Clarence John Laughlin

Was a United States photographer best known for his surrealist photographs of the U.S. South. Laughlin was born in to a middle class family in Lake Charles, Louisiana. His rocky childhood, southern heritage, and interest in literature influenced his work greatly. After losing everything in a failed rice-growing venture in 1910, his family was forced to relocate to New Orleans where Laughlin's father found work in a factory. Laughlin was an introverted child with few friends and a close relationship with his father, who cultivated and encouraged his lifelong love of literature and whose death in 1918 devastated his son.

Although he dropped out of high school in 1920, after having barely completed his freshman year, Laughlin was an educated and highly literate man. His large vocabulary and love of language are evident in the elaborate captions he later wrote to accompany his photographs. He initially aspired to be a writer and wrote many poems and stories in the style of French symbolism, most of which remained unpublished.
Laughlin discovered photography when he was 25 and taught himself how to use a simple 2½ by 2¼ view camera. He began working as a freelance architectural photographer and was subsequently employed by agencies as varied as Vogue Magazine and the US government. Disliking the constraints of government work, Laughlin eventually left Vogue after a conflict with then-editor Edward Steichen. Thereafter, he worked almost exclusively on personal projects utilizing a wide range of photographic styles and techniques, from simple geometric abstractions of architectural features to elaborately-staged allegories utilizing models, costumes, and props.
Many historians credit Laughlin as being the first true surrealist photographer in the United States. His images are often nostalgic, reflecting the influence of Eugene Atget and other photographers who tried to capture vanishing urban landscapes. Laughlin's best known book, "Ghosts Along the Mississippi", was first published in 1948.
                                                           
He died on January 2, 1985, leaving behind a massive collection of books and images. Thanks to the 17,000 negatives that he preserved, his work continues to be shown around the United States and Europe. Laughlin's library, comprising over 30,000 volumes, was purchased by Louisiana State University in 1986.
He is buried in Paris's Père Lachaise Cemetery in grave 18223.

Brownie Camera. The beginning...

Brownie is the name of a long-running and extremely popular series of simple and inexpensive cameras made by Eastman Kodak. The Brownie popularized low-cost photography and introduced the concept of the snapshot. The first Brownie, introduced in February, 1900, was a very basic cardboard box camera with a simple meniscus lens that took 2¼-inch square pictures on 117 rollfilm. With its simple controls and initial price of $1, it was intended to be a camera that anyone could afford and use, leading to the popular slogan, "You push the button, we do the rest." The camera was named after the popular cartoons created by Palmer Cox.
One of the most popular Brownie models was the Brownie 127, millions of which were sold between 1952 and 1967. The Brownie 127 was a simple bakelite camera for 127 film which featured a simple meniscus lens and a curved film plane to reduce the impact of deficiencies in the lens.
Having written an article in the 1940s for amateur photographers suggesting an expensive camera was unnecessary for quality photography, the famous Picture Post photographer Bert Hardy used a Brownie camera to stage a carefully posed snapshot of two young women sitting on railings above a breezy Blackpool promenade.
In 1908, the Austrian architectural critic Joseph August Lux wrote a book called Künstlerische Kodakgeheimnisse (Artistic Secrets of the Kodak) in which he championed the use of the camera for its cultural potential. Guided by a position that was influenced by the Catholic critique of modernity, he argued that the accessibility the camera provided for the amateur meant that people could photograph and document their surroundings and thus produce a type of stability in the ebb and flow of the modern world.In 1908, the Austrian architectural critic Joseph August Lux wrote a book called Künstlerische Kodakgeheimnisse (Artistic Secrets of the Kodak) in which he championed the use of the camera for its cultural potential. Guided by a position that was influenced by the Catholic critique of modernity, he argued that the accessibility the camera provided for the amateur meant that people could photograph and document their surroundings and thus produce a type of stability in the ebb and flow of the modern world.

The Beau Brownie range was available from 1930 to 1933.

They differed very little from the ever-popular Brownie cameras; the only real difference being the introduction of the new "Doublet Lens", allowing the same picture to be projected on a film plate over a shorter distance, that making the Beau Brownies nearly 2" shorter than their conventional counterparts was.

Visually, they differed with the arrival of new enameled two-tone front plates in a heavily geometric and contemporary Art Deco design, the work of leading American Deco designer, Walter Dorwin Teague.

They were available in five colour combinations: Black and Burgundy, Brown and Tan, Two-tone Blue, Two-tone Green, and Two-tone Rose. The Rose and Green cameras were produced only between 1930 and '31, and therefore rarer than the others. They also were encased in a desirable faux-leatherette casing.

They were available in No.2 and 2A formats, just like the Brownies. The No.2 measuring 2 ¼" by 3 ¼" and using 120 roll film, and the 2A measuring 2¼" by 4¼", and taking 116 roll film.

They are visually distinguishable by the thicker, bakelite rim on the No. 2As, and the fact that it is an inch taller than the No. 2.

They originally cost $4 for a No. 2, and $5 for a No. 2A.

Three photos made with Brownie Camera.

American Photography. Age of images.

     To start with, I’d like to tell you about tornado in Kansas, which took 46 lives, thousands of people lost their homes. Some volunteers to support victims had gathered photos, which were scattered over kilometers from the place of tragedy. Sufferers came to the church to find photos of their beloved people. They felt relief, sorrow, happiness, when found a paper which could remain appearance of their entire life. So, maybe,  photos are more than just pictures? My answer is “YES”!

      First of all, photo is emotion. When you look at picture, you feel. Even is you see the most uninteresting image, you feel negligence, which is also emotion. Second, every human want to leave something  after death. Even such a tiny thing as photo can help in this purpose greatly. Also it’s very important to look at yourself from the side to make right conclusions. We can continue this list forever, because photography is one of the greatest human inventions. But let’s talk about evolution of this incredible art.

     In 1900 a small box camera appeared. It’s price was just 1$, pretty accessible. So, suddenly everybody could take pictures. In 1908 one company offered to post photos on a postcard. It became really popular, because people just liked to show their lives to others. Maybe, to be proud of themselves, maybe, to make happy surrounding… Everybody had own reasons. Also images were used to show activity of relatives and it was a real sacrilege to throw such a photo out.

     In XIX century newspapers could give just readable information, but in 1880 a process called “halftone” was invented and press began to give visible information too. Due to this method really big popularity ”National Geographic Magazine” reached. There were shown different exotic (for that times) countries, which the most part of people couldn’t attend. So, it was a big possibility to wide your horizon, to think about your daily life. Another great contribution to American photography Edward Curtis made. He pictured Indians. This man left a great legacy as for historians, as for art, as for people in general.

     In 1902 Alfred Stiegliz began to use photography as art. People argued:”Where is art? Everything you do is just pressing button.” And everybody tried to make photography a handmade process like other arts.

     In 1906 it became possible to print photos in books. And Louis Heim used his camera to picture children’s labor. These were terrible times, because such a labor was not illegal. Intellectual potential of nation decreased, because children were not able to get an education and only thing they could do was work. So, Heim cooperated with “Children’s community” tried to struggle with situation- he posted hundreds of images with deprived children.

     In 1919 the oldest pictured “Life” newspaper appeared. There was not just text, but images from the place of events too. And people became more addicted to visible information, because it was like a real evidence. Also it was very important to photo bad news in order to close humanity to reality.

     Photography made a big step in astronomy too. Because before it appeared, people had to draw what they saw through telescope and no one saw space exactly. So, from the time we could see space, we had a really durable conception of space out of our planet.

     To conclude, I’d like to say that in even such a small period of time, photography has influenced humanity greatly. And I think that this art appeared when people needed it and will stay forever.