Photography

Leica 35mm Camera

The millions of photographs in the Museum's collections compose a vast mosaic of the nation's history. Photographs accompany most artifact collections. Thousands of images document engineering projects, for example, and more record the steel, petroleum, and railroad industries.

Some 150,000 images capture the history, art, and science of photography. Nineteenth-century photography, from its initial development by W. H. F. Talbot and Louis Daguerre, is especially well represented and includes cased images, paper photographs, and apparatus. Glass stereographs and news-service negatives by the Underwood & Underwood firm document life in America between the 1890s and the 1930s. The history of amateur photography and photojournalism are preserved here, along with the work of 20th-century masters such as Richard Avedon and Edward Weston. Thousands of cameras and other equipment represent the technical and business side of the field.

Date: 1930s

Night Aerial View, Midtown Manhattan

Unmounted silver print by Berenice Abbott, "Night Aerial View, Midtown Manhattan." Aerial view of city at night, emphasis on crisscrossing diagonal lines in composition. Buildings in bottom left create subtly darker area than the rest of print.
Description (Brief)
Unmounted silver print by Berenice Abbott, "Night Aerial View, Midtown Manhattan." Aerial view of city at night, emphasis on crisscrossing diagonal lines in composition. Buildings in bottom left create subtly darker area than the rest of print. Circles of distorted light and tone along top edge and bottom middle center; railroad tracks run from right edge middle to bottom left corner. Distorted circles of light in bottom middle center of photo may be the whirling lights of police cars. Verso: Print: Stamp, "Photograph, Berenice Abbott, Maine 04406;" Mount: Handwritten by Abbott, "Aerial Night Shot, 19."
Description
During the 1920s, Berenice Abbott was one of the premier portrait photographers of Paris, her only competitor was the equally well-known Dada Surrealist Man Ray who had served as her mentor and employer before she launched her own career. An American expatriate, Abbott enjoyed the company of some of the great twentieth century writers and artists, photographing individuals such as Jean Cocteau, Peggy Guggenheim and James Joyce. One of the critical elements of Abbott’s portraiture was a desire to neither enhance nor interfere with the sitter. She instead wished to allow the personality of her subject to dictate the form of the photograph, and would often sit with her clients for several hours before she even began to photograph them. This straight-forward approach to photography characterized Abbott’s work for the duration of her career.
Thematically and technically, Abbott’s work can be most closely linked to documentary photographer Eugène Atget (COLL.PHOTOS.000016), who photographed Paris during the early 1900s. Abbott bought a number of his prints the first time she saw them, and even asked him to set some aside that she planned to purchase when she had enough money. After his death in 1927, Abbott took it upon herself to publicize Atget’s work to garner the recognition it deserved. It was partly for this reason she returned to the United States in 1928, hoping to find an American publisher to produce an English-language survey of Atget’s work. Amazed upon her arrival to see the changes New York had undergone during her stay in Paris, and eager to photograph the emerging new metropolis, Abbott decided to pack up her lucrative Parisian portrait business and move back to New York.
The status and prestige she enjoyed in Paris, however, did not carry over to New York. Abbott did not fit in easily with her contemporaries. She was both a woman in a male-dominated field and a documentary photographer in the midst of an American photographic world firmly rooted in Pictorialism. Abbott recalls disliking the work of both photographer Alfred Stieglitz and his then protégé Paul Strand when she first visited their exhibitions in New York. Stieglitz, along with contemporaries such as Ansel Adams and Edward Steichen, tended to romanticize the American landscape and effectively dismissed Abbott’s straight photography as she saw it. Not only was Atget’s work rejected by the Pictorialists, but a series of critical comments she made towards Stieglitz and Pictorialism cost Abbott her professional career as a photographer. Afterwards, she was unable to secure space at galleries, have her work shown at museums or continue the working relationships she had forged with a number of magazine publications.
In 1935, the Federal Art Project outfitted Abbott with equipment and a staff to complete her project to photograph New York City. The benefit of a personal staff and the freedom to determine her own subject matter was unique among federally funded artists working at that time. The resulting series of photographs, which she titled Changing New York, represent some of Abbott’s best-known work. Her photographs of New York remain one of the most important twentieth century pictorial records of New York City. Abbott went on to produce a series of photographs for varied topics, including scientific textbooks and American suburbs. When the equipment was insufficient to meet her photographic needs, as in the case of her series of science photographs, she invented the tools she needed to achieve the desired effect. In the course of doing so, Abbott patented a number of useful photographic aids throughout her career including an 8x10 patent camera (patent #2869556) and a photographer’s jacket. Abbott also spent twenty years teaching photography classes at the New School for Social Research alongside such greats as composer Aaron Copland and writer W.E.B. DuBois.
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Abbott’s career was the printing of Eugène Atget’s photographs, one of the few instances in which one well-known photographer printed a large number of negatives made by another well-known photographer. The struggle to get Atget’s photographs the recognition they deserved was similar to Abbott’s efforts to chart her own path by bringing documentary photography to the fore in a Pictorialist dominated America. Though she experienced varying levels of rejection and trials in both efforts, her perseverance placed her in the position she now holds as one of the great photographers of the twentieth century.
The Bernice Abbott collection consists of sixteen silver prints. The photographs represent a range of work Abbott produced during her lifetime, including her early portraiture work in Paris, her Changing New York series, Physics and Route 1, U.S.A. series.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1933
maker
Abbott, Berenice
ID Number
PG.69.216.10
accession number
288852
catalog number
69.216.10

Solemnity

From Pictorial Artistry: The Dramatization of the Beautiful in Photography"A huge green-black tree formation like a giant wave seemed to pile up against the transparent pale blue mountain sides far in the distance. A carpet of the most vivid green grass lay at my feet.
Description
From Pictorial Artistry: The Dramatization of the Beautiful in Photography
"A huge green-black tree formation like a giant wave seemed to pile up against the transparent pale blue mountain sides far in the distance. A carpet of the most vivid green grass lay at my feet. Such was the majestic setting that spread before me high in this mountain pass in Switzerland. A drop of 4,000 feet fell behind the trees in the distance. The mysterious haze, characteristic of the Swiss Alps, makes one feel transported to a different world. Ghostly white, and murky grey clouds constantly try to scale the mountain-tops, shrouding the glorious Jungfrau now invisible in the distance. The everchanging shapes and colors of the scenery stir the imagination, and one can watch this breathtaking spectacle of solemnity for hours on end without tiring.
Composition:
A rhythm of gigantic proportions, the huge waves stretch in a horizontal movement. Careful treatment of tone in the dominant masses is the outstanding feature of this composition. Whereas these masses emphasize the Drama of the scene, the pleasing curves of horizontal lines lend charm and grace to the composition.
Technical Problems:
Texture had to be introduced to strengthen the heaviness of the atmosphere. Disturbing detail in sky, trees and foreground was subdued to recreate the simplicity of the actual scene. Counter movement in the sky was slightly emphasized by removing unnecessary clouds with retouching.
Data:
Camera: Makina 2 ¼ x 3 ¼
Lens: Anticomar
Stop: f.8
Film: Agfa Super Plenachrome
Exposure: 1/25 in hand
Transparency: 8x10 Eastman Commercial
Paper Negative: 14x17 Velour Black L
Print: Defender Velour Black"
by Adolf Fassbender, 1937
Location
Currently not on view
date made
before 1937
maker
Fassbender, Adolf
ID Number
PG.004116.36
catalog number
4116.36
accession number
146001

Finite...Infinite

From Pictorial Artistry: The Dramatization of the Beautiful in Photography"The early morning mist has just lifted. The sea… so still and serene, is like a huge mirror before us. On the horizon hover the same bank of clouds we had seen there the night before.
Description
From Pictorial Artistry: The Dramatization of the Beautiful in Photography
"The early morning mist has just lifted. The sea… so still and serene, is like a huge mirror before us. On the horizon hover the same bank of clouds we had seen there the night before. For here, on the coast of Nova Scotia the land breeze and the breeze from the sea wage a constant see-saw battle that suspends cloud formations in almost the same position for days at a time. When the sea breeze wins out the clouds quickly mass and march inland, bringing rain. But today, the clouds seem to be moving away little by little, lowering over the horizon’s edge until they seem to almost touch the sea. The small fisher-boat and its crew seem infinitesimal in the middle distance against the great expanse of sea and sky, and the majesty of the great clouds.
Composition:
Balance, tone, and the placing of a few small objects in a large picture area, is the secret of the effectiveness of this composition. For once, although the rendering is in high key, the leading motif appears black against light. The clouds, however, mass large enough to hold the balance easily. The broken waves in the lower right hand corner also help the balance and give interest to the base of the picture.
Technical Problems:
The water, covering two-thirds of the picture space, was too even and monotonous. Therefore, light and shade was introduced and the ripples emphasized. Clouds and horizon had to be separated, because the almost uniform color between water and sky at the time made the filter useless.
High sky and strength is a difficult combination, therefore delicate groundglass work had to be done to keep the balance.
Data:
Camera: 2 ¼ x 3 ¼ Makina
Lens: Anticomar
Stop: f.11
Film: Eastman Panatomic
Filter: Deep Yellow
Exposure: 1/25, in hand
Print: Defender Velour Black"
by Adolf Fassbender, 1937
Location
Currently not on view
date made
before 1937
maker
Fassbender, Adolf
ID Number
PG.004116.38
catalog number
4116.38
accession number
146001

Skepticism

From Pictorial Artistry: The Dramatization of the Beautiful in Photography"A study, not a portrait of a man. Characteristics brought to the fore, (conveying a mood, a story), as conceived in the mind of the maker of the study.
Description
From Pictorial Artistry: The Dramatization of the Beautiful in Photography
"A study, not a portrait of a man. Characteristics brought to the fore, (conveying a mood, a story), as conceived in the mind of the maker of the study. He in turn must ask the sitter to cooperate; there must be clear understanding between both as to the idea or purpose of the picture. Likes, dislikes, or even beauty become secondary considerations, whereas emphasis, expression, and pose, are the main objective.
In Skepticism, one can see a stern, experienced business man, who is listening distrustfully to the person addressing him.
Composition:
Basically pyramidal, there is nevertheless a square in pose, which is strengthened by the shape of the head, deep-set into broad and almost round shoulders. The slight distortion of the face made by the impression of the firmly powerful hand and a strong arm for support, convey a sense of alert repose, a readiness for whatever there may be to come. Strong highlights, lines and modeling in the face give proof of harsh experience, etched by time upon a kind face.
Technical Problems:
The difficult part for a retoucher is to refrain from the instinctive desire to beautify, brought about by the constant demand of men and women “portrait sitters” to satisfy their vanity.
The print had to be kept in a low key demanded by the mood, whereby separation of tone values became a problem, especially when strength was to be the result.
Data:
Camera: 5x7 Agfa View
Lens: Wollensack Velostigmat, 12 inches
Stop: f.6.3
Exposure: One second (on stand)
Film: Defender XF Ortho
Print: Tuma Gas, direct"
by Adolf Fassbender, 1937
Location
Currently not on view
date made
before 1937
maker
Fassbender, Adolf
ID Number
PG.004116.20
catalog number
4116.20
accession number
146001

From "Surf Sequence" No. 5

Silver gelatin, mounted. Aerial view of rocky shoreline with waves washing up. Wave is on top part of the photograph. Signed, ink (recto: bottom right). Verso: Adams stamp, top center. Title with "wave" crosses out and "surf" inserted, handwritten, ink.
Description (Brief)
Silver gelatin, mounted. Aerial view of rocky shoreline with waves washing up. Wave is on top part of the photograph. Signed, ink (recto: bottom right). Verso: Adams stamp, top center. Title with "wave" crosses out and "surf" inserted, handwritten, ink. "14x13" handwritten, pencil left side edge.
Description
On a drive from his home in San Francisco to the town of Carmel in 1940, Adams made frequent stops to walk out and look at the surf hitting the coast of San Mateo County. He took note of this particular strip of beach because of the unique and changing textures presented by the surf, sand and rocks in combination. Adams realized that the scene might be best captured in a series of images, and later wrote in his book "Examples" (p.27) that he recalled the advice of photographer Minor White, “A sequence of several images can be thought of as a single statement.” Adams also wrote that the images capture a fleeting moment in the natural world, and, while parts of a set, should not necessarily be arranged chronologically (p.23). This, the fifth image in the Surf Series, therefore showcases Adams' photographic standards, and stands out on its own as an individual, and highly successful, photograph.
Ansel Adams (1902-1984) is one of the most well-known twentieth century photographers. His contributions to the field of photography include his innovation and teaching of the Zone System. The quality of his photographs set the standard by which many straight photographs are judged.
The collection in the Photographic History Collection consists of twenty-five photographs, all printed in or about 1968. All are gelatin silver, mounted, labeled and signed in ink by the photographer. The photographs include some of his most well-known images, but also portraits and objects. The selection of images was made in collaboration between the collecting curator and Adams.
negative made
ca 1936
print made
1968
maker
Adams, Ansel
ID Number
PG.69.117.11
accession number
282326
catalog number
69.117.11

Tractored Out, Childress Country

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1938
maker
Lange, Dorothea
ID Number
PG.71.64.05
accession number
2003.0160

Leica IIIa with 50mm f/2 Lens

Chrome finish Leica IIIa with a collapsible 50mm f/2 Summar. The first Summar lenses were in a rigid screw mount; however Leitz had a long tradition of making a standard lens that collapsed in the camera body, thus making the camera very compact.
Description
Chrome finish Leica IIIa with a collapsible 50mm f/2 Summar. The first Summar lenses were in a rigid screw mount; however Leitz had a long tradition of making a standard lens that collapsed in the camera body, thus making the camera very compact. For a time they even made a 90mm telephoto that would collapse in the same way.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1938
maker
Leica
Ernst Leitz
ID Number
1982.0774.08
catalog number
1982.0774.08
accession number
1982.0774
catalog number
82.774.08
serial number
272145

Invisible Camera

Camera built into wide contoured belt shape, straped to chest and concealed under coat. Speciman was used by NY Daily Mirror photographer Tom Howard to photograph execution of Ruth Snyder, but surrendered to guards, actually used catalog number 7101 camera.
Description
Camera built into wide contoured belt shape, straped to chest and concealed under coat. Speciman was used by NY Daily Mirror photographer Tom Howard to photograph execution of Ruth Snyder, but surrendered to guards, actually used catalog number 7101 camera.
Date made
ca 1915-30
maker
Walter Talbot
ID Number
PG.008075
catalog number
8075
accession number
251655

Photogram

Silver print: "Photogram," 1939.Currently not on view
Description
Silver print: "Photogram," 1939.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1939
maker
Moholy-Nagy, Laszlo
ID Number
PG.69.108
accession number
282328
catalog number
69.108

No. Reticulated bas-relief Profile of a Woman

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1934
maker
Feininger, Andreas
ID Number
1990.0160.092
catalog number
1990.0160.092
accession number
1990.0160

City, Thy Name Be Blessed

From Pictorial Artistry: The Dramatization of the Beautiful in Photography"Coming home from Nova Scotia, I found this unusual opportunity for a truly symbolical portrayal. There were many nuns aboard ship, returning to a convent in New Jersey.
Description
From Pictorial Artistry: The Dramatization of the Beautiful in Photography
"Coming home from Nova Scotia, I found this unusual opportunity for a truly symbolical portrayal. There were many nuns aboard ship, returning to a convent in New Jersey. I knew we would pass the majestic skyline of New York at about half past seven in the evening and visualized my picture completely beforehand. The nuns were reticent about posing, but when I explained that the rules of their order would not be violated since I did not intend to photograph their faces, they graciously consented to take the position by the rail of the boat.
Thus I was able to portray the materialistic creation of man in stone and steel dwarfed by the heavenly grandeur overhead. The heads of the nuns, bowed as in prayer, seem to be blessed by the great slanting beams of sunlight.
Composition:
Pyramid and radiation. The motif is spiritual which is carried through the entire composition. The pose of the nuns conveys a sense of reverence. The detail in the buildings is almost obscured which gives a feeling of mystery. Clouds and rays which connect the city with the sky above prevent separation of the motive. Although vivid light rays stream downward, the heaven above is shrouded in mystery by dark tones… this holds the eyes within the picture and makes them follow other rays down to the motive again.
Technical Problems:
The nuns, at first reluctant, consented to pose at the last minute. The sun rays were present, but not in the picture field and had to be re-introduced via ground glass work. On account of the wind, the nuns were holding their veils which made their white hands very conspicuous, and they had to be removed by etching and retouching. Quick action was necessary because the boat was moving fast and the exposure had to take place at the moment the nuns were in proper relation to the buildings in the background, which happened in a fraction of second. Mystery was added by printing in an irregular grain.
Data:
Camera: 2 ¼ x 3 ¼ Makina
Lens: Plaubel Anticomar
Stop: f.6.3
Film: Eastman Verichrome
Exposure: 1/25 in hand
Transparency: 8x10 Eastman Commercial
Negative: 8x10 Eastman Commercial
Print: Tuma Gas 14x17"
by Adolf Fassbender, 1937
Location
Currently not on view
date made
before 1937
maker
Fassbender, Adolf
ID Number
PG.004116.22
catalog number
4116.22
accession number
146001

Pauline Lord

(untitled) by Eugene Robert Richee, gelatin silver print.Currently not on view
Description
(untitled) by Eugene Robert Richee, gelatin silver print.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1935-06-06
copyright holder
Paramount
ID Number
2013.0327.1460
catalog number
2013.0327.1460
accession number
2013.0327

Album of Ben Polisky (family)

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1944-45
ID Number
2007.3033.01
nonaccession number
2007.3033
catalog number
2007.3033.01

Signs of Spring

From Pictorial Artistry: The Dramatization of the Beautiful in Photography"Blossom time—thin, graceful branches swaying in the gentle breeze, the little white flowers like thousands of fluttering butterflies, dance about, enjoying the first warm rays of spring.
Description
From Pictorial Artistry: The Dramatization of the Beautiful in Photography
"Blossom time—thin, graceful branches swaying in the gentle breeze, the little white flowers like thousands of fluttering butterflies, dance about, enjoying the first warm rays of spring. They also warm the heart of the eager pictorialist who had exhausted his skill trying to photograph beautiful things in bleak winter. It is Dogwood in bloom, one of the most rewarding subjects with which to play in blossom time. Tiny, transparent, and bright green leaves were just sprouting, intermingling with the sparkling flowers.
Composition:
A delicate Japanese design against a soothing blue sky. The various treetops, a repetition in different shapes of other Dogwood flowers, were permitted in the lower part of the picture, first, to lend height to the real motive, and second, to provide for a base in the picture. Without them the composition would be top-heavy. The radiation of curved lines from the main stem forms the foundation of the charming design.
Technical Problems:
There were other branches interfering in the upper left section of the picture. They had to be removed by making a composite negative first, followed by additional retouching, etc., filling in the corner with plain sky. This gave the branch and design more freedom. The swaying of the tree would not allow a small diaphragm stop and long exposure. Waiting for the wind to abate was a trial on my patience. The exposure had to be made at the end of the sway, the dead point where momentum stops. Each white flower was emphasized by retouching.
Data:
Camera: Jewell A 9x12cm
Lens: Zeiss Tessar
Stop: f.11
Filter: Deep Yellow
Exposure: 1/5 of a second
Film: Agfa Superpan
Print: 14x17 Tuma Gas, toned"
by Adolf Fassbender, 1937
Location
Currently not on view
date made
before 1937
maker
Fassbender, Adolf
ID Number
PG.004116.12
catalog number
4116.12
accession number
146001

Photograph of "McCall's Cheese"

Carbro color print, matted; Cheese and crackers with knife. Signed and dated on mat, pencil. Verso: handwritten "McCall's Cheese." This color photograph was used for the women's homemaking magazine, McCall's.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Carbro color print, matted; Cheese and crackers with knife. Signed and dated on mat, pencil. Verso: handwritten "McCall's Cheese." This color photograph was used for the women's homemaking magazine, McCall's.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1936
maker
Outerbridge, Jr., Paul
ID Number
PG.006063
catalog number
6063
accession number
223759
catalog number
6063

Frozen Lake and Cliffs

Silver gelatin, mounted. Eye level view of ice on water, foreground. Tall rock formation, background. Signed, ink (recto: bottom right corner).
Description (Brief)
Silver gelatin, mounted. Eye level view of ice on water, foreground. Tall rock formation, background. Signed, ink (recto: bottom right corner). Verso: Adams stamp, handrwitten title, center.
Description
While on an annual Sierra Club outing to Sequoia National Park, Adams took this image of the frozen Precipice Lake high in the Sierra Nevada range. The contrasting textures, sharp focus and full tonal range are indicative of Adams’ period of transition towards the f/64 Group’s photographic philosophy. In his book, “Examples,” Adams explained that some critics have called the work almost abstract, due to its strictly geometric composition, but that he disagreed. “I cannot change the optical realities, but only manage them in relation to themselves and the format,” he wrote ("Examples," p.11). Perhaps this photograph challenges the viewer to think about the shapes found in nature and the primary framing of a photograph.
Ansel Adams (1902-1984) is one of the most well-known twentieth century photographers. His contributions to the field of photography include his innovation and teaching of the Zone System. The quality of his photographs set the standard by which many straight photographs are judged.
The collection in the Photographic History Collection consists of twenty-five photographs, all printed in or about 1968. All are gelatin silver, mounted, labeled and signed in ink by the photographer. The photographs include some of his most well-known images, but also portraits and objects. The selection of images was made in collaboration between the collecting curator and Adams.
print made
ca 1968
negative made
1934
maker
Adams, Ansel
ID Number
PG.69.117.05
accession number
282326
catalog number
69.117.5

No. 90 Solarized Leaf Negative

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1936
maker
Feininger, Andreas
ID Number
1990.0160.095
catalog number
1990.0160.095
accession number
1990.0160

mounted magenta carbro tissue

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1930s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006264.P
catalog number
6264P
accession number
238737

Pulling bark from a tree

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1936
maker
Associated Press
ID Number
2013.0327.0763
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.0763

Leica I (Model A)

This was the first kit sold by Leitz.The kit consists of a Leica 1(A) camera (Serial no. 4495) with 50mm f/3.5 Elmar lens and lens cap, a small dial rangefinder, two reloadable film cassettes in case, and a brown leather case to hold all the items.
Description
This was the first kit sold by Leitz.
The kit consists of a Leica 1(A) camera (Serial no. 4495) with 50mm f/3.5 Elmar lens and lens cap, a small dial rangefinder, two reloadable film cassettes in case, and a brown leather case to hold all the items. Model 1(A) Leicas were not fitted with a rangefinder for focusing, so from the very beginning Leitz (the manufacturer) sold an accessory rangefinder that fitted into the camera shoe. The rangefinder in this kit was the first design type sold by Leitz in 1925.
The kit also includes a small tubular case that contains two 35mm film cassettes. In the early Leica days preloaded 35mm film cassettes were not available and the camera users had to load their own cassettes from bulk film. From the beginning 36 exposures was the standard length of film. This kit would enable the user to shoot 72 exposures before resorting to a darkroom for reloading.
The whole kit fits into a custom leather case in excellent condition.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1924-1930
1940
bequest
Estate of Carolyn H. Edwards
maker
Ernst Leitz
Leica
ID Number
PG.71.099.01
accession number
296611
catalog number
71.099.01
serial number
4495

Promenade des Anglais, French Riviera

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1937
maker
Model, Lisette
ID Number
PG.69.210.04
catalog number
69.210.4
accession number
298689

Burned Car

Mounted gelatin silver print of Edward Weston's Burned Car, 1938. The photograph was printed by Edward's son Cole Weston from his father's original negative.Edward Weston was influential in the modern photography movement beginning in the 1930s.
Description (Brief)
Mounted gelatin silver print of Edward Weston's Burned Car, 1938. The photograph was printed by Edward's son Cole Weston from his father's original negative.
Edward Weston was influential in the modern photography movement beginning in the 1930s. He is well known for photographing the natural surroundings of his home on the California coast. Weston created striking works of art, some abstract, some more traditional images. A leader in American photography of the 20th century, Weston's prints were first exhibited at the Smithsonian in 1947. Afterwards, he remained interested in the national photography collection. At times, Weston recommended photographers to curators for collecting opportunities, and eventually donated a selection of his work and several cameras to the Photographic History Collection.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1938
maker - negative
Weston, Edward
maker - print
Weston, Cole
ID Number
PG.69.137.07
catalog number
69.137.7
accession number
288850

When Knights Were Bold

From Pictorial Artistry: The Dramatization of the Beautiful in Photography"It was early morning. We were driving through rich farmlands in Northern Bavaria, a drizzling rain from the low-hanging clouds cast a depressing heaviness over the countryside.
Description
From Pictorial Artistry: The Dramatization of the Beautiful in Photography
"It was early morning. We were driving through rich farmlands in Northern Bavaria, a drizzling rain from the low-hanging clouds cast a depressing heaviness over the countryside. Despite the weather, peasants were busy with the harvest in the fields beside the road, turning from their labors to greet us respectfully as we passed.
A sharp twist in the road… a clearing vista ahead as a few feeble rays of sunlight began to penetrate the overcast sky. Behold! In a sudden burst of sunlight a gleaming white tower rose high in the distance… a fairy-castle pinnacle which seemed to rest miraculously on a cluster of little houses. What a sight it was midst the otherwise flat and uninteresting country… so breathtaking in its suddenness… unleashing our imagination with its charm. Why, here might be the Sleeping Beauty awaiting to be awakened from her sleep of centuries. Or, here behind the mighty ramparts might be an army besieged… the clash of arms dimmed by time. Yes, here was romance… the glory of the past… when knights were bold.
Composition:
Pyramidal. Point of view was selected to achieve a repetition of the pyramidal movement within the composition. The tower was centered and positioned high in the picture area to convey the desired impression of might and lofty dominance over the surrounding subject matter. The dazzling play of light on the tower decided the natural focal point of interest within the picture.
Technical Approach:
By the time the picture was taken from close up, the light had become diffused and had spread across the entire picture field. Since I wished to recapture the magnificent first impression as I had viewed the scene from afar, the following was my procedure.
The houses to the left and right appeared too light from false reflections, and the light balance of the entire scene was scattered, minimizing the power and beauty of the tower. So I had to resort to local reduction, and to give added brilliance to the tower itself in keeping with its importance, I used chalk on the paper negative. Elongation then gave the final measure of towering height, strength and dominance.
Data:
Camera: Makina 2 ¼ x 3 ¼
Lens: Plaubel Anticomar
Stop: f.8
Filter: Medium Dark
Exposure: 1/25 camera in hand
Film: Agfa Super Plenachrome
Transparency: 8x10 Eastman Commercial"
by Adolf Fassbender, 1937
Location
Currently not on view
date made
before 1937
maker
Fassbender, Adolf
ID Number
PG.004116.03
accession number
146001
catalog number
4116.03

A sandhog calls out the number of inches of the "shove"

Early in 1939 Carl Mydans traveled 100 feet underground to document the building of the Midtown Tunnel in New York City, which runs under the East River all the way from 42nd Street in Manhattan to Queens.
Description
Early in 1939 Carl Mydans traveled 100 feet underground to document the building of the Midtown Tunnel in New York City, which runs under the East River all the way from 42nd Street in Manhattan to Queens. His photographs were published in LIFE magazine (April 3, 1939) and earned Mydans a Grand Prize by U.S. Camera [n.d.].
At the moment this picture was taken, hydraulic jacks from the shield-- a criss-cross structure of heavy girders ringed in steel plate-- is pushing against the last laid iron section. As the shield pushes ahead into the river bed, the "shove" is called out. Afterwards, sections are plugged to avoid any air leaks. In good ground, the shield makes one shove every five hours; in bad ground, it can take up to twenty-four hours.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1939
photographer
Mydans, Carl
ID Number
2005.0228.051
accession number
2005.0228
catalog number
2005.0228.051

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.