Wiki for Dr. McClurkens Courses

Geoffrey Bennett traces over a century of history of popular photography from the earliest days of color in the mid-late 19th-century to the emergence of amateur and even “snapshot” photographers in the 1980s. When color photography was first developed in the mid-19th-century, it required the use of three color filters in order to produce a color photograph. The process was expensive and painstaking (129). Later, the “Autochrome” process developed by the Lumiere Brothers of France allowed for photos to develop in a single emulsion, thus shortening the process (131). Finally, the “Tri-Pack” system of the 1920s-30s entirely eliminated the need for a set of filters (133).

Still, even over the course of nearly sixty years, photography was still expensive, fragile, and color photography was not widely available to the public. It would not be until the 1940s-1950s that color photography would become popularized in the United States. Part of this popularization was accelerated by the US Government, who desired the ability to quickly take surveillance photographs (135).

When color photography was finally commonly available by the 1950s, it only took roughly another 30 years for photography to transform from a specialized process done only in official clubs in darkrooms, to a hobby that even the most inexperienced amateur lacking technical skills could participate. The success of mass marketing within photography blossomed quickly - particularly with the advent of Instant Polaroid cameras in the 1960s, and the “point-and-shoot” cameras of the 1980s (141).

The availability and spread of color photography sparked mass intrigue and curiosity that was heightened by the sense of euphoria derived from producing a color photograph by oneself. Nowadays, it is easy to take photography for granted, as almost all of us have the ability to document - stylishly or not - any given moment of our lives using our smartphones. If you have paid for a smartphone, you have paid for an almost unlimited amount of photographs. But this was not at all the case even fifty years ago. Photography expanded over the course of less than two centuries because of the many institutions involved in its promotion - including inventor-entrepreneurs, the US government, and of course, amateurs.(==Glynnis Farleigh)

The progression of color film from about the 1930's until now has always fascinated me and how as a society, we are returning to some of our old artifacts. In 1936 coordinations film was very expensive. But around the same time Kodak Color Film started because of the war in 1942. Flash forward to about 1963, the first Polaroid instant color film was created. In 1982, there was the disc camera (which was not as successful). In 1988 Kodak stopped making cameras but film production still continued. While as a society there was a need and want for film and photos, there were specific types that were wanted. Today, Polaroid films are very popular because they are instant and vintage. They are also not as expensive now as they were when first created. It is amazing that over only the course of about 60 years that film and color film in particular has changed so much. -Haley Denehy

In this Text Geoffrey Bennett goes in depth on the history of coloring in pictures taken on camera. He first brings up inventions such as James Maxwell's “color separation” (1861) or Frederick Ives “photochromoscope” (1895) which creates colors through red, green, and blue filters but was very expensive and time consuming. He then moves onto the serious strides imaging companies are making to create colored pictures through examples such as the Kodak Color Film (1942) and onto the creation of the “Polaroid” (1963) camera, which is still very popular in modern time because of its antique look on the picture. There were dozens of inventions made throughout the 1900's that have made significant influences on how imaging is today. All of my life the color in pictures has never been a problem for me, I have been surrounded by technology capable of creating such pictures with ease, but only 50 years before people were struggling to create quality pictures with color, and it shows how quickly the advancement in imaging technology really was. -Nick Bass

Photography has been around for longer than people realize. It was such a delicate process in the beginning and overtime became more at ease. James Clerk Maxwell was one of the first to ease this process for color photographs to become possible, with less physical work. It fascinates me how potato starch was used to accompany the color process. These “fine grains acted like tiny filters.” (130) Who would've thought that suing potato starch was the breakthrough of colored photography? How did the Lumiere Company of France know this would work and not ruin the pictures? Also, the advertising for the Kodak miniature camera was so simple, yet it attracted so many people. It became the beginning of major photography and in a sense led to the purpose for pictures in today's time. — Erika Mabry

“The distinction between amateurs and snapshooters is held to be that, whereas the former devote most of their photography to making pictures that they and hopefully others will admire, the snapshooter’s aim goes no further than recording family, friends, places, and events” (Bennett,140). It is interesting to compare the roles of amateurs and snapshooters to the various roles of today’s photographers. There are foodies, selfies, models, naturalists, influencers, and many more that utilise photography to portray their life experiences and interests. It is also intriguing to note that since the emergence of the camera, human society has used it to further define what these life experiences and interests can be. For example, “Did I really visit Paris, eat a baguette, and fall in love if I don’t post a picture of the Eiffel Tower on Instagram?” Or, “What should I wear out and order to eat that will photograph well?” Humans characterise photography nowadays as a social tool and it is simply remarkable to see this evolution and how cameras and social media influence and shape one another. - Dillyn Scott

The transition from homemade food, in terms of gathering and preparation, to the industrialization and processing of food gave birth to women fulfilling a gender role of the cook, (apart of the homemaker archetype), in the early twentieth century. I cannot help but wonder how a woman’s role in the kitchen changed from the early 1900s to what we see today, which are less homemakers and more corporate workers. Are social changes, such as feminism and the independent woman or technology, such as microwavable and fast foods more responsible for this? What exactly has blurred the line of having a modern, predominant gender role perform kitchen work? (–Nate Stringer)

I think it's interesting that women were the primary ones making dairy products including cheese and then it was taken over and perfected by a man. Cheese was then made by factory where 1% of cheese was not made in a factory. When the war came around the factory working men left and they really asked if it was a feasible solution to hire woman… they were making cheese before men were. It really just baffles me to see the discrimination of women and thinking that they are so much less than men in their work ethic, in their intelligence, in their worth of salary, and their worth of skill. Men were getting paid ~$20+ more than women to do the same job, same amount of work, and same hours. I think the best line was “A woman is out of place working in a creamery as women were intended by the Creator to make a home for men” (pg. 172) and unfortunately bringing God into any statement at that period of time made their case so much stronger because religion was important. I sometimes wonder if we ruin our would so much that factories are no longer an option and homemade products are the only source available, would the human race be able to survive and revert to the days before technology? – Claire Starke

“Some Notes on Vocational Guidance”-J.A.L. Waddell

Some of the ideas that Waddell brings up seem laughable now, but were actual issues being faced by the professional arena. For example, the almost extensional questions of whether or not a form of testing people's skills that wanted to become engineers was even possible. The list of questions to ask yourself, as a person pursuing or wishing to pursue engineering, felt vague and unhelpful. I, personally, liked the question about historical figures that inspire you. The most interesting concept that Waddell brings up is the idea that after someone receives their education for engineering, they should pursue a senior professional and follow them! That definitely has echoes of the apprenticeship style of teaching from the 18th century. -Kim E.