Old Photography

Old Photography

Panoramic Photography

Photographers, excited by their ability to capture images, soon wanted to take pictures of large scenes such as landscapes and city skylines. Before the introduction of panoramic cameras, wide angle lenses and zooms, these wide photographs were created by a sequence of overlapping slides. The panoramic photograph was thus created by the sequence of sheets.

Cased photographs

Daguerreotype is the first process which produced « one-of-a-kind » images. The image was exposed on a silvered copper plate, which gives it the mirror-like effect (1839 – circa 1860).

Ambrotype (or collodion positive) is also a “one-of-a-kind” image. The image is a glass negative created using the collodion wet-plate process, and is backed with black varnish or paint to create a positive image (1852 – circa 1880).

An old wall enhanced. Photo by Megan Jorgensen (Elena)

Tintype is created using the collodion wet-plate process like the ambrotype. However, like the daguerreotype, it is created on a metal plate, in this case, one made of “black japanned iron” (circa 1856 – circa 1940).

Cases were usually made of wood and embossed with different designs. Inside the photographs were placed, usually on the right hand side, and on the left was a “cloth-covered pad”.

Colour Tinted Abrotype

Paper prints

Cartes de visite were widely produced starting in 1861. Using the collodion wet glass negative, a positive image was created on albumen printing paper. The paper was then mounted on a card, usually around 2 ½ x 4 inches.

Cabinet photographs were a larger version of the carte de visite and were also mounted on cards, measuring approximately 4 x 5 ½ inches. They had information about the photographer or studio intricately printed on the back. These gained popularity in 1866.

Early 3D Imagery

Stereographs are two photographs taken of the same image at a slightly different angle.

Stereoscope – when you place a stereograph in a stereoscope and look through the viewfinder, you will see a 3-dimensional image. When you look through this particular stereoscope you will see a Spirit Stereograph. Are they really ghosts in the image or is it simply a double exposure meant to trick the viewer. Spirit photography was common in the early years of photography.

Sea canon digitally enhanced. Photo: © by Megan Jorgensen (Elena)

Photo Album

Photo Album was introduced in the later 19th century. In Canada photo albums were produced by a Canadian female photographer, Madame Brunner. Photo Albums in most cases, would have contained photographs like the popular carte de visite (although some contained a few tintypes.

Set of Apertures which control the amount of light that comes into a camera. Tripod. Thornton Pickard Imperial Triple Extension Camera, circa 1890s. Plates of various sizes, including a book-type plate; Crayon Photoprints were photographs that were drawn over with crayon. Artists` Set used by artists that were often hired by photographers to touch-up or paint their photographs.

Composite photographs

Composite photographs were made by combining images from many individual portraits onto a painted or photographed background.

Early photography required long exposure times and people had to pose for quite long periods of time. It was difficult to have people stay still long enough to create a group portrait. Composite photography meant that photographers could overcome the technological limitations of the day.

The photographer would arrange for each person to pose for their picture in the studio at separate times. Then all the images were put together, “cut a paste”, just as we do today. Sometimes is hard to find where the photographer pasted individual people into a composite picture. Sometimes, the original portraits were displayed around the border on the puzzle panel.