How many photos have ever been taken? About 3.5 trillion according to Jonathan Good, in a fascinating piece. I particularly liked this graphic of the world's largest photo libraries:
Showing posts with label photography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label photography. Show all posts
Image Browsing at WA Digital Archives!
The latest upgrade to the Washington State Digital Archives (my employer, BTW) makes all the photographs and audio records browseable for the first time. Hooray! Here is a list of the photographic collections we currently have online. If you click on any collection you will be taken to a collection description and a search page. From the search page click on "Browse all records in the collection" to open a browsable page of the photographs. Though browsing also works in any results for a search for photographs.
The browsing interface--designed by WSDA employees Adam Miller and Bryan Smith--is slick. Click on any image and it pops up with a descriptive caption, a link to a page with all the meta data and a larger image, and arrows to browse forward or back in the collection. The old system produced only text results for image searches, and you would have to click through two screens to see the images, and two back to return to the search results.
Browsable photographs make the Digital Archives more usable to the citizens of Washington State. And to your humble blogger. As I explore the collections I will share additional photos such as the one above.
Picturing the Cayuse, Walla Walla, and Umatilla Tribes
Picturing the Cayuse, Walla Walla, and Umatilla Tribes: Major Lee Moorhouse of Pendleton, Oregon was an Indian Agent for the Umatilla Indian Reservation and a photographer. From 1888 to 1916 he produced over 9,000 images which document urban, rural, and Native American life in the Columbia Basin, and particularly Umatilla County, Oregon. So extensive 
and revealing are Moorhouse's images that his collection is one of the preeminent social history collections for Oregon. Special Collections & University Archives of the University of Oregon Libraries has a collection of 7000 images by Major Moorhouse . . . .
The project’s intent is twofold: first, to make the Major Lee Moorhouse photographs of native peoples available to a wide audience; and second, to provide a site for historical descriptions of these images as well as descriptions created by native peoples.
Moorehouse is an interesting figure. His Indian photographs are more authentic but less artistic than those of Edward Curtis. Not that his photos were not compositions--as we see in the picture of two Cayuse women posing in front of blanket above (description here). A nice collection of Moorehouse photographs with an enlightening text is Peoples of the Plateau: The Indian Photographs of Lee Moorhouse, 1898-1915 by Steven L. Grafe.
This is another nicely done digitization project, with deep content and advanced search features. Especially welcome are the excellent and well-researched descriptions of each photograph. And you can download the images at will for use in the classroom--though of course you will need permission to publish or use the photographs in a commercial venture.
and revealing are Moorhouse's images that his collection is one of the preeminent social history collections for Oregon. Special Collections & University Archives of the University of Oregon Libraries has a collection of 7000 images by Major Moorhouse . . . .The project’s intent is twofold: first, to make the Major Lee Moorhouse photographs of native peoples available to a wide audience; and second, to provide a site for historical descriptions of these images as well as descriptions created by native peoples.
Moorehouse is an interesting figure. His Indian photographs are more authentic but less artistic than those of Edward Curtis. Not that his photos were not compositions--as we see in the picture of two Cayuse women posing in front of blanket above (description here). A nice collection of Moorehouse photographs with an enlightening text is Peoples of the Plateau: The Indian Photographs of Lee Moorhouse, 1898-1915 by Steven L. Grafe.
This is another nicely done digitization project, with deep content and advanced search features. Especially welcome are the excellent and well-researched descriptions of each photograph. And you can download the images at will for use in the classroom--though of course you will need permission to publish or use the photographs in a commercial venture.
Arizona Stories and a Rephotography Roundup
Arizona Stories: For his landmark book, "Arizona Then and Now," photographer Allen Dutton traveled across the state to recapture archival images from their exact original location. Watch as early century images transform into 
contemporary photography.
Arizona Stories is a fun "before and after" photography site, where modern photographers try to take a photograph at exactly the same spot as a historic photo. Sometimes called rephotography, the technique is fun and lends itself naturally to presentations on the web. Examples include Third View - A Rephotographic Survey of the American West; Urban Life through Two Lenses — a flash-heavy exhibit of Quebec rephotography, and Springfield Rewind - featuring rephotographs of Springfield, Illinois. The last site presents the before
and after photographs in my favorite format: one sees the historic photograph, but rolling the mouse over it causes it to "flip" to the modern scene. It is a simple trick that packs a punch. I have played around with rephotography myself here in Carthage, Missouri (examples 1, 2, 3). There are also many books featuring rephotographs.
Rephotography is easy and fun, especially with the large and increasing number of historic photos online. I think it would make a great project for school students! Give them some copies of historic photographs of their own community and send them out to rephotograph the scenes. The before and after pictures could go on the web, or have an art show where students stand next to large prints of their photographs while parents and community members visit. If any Spokane area teachers are interested, drop me and email and let's see what we can do together.
contemporary photography.Arizona Stories is a fun "before and after" photography site, where modern photographers try to take a photograph at exactly the same spot as a historic photo. Sometimes called rephotography, the technique is fun and lends itself naturally to presentations on the web. Examples include Third View - A Rephotographic Survey of the American West; Urban Life through Two Lenses — a flash-heavy exhibit of Quebec rephotography, and Springfield Rewind - featuring rephotographs of Springfield, Illinois. The last site presents the before
and after photographs in my favorite format: one sees the historic photograph, but rolling the mouse over it causes it to "flip" to the modern scene. It is a simple trick that packs a punch. I have played around with rephotography myself here in Carthage, Missouri (examples 1, 2, 3). There are also many books featuring rephotographs.Rephotography is easy and fun, especially with the large and increasing number of historic photos online. I think it would make a great project for school students! Give them some copies of historic photographs of their own community and send them out to rephotograph the scenes. The before and after pictures could go on the web, or have an art show where students stand next to large prints of their photographs while parents and community members visit. If any Spokane area teachers are interested, drop me and email and let's see what we can do together.
Recreating D-Day
How many men do you need to recreate the 60,000 man amphibious landing at Omaha Beach? Why three, of course:
The rapid proliferation of Photoshop and similar programs has led to wealth (or a plague?) of altered historic photographs. How far are we from an equally widespread ability to alter moving images? Somebody is surely working on the Zapruder film right now, putting Hillary on the grassy knoll...
(I also posted this at Metafilter where a good discussion ensued.)
The rapid proliferation of Photoshop and similar programs has led to wealth (or a plague?) of altered historic photographs. How far are we from an equally widespread ability to alter moving images? Somebody is surely working on the Zapruder film right now, putting Hillary on the grassy knoll...
(I also posted this at Metafilter where a good discussion ensued.)
The Whale Hunt / A storytelling experiment / by Jonathan Harris
"In May 2007, I spent nine days living with a family of Inupiat Eskimos in Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost settlement in the United States . . . I
documented the entire experience with a plodding sequence of 3,214 photographs, beginning with the taxi ride to Newark airport, and ending with the butchering of the second whale, seven days later. The photographs were taken at five-minute intervals, even while sleeping (using a chronometer), establishing a constant 'photographic heartbeat'."
The Whale Hunt / A storytelling experiment / by Jonathan Harris
This site gets more intriguing the more time you spend there. Harris tells the story of a trip to Barrow Alaska to tag along on a whale hunt. Aside from a brief statement, the story is told entirely through a series of photographs. What makes it work is the innovative website and the way the photographs are presented--explained here.
Though it would be much more difficult, one could use some of these ideas to organize and display a large collection of historic photographs such as the Curtis photographs.
documented the entire experience with a plodding sequence of 3,214 photographs, beginning with the taxi ride to Newark airport, and ending with the butchering of the second whale, seven days later. The photographs were taken at five-minute intervals, even while sleeping (using a chronometer), establishing a constant 'photographic heartbeat'."The Whale Hunt / A storytelling experiment / by Jonathan Harris
This site gets more intriguing the more time you spend there. Harris tells the story of a trip to Barrow Alaska to tag along on a whale hunt. Aside from a brief statement, the story is told entirely through a series of photographs. What makes it work is the innovative website and the way the photographs are presented--explained here.
Though it would be much more difficult, one could use some of these ideas to organize and display a large collection of historic photographs such as the Curtis photographs.
Jones Photo Historical Collection
The Jones Photo Historical Collection is a treasure trove of historic photographs of the Olympic Peninsula.
"The Jones Photo Historical Collection is a success story that includes four generations of two families spanning three consecutive centuries of life, work, art and commerce in one great area of Washington State . . . They have been very busy people during the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries making, collecting, preserving and now sharing on the internet these thousands of wonderful photographs."
What separates this from other historic photo collections on the internet is the artistic quality of many of the photographs. The portfolios section has some wonderful slide shows, the one on the timber industry is especially good.
The other thing that separates this collection is the unfortunate crippling way in which it is
represented. All the pictures are displayed within a Flash interface (I think?)--you cannot right click to save them. The only way to grab the photos for a Powerpoint or presentation is to do a screen grab and edit the picture. Not very research friendly.::: American Indians of the Pacific Northwest Collection :::
::: American Indians of the Pacific Northwest Collection :::: "This site provides an extensive digital collection of original photographs and documents about the Northwest Coast and Plateau 
Indian cultures, complemented by essays written by anthropologists, historians, and teachers about both particular tribes and cross-cultural topics. These cultures have occupied, and in some cases still live in parts of Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. Maps are available that show traditional territories or reservation boundaries."
The maps and pictures at this site are amazing, but best of all are the
nine essays on Northwest Indians by scholars like Jay Miller and Deward Walker. They are excellent introductions to their topics and could also serve as lecture fodder. There is also a collection of documents, mostly government reports.
Indian cultures, complemented by essays written by anthropologists, historians, and teachers about both particular tribes and cross-cultural topics. These cultures have occupied, and in some cases still live in parts of Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. Maps are available that show traditional territories or reservation boundaries."The maps and pictures at this site are amazing, but best of all are the
nine essays on Northwest Indians by scholars like Jay Miller and Deward Walker. They are excellent introductions to their topics and could also serve as lecture fodder. There is also a collection of documents, mostly government reports.Discovering Lewis & Clark from the Air
I had a nice chat at the WHA with some scholars of the American West and we agreed how delighted we were that the L&C Bicentennial is at an end. I cannot imagine a more over-rated historical event. They weren't important and the canonization of what should be an obscure event distracts us from more important themes in Western History. On the other hand--some amazing scholarship, teaching and web resources came out of the anniversary hysteria, which is all to the good. And also some stuff that is just plain fun.
Discovering Lewis & Clark from the Air is a web presentation of a book by Jim Wark and Joseph Mussulman. The later of course is the Producer and Principal Writer at Discovering Lewis & Clark, by far the best of untold millions of L&C sites on the web. The idea of the book is simple enough: Our dynamic duo took flew a small plane over the route of the Corps of Discovery and took aerial photos of places along the trail. I am so jealous.
The principal impression one get from these photos is how completely the landscape of 200 years ago has vanished--dammed up, paved over and plowed under. The rivers of Lewis and Clark's time (and it was mostly a river journey) are drowned under the slack water of dozens of dams, and where they are not drowned they are often channelized, straightened and otherwise "improved." So it is no surprise that many of the best photos here are of the mountain crossing: Beaverhead Rock, Tobacco Root Mountains, Bitterroot Mountains.
This would be a good resource for a class about Lewis and Clark or western exploration. A possible assignment could focus on the changes in the landscape between the explorer's time and our own.
Discovering Lewis & Clark from the Air is a web presentation of a book by Jim Wark and Joseph Mussulman. The later of course is the Producer and Principal Writer at Discovering Lewis & Clark, by far the best of untold millions of L&C sites on the web. The idea of the book is simple enough: Our dynamic duo took flew a small plane over the route of the Corps of Discovery and took aerial photos of places along the trail. I am so jealous.
The principal impression one get from these photos is how completely the landscape of 200 years ago has vanished--dammed up, paved over and plowed under. The rivers of Lewis and Clark's time (and it was mostly a river journey) are drowned under the slack water of dozens of dams, and where they are not drowned they are often channelized, straightened and otherwise "improved." So it is no surprise that many of the best photos here are of the mountain crossing: Beaverhead Rock, Tobacco Root Mountains, Bitterroot Mountains.
This would be a good resource for a class about Lewis and Clark or western exploration. A possible assignment could focus on the changes in the landscape between the explorer's time and our own.
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