that has been recently restored, photographer William Henry Jackson discusses his experiences roaming the wild west as he performed his job as a photographer and surveyor.
Jonathan the 190-Year-Old Tortoise Was Photographed in 1886 and Today
Jonathan is a giant tortoise that lives on the remote island of St. Helena. He turns 190 years old this year, making him the world's oldest tortoise to ever live. Photographed as far back as 1886 and today, Jonathan now has pictures taken over 136 years apart.
Spirit Photography Captured Love, Loss, and Longing
Photography has always had a relationship to haunting as it shows not what is, but what once was.
Spirit Photography: 19th-Century Innovation in Bereavement Rituals Was Likely Invented by a Woman
Spirit photography was an important development within bereavement rituals of the early 1860s.
How Black People in the 19th Century Used Photography as a Tool for Social Change
Frederick Douglass is perhaps best known as an abolitionist and intellectual. But he was also the most photographed American of the 19th century. And he encouraged the use of photography to promote social change for Black equality.
Behind the Scenes: Shooting Wet Plate Portraits of the Cast of Little Women
Now these are some cast portraits we can really get behind. On-set photographer Wilson Webb recently got the chance to photograph the entire cast of Best Picture nominee Little Women, but instead of shooting glitzy studio portraits, he decided to stay historically accurate and capture wet plate collodion portraits instead.
Digitizing a Reproduction 1865 Box Camera for Authentic Vintage Use
I've been involved with The Wild West Days in Viroqua, Wisconsin since 2008. I've been doing photography for most of that time as well, but as-of 2017, officially as Hickok Country Photography.
Wet Plate Portraits of WWE Superstars
New York-based photographer James Weber recently shot a series of portraits of WWE wrestling superstars using the 1800s wet plate collodion process.
Photographer Uses 1800s Process for Ethereal Portraits of Kids
For her project titled "Nebula," Spanish photographer Jacqueline Roberts shot portraits of youth in the limbo period between childhood and adolescence using the wet plate collodion process from the mid- to late-1800s. The resulting photos are haunting in their appearance.
Trove of Glass Negatives Found in Attic of Condemned Illinois House
Over in Peoria, Illinois, a box of nearly 200 glass negatives from the late 1800s and early 1900s has been found in the corner of the attic in a condemned house.
Frederick Douglass Was the Most Photographed American of the 19th Century
Do you know who the most photographed American of the 19th century was? It's not George Custer (155 photos) or Walt Whitman or Abraham Lincoln (130 each). The person with the most portraits made of them in the 1800s was Frederick Douglass, the African-American abolitionist, speaker, writer, and statesman.
These 1800s Cartoons Poked Fun at Photography
Poet Edgar Allan Poe had glowing things to say about photography after it exploded onto the scene in the mid-1800s. Other commentators in those days weren't so kind.
There are quite a few cartoons from the 1800s that show a more pessimistic view of photography and its emergence in the world.
UK Puts Export Ban on Rare 1800s Photo Album in an Attempt to Keep It in the Nation
The British government is scrambling to keep a rare photo album from the 19th century from being sold to a foreigner and exported from the nation. It announced today that it has placed a temporary export ban on the book, which contains seventy photographs by Swedish photography pioneer Oscar Gustave Rejlander.
A Blast from the Past: How the World of Photography Was Changing Back in 1887
Back in 1887, a photography instructor named Edward M. Estabrooke published a book titled Photography in the Studio and in the Field. It was "a practical manual designed as a companion alike to the professional and the amateur photographer."
Filled with detailed information on how to practice photography with the equipment and technologies of the time, the book also contains interesting passages that describe how the world of photography was changing.