Drawing techniques: the age of photography
The Day Dream, Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882), 1880, Oil on canvas
Zoë, Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879), About 1864, Photograph: albumen-silver print from wet collodion negative
Dissatisfied with his own efforts at tracing images formed by his camera lucida, William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-77) began to experiment with chemicals to fix images photographically. Using a camera obscura and light-sensitive paper, he succeeded in making fixed paper negatives in 1834 and positives in 1839. At around the same time Louis Daguerre (1787-1851), building on earlier experiments by Nicéphore Niépce (1765-1833), developed a different photographic process resulting in images that he named daguerreotypes. Photography was born.
Fascinated by the perfectly detailed representations of nature that could be achieved, many painters began to use photography in place of studies and sketches. However, many concealed their use of photography, fearing that such a practice would reflect poorly on their artistic skills.
Other photographers began to explore the particular characteristics and expressive potential of photography as an artistic medium in its own right. Henry Cole (1808-82), the founder of the V&A, collected photography as an art form from 1856 and hosted an international exhibition of photographs here in 1858. Far from being simply an easy way of drawing, photography became an independent art.
The Rev. James Brewster of Craig, David Octavius Hill (1802-1870) and Robert Adamson (1821-1848), 1843, Photograph: calotype
Figure Study, Sidney Richard Percy (1821-1886), About 1854, Photograph: albumen-silver print from wet collodion negative.
Portraits of Jane Morris (1839-1914), by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882) and J. R. Parsons From an album of photographs posed by Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1863.
The Haystack, William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877) From The Pencil of Nature, Part 2 (published 29 January 1845).
British Design 1948–2012: Innovation in the Modern Age
31 March–12 August 2012
Showcasing over 300 British design objects, this exhibition celebrates the best of British post-war art and design from the 1948 ‘Austerity Games' to the summer of 2012.
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Photography: An Independent Art, Photographs from the Victoria and Albert Museum 1839-1996
A hundred photographs illustrate the evolution and significance of photography from its early beginnings to the present, including fine examples of work by Julia Margaret Cameron, Man Ray, Bill Brandt, David Bailey, Nan Goldin and
Buy nowEvent - Introduction to Fashion Photography
Fri 15 June 2012 10:30
DIGITAL WORKSHOP:
Friday 15 – Saturday 16 June, 10.30 – 17.00
Working with models, Anomalous Visuals will help you to understand the fundamentals of fashion photography and post production techniques such as lighting, digital workflow and retouching in Photoshop.
