James Gilmore's Viz Arts Ed

ART1015 Students: Feb 1 Class

Don’t forget to bring in an empty paint can, available from your local paint/hardware store. Gallon or quart size will do.

There is actually a World Wide Pinhole Photo Day – this year it falls on Sunday, April 29th. If you make a pinhole photograph that day, you can upload it to the dedicated website.

There is also a Call for Entries for a pinhole photo show entitled “The End of the World”. Plus, check out Justin Quinnell’s fantastic website, which includes a six-month pinhole exposure!

Quote from the character Penelope (Rachel Weisz) in The Brothers Bloom: “The Taj Majal taken by a fat tourist with diarrhea and a point-and-shoot camera can be the flattest, dullest, ‘Here’s us at the Taj Mahal, oh lovely lets go stick our thumbs up our asses’ picture. But you can look at the most menial everyday thing, and depending on how your pinhole camera eats the light, it’s warped and peculiar and imperfect. It’s not reproduction, it’s storytelling.”

1. What is pinhole photography?

by Larry Bullis

Pinhole photography is similar to “common photography” in most respects but differs in that the camera used has no lens. Instead, it has a very small aperture which projects an image upon the sensitized material (film or paper). This necessitates different ways of working (primarily because the exposures must be relatively long) and produces images which differ from lens images in several important respects.Where a lens forms an image by bringing rays of light coming to it from each point in the subject to a common focus, the pinhole does not focus at all. Instead, it acts as a center of projection.

Speaking practically, a ray of light from any point in the subject, passing through the pinhole, will intersect the film in only one place. Another ray of light, coming from a different point in the subject and passing through the hole will strike the film in a different place. The accumulation of all rays of light passing through the hole will thus form an image at the film plane. If the film plane were moved forward or backward, the image would still be there, but it would be smaller or larger depending upon where it were located.

Because the hole is actually not truly a point, it allows more than just one ray from each point in the subject to strike the film. We could say that it passes a small bundle of rays from each point. This is one reason why pinhole images are characteristically softer than lens images. The other reason is that some of the rays encounter the edge of the hole and are diffracted; they bend.

Since there is no focus, the sharpness of the image (such as it is; it is always somewhat “soft”) is uniform from near distance to far. In other words, there is no limitation of depth of field as there is in lens photography. Very near objects (closer than the pinhole to film distance) will however become softer due to divergence of the rays coming from each point.

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2. What do I need to make a pinhole camera?

by Larry Bullis

Virtually any container capable of excluding light can become a pinhole camera. There must be a way to get a piece of sensitized material into the container, and get it out after the exposure is made. Containers have ranged from small objects such as salt shakers, through very large items such as oil drums or luggage. Even trucks and rooms in buildings have been turned into cameras as have red peppers, watermelons, and other unusual items. Pinhole photographers seem to delight in making camera s out of surprising objects. Cardboard boxes are popular, either those made for film or paper, or hand built by the photographer. Many pinhole photographers start with the Quaker Oat box; the resultant cylindrical camera gives an interesting curved perspective. Cameras built around the film transport systems taken from conventional cameras are very practical; one of the most difficult problems is how to get film in and out of the camera.The other requirement is a suitable pinhole. This can be made with or without a great deal of precision; the quality of the image will vary tremendously according to how the hole is made. One of the most common materials for making pinholes is brass shim stock or other very thin metal. There is often a great deal of discussion about methods of making the actual holes. Both the “pokers” and the “drillers” have their reasons for preferring their respective methods.

Various materials such as black fabric, black paint, black tape, etc. are needed to eliminate internal reflections and simply hold the parts together. If you wish a viewfinder on your camera, you may design and construct one but the camera will work whether or not you know what it is seeing.

One of the easiest ways to make a functional pinhole camera is to drill a hole in a body cap that fits a camera that uses interchangeable lenses. Over this hole, it is possible to tape a piece of metal in which an imaging hole is made. The lens is removed from the camera and the body cap inserted in its stead. In this way, it is possible to use the camera’s existing film transport mechanism. Film exposed in such a camera can be sent to a photofinisher for processing and printing, or finished by the photographer. This makes it possible for persons not having darkroom capabilities to practice pinhole photography.

In recent years commercially marketed cameras have become available. Some of these are truly quite excellent. For some pinhole photographers, though, designing and building the camera is a very large part of the medium’s appeal. It has b een said, for that reason, that pinhole photography is part photography and part sculpture.

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3. How do I make a pinhole?

by Tom Lindsay

There are several ways to make a pinhole, and as many camps on which way is the best. I’m going to tell you how I make them, and I believe that it is the easiest way to make a pinhole.Materials needed to make a pinhole

1. A 1″-11/4″ square piece of .003 brass shim stock (just like heavy aluminum foil, but brass)
2. A new unsharpened #2 pencil with an eraser tip.
3. A #10 sewing needle
4. A 5″ square or larger piece of scrap cardboard
5. A small piece of 400 grit emery paper
6. A pair of needle nosed pliers (optional)
7. A needle grabber (optional) you will find this at a sewing store.
8. A 8x loupe or good magnifying glass

Let’s Do it!!!

The first thing that has to be done is to insert the needle into the eraser-tip of your #2 pencil. Get out the scrap of 5″ cardboard. Put it on a firm surface (the table or floor will do fine). Now grab the #2 pencil and hold the pencil vertical (straight up and down) in one hand, and hold the #10 sewing needle vertical with your other hand. Center the needle on the eraser-tip end (eye end of the needle towards the eraser) and then with a downward push (using the cardboard for a place to push the sharp part of the needle into) get the needle started into the eraser tip. You might have to try a few times before you get it to look like example #1.

 

Example 1	Example 2	Example 3

But it is worth getting it as straight as possible. Pull the needle back out of the eraser and start again only if you have to!!! When you are satisfied that you have it started straight, use the needle nose pliers or “needle grabber” to sink it in as far as it will go into the eraser tip.

Get out the .003 brass shim stock and lay it on the cardboard (find a fresh spot on the cardboard). Start twirling the pencil-needle tool (from now on just called the needle), like you see in example #2.

Make sure you are in the center of the brass shim stock square. Important note: The cardboard is not seen in the drawings, just imagine that it is under the brass shim stock). You will start to go through the brass shim stock as you twirl and push downward ever so slightly in a drilling motion. You can now see the needle coming through the brass shim stock as in example #3.

Pull the needle back out and you will see that you now have small burrs on the opposite side that you started from. See example #4.

Example 4

These burrs are what you will now need the 400 grit emery paper for. Sand the brass shim stock on the burred side going in a gentle circular motion with your emery paper until the burrs are gone (don’t over do this step).

Now you want to flip the brass shim stock over to the opposite side (the side that you just sanded the burrs off of). Insert the needle into the hole and repeat the twirling motion as shown in example #5.

Example 5	Example 6

This time you will get very little burrs on the opposite side that will look similar to those in example #4, but not as pronounced. Sand these burrs off the same way as you did earlier being ever so gentle. When you are satisfied that you have removed those burrs , stick the needle back into the hole (from the opposite side of the brass shim stock) and then CAREFULLY twirl the whole square piece of brass shim stock as shown in example #6.

It should twirl pretty easily and yet still be snug. When you have gotten to this point you may or may not have to sand some more ultra small burrs if they do show themselves on the opposite side from where you last inserted the needle. If need be, sand them!

At this point all you need to do is get out the loupe or magnifying glass and check to see if you have a nice CLEAN pinhole. If you do you are finished. If not repeat inserting the needle into the hole on the opposite side of the brass shim stock and give it another good twirl like in example #6, until you do see a good clean pinhole!!! Congratulations you now have a pinhole and know how to make one too, way to go!!!

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4. What is the best size for the pinhole?

by Guillermo Peñate

The size of hole you need depends on the kind of effect you want to get. Many of us calculate the “optimum” size and then depart (or not) from it, in order to experiment. There are many formulas to calculate the “optimum” size. Optimum, in this case, means the hole that gives the “sharpest” pictures. Incidentally, the sharpest pictures may or may not be the “best” pictures for you. The formula I use is:Optimum pinhole diameter in inches = 0.0073 * SQR (focal length in inches) SQR stands for square root. For metric system the formula becomes: Pinhole diameter = 0.03679 * SQR (focal length) where diameter and focal length are in millimeters

Once you know the size of pinhole you will use, find the f/stop of your camera by dividing the focal length by the diameter. Obviously, both values must be in the same unit of measurement.

f/stop = focal length / diameter

More likely than not, the f/stop won’t coincide with a full stop. Since the progression of f/stops is not linear, to find where exactly in between stops the f/stop of your pinhole camera is, you’ll need a mathematical formula to calculate it. But that isn’t necessary due to the “imprecise” nature of pinhole. I would suggest you approximate the calculated f/stop to the next full stop (unless is really close to lower one). The reason is that pinhole exposures are more likely to be under than over-exposed.

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5. How to determine the exposure time? By Guillermo Peñate

Once you know the full f/stop of your camera, it’s time to make some pictures. You then have to find the exposure your scene needs. Do it by whatever method you want. I use 2 methods. The first would be applying “Sunny16″ rule, which says that under sunny/bright conditions the exposure needed is f /16 and 1/ (film speed). For instance, if the film is ISO100 the exposure would be f/16 and 100^th of a sec.The second method is taking an actual light reading of the scene. Sometimes I use a handheld meter, other times I use my 35mm camera. Let’s call “f” and “t” aperture and time, respectively . Once you have the exposure that your scene needs, you have to find the equivalent exposure for your pinhole f/stop.

You then start to double “f” until you get a value that is equal or bigger than “F”. If equal, the number of doublings multiplied by 2 is the number of f/stops separating “f” from “F”. If bigger, the number of f/stops between “f” and “F” is the number of doublings time 2 minus 1. The new exposure time (“T”) will be obtained by doubling the time “t” as many times as stops separate “f” from “F”. It is more difficult and cumbersome to say it, or write, than to actually do it.

Let’s use an 11×14 format, 6″ focal length camera as an example:

Optimum pinhole size = 0.0073 * SQR(6) = 0.018″ (approx.)

f/stop of your camera = 6 / 0.018 = 333

progression of f/stops from f/16 to above f/333 is : f/16, 22, 32, 44, 64, 88, 128, 176, 256, 352.

practical f/stop of your camera = f/352

Scene to photograph is under sunny conditions, material used as negative is B&W multigrade paper. Approximate ISO speed is 6. Therefore, using Sunny16 we should expose for 1/6 secs and f/16.

To find the number of stops separating f/16 and our camera f/stop of f/352, we double 16 until we get 352 or above. It takes 5 doublings to get to 512 (32,64,128,256,512). Since 512 is bigger that 352, we then find the stops separating f/16 from f/352 by multiplying the number of doublings times 2 and subtract 1 — 5 times 2 = 10 minus 1 = 9 there are 9 stops between f/16 and f/352. Now we find the new exposure time by doubling 9 times our time of 1/6 sec: 1/6, 1/3, 1/1.5, 1.33, 2.66, 5.33, 10.66 , 21.33, 42.66, 85.33.

The new exposure time is then = 85 seconds.

The equivalent exposure time to f/16 and 1/6 sec is f/352 and 85 seconds. I wish this were the end, but the exposure time of 85 seconds has to be corrected for reciprocity failure. There is a table that has proven very effective for me. Watch out for sailing clouds, as you might have to increase the exposure time a little more if a big one passes by. When I was making the photograph “door”, the uncorrected exposure time was 8 minutes. The multiplier according to my reciprocity table is 5 for a corrected time of 40 minutes!!! A big cloud passed by during part of the 40 minutes. I extended the time to 55 minutes to compensate. Negative material was Ilford Multigrade.

I’d like to finish saying the following: I am not an artist. I am a technician. All my studies and jobs have been in tech things (electronic, electricity, communications and computers). Nevertheless, I feel the need, sometimes the urgency, of “creating” something beautiful to me, for me and by me. To accomplish it, my idiosyncrasy request from me to learn, to the limits of my incompetence, all the science that makes pinhole work. This knowledge serves to me as a ladder to try to reach the high er plateau on which art is. Some other people are born artists, some other are lucky enough to have a very eclectic mix. The science behind pinhole, as boring and not necessary that it is for some, it is indispensable and/or interesting and /or unenjoyable f or others.

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6. Books about pinhole photography

• Martha Casanave, Past Lives, (1991), David R. Godine, Boston, MA, USA ISBN 0-87923-872-0
• Adam Fuss, Pinhole Photographs (Smithsonian Photographers at Work), Smithsonian Institution Press ISBN: 1560986220
• Thomas Harding, One Room Schoolhouses of Arkansas as Seen through a Pinhole, University of Arkansas Press ISBN: 1557282714 ISBN: 1557282722
• Hans Knuchel, Camera Obscura, (1992), Lars Mueller Edition, Baden, Switzerland ISBN 3-906700-49-6
• John Warren Oakes, Minimal Aperture Photography Using Pinhole Cameras, ISBN: 0819153702 & 0819153699
• Eric Renner, Center For Contemporary Arts Staff (Editor), International Pinhole Photography Exhibition, Center for Contemporary Arts of Santa Fe, ISBN: 0929762010
• Eric Renner, Pinhole Photography: Rediscovering a Historic Technique, (1995), Focal Press, Butterworth-Heinemann, Newton, MA, USA ISBN 0-240-80237-3
• Jim Shull, The Hole Thing, A Manual of Pinhole Fotografy, (1974), Morgan & Morgan , Inc., New York, USA ISBN 0-87100-047-4
• Lauren Smith, Pinhole Vision I, LBS Produc ISBN: 0960779604
• Lauren Smith, Pinhole Vision II, LBS Produc ISBN: 0-96079612
• Lauren Smith, The Visionary Pinhole, (1985), Gibbs M. Smith, Inc., Peregrine Smith Books, Salt Lake City, USA ISBN 0-87905-206
• Ruth Thorne-Thomsen, Within this Garden, (1993), The Museum of Contemporary Photography, Columbia College, Chicago, Ill., USA ISBN 0-93026-30-3 Paper, 0-89381-549-7 Cloth
• Pinhole Journal, published 3 times a year (April, August and December) by:
  

  Pinhole Resource
  Star Route 15, Box 1355
  San Lorenzo, New Mexico 88041
  Tel: (505) 536-9942
  (membership: incl. curators, historians, educators, students, photographers, camera clubs etc.) Also sells cameras and other pinhole related items, such as books, drilled pinholes in various sizes, zone-plates, etc. Also run workshops.

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Contributors to the Pinhole Faq include:
Larry Bullis
Tom Lindsay
Guillermo Peñate
Howard Wells
George L Smyth
Brigitte Harper
Gordon J. Holtslander

Last but not least, here’s a YouTube of a pinhole on a DSLR!

Image on right taken on December 21, 2011

I’ve  always been fascinated by the postcards generated by Eastman Studios throughout the first half of the 20th century.

Made directly onto Kodak paper from original negatives rather than the halftone process favored by nearly every other postcard maker of the era, the images always seem to be of places we’re familiar with – predominantly, scenes from California, Nevada and Oregon.

Without realizing it, I was beginning to collect images by Jervie Henry Eastman, whose ties to the State of Jefferson are long and deep.

While he was actually born in Michigan in 1880, his family moved to the wilds of northern California in 1886. By 1898, at the age of eighteen, Eastman was a practicing ‘view photographer’ in Sisson, which of course in now known as Mt. Shasta. By 1907, he was a partner in the Shasta View Company, and lost all of his burgeoning collection of photo plates in a fire in 1912.

In 1921, Jervie Henry Eastman moved to Susanville and established Eastman & Company as a commercial photography and post card studio. In 1936 he hired Mirl Simmons, a young photographer from Hillsborough, West Virginia, to help with the postcard photography. In 1947, Eastman and Simmons became partners. The business had expanded to provide photographic supplies to southeastern Oregon and studios in Westwood, Weed, and Susanville.

By the end of his long career, Jervie Eastman and his company amassed over 13,000 images – contributing a prolific archive of our area in the 20th century. While his images of the construction of Shasta Dam and the highways that began to proliferate as access to rural areas began to be realized are important contributions to the history of the State of Jefferson, it’s his images of the downtown areas of our communities that really resonate. Towns like Klamath Falls, Weed and Alturas are frozen in time inside these arresting images, often easily attributed to a year by the automobliles in the photos. Eastman also understood the value of ‘kitsch’, evidenced by his images of playful bears, squirrels and other wildlife that probably sold very well in their time.

Eastman retired from photography in 1959 and sold his share of the business to his partner since 1947, Mirl Simmons. Jervie Eastman died in Susanville in 1969.

Mirl Simmons ran the Eastman Studios until 1980, when he retired and sold the business to John and Shirley Castle. Mirl Simmons died in 1987, in Jamestown, California.

The Eastman’s Originals Collection (the historical postcards and negatives) was sold to Anne Fisher in 1982, presumably by Simmons. Fisher managed the collection until her retirement in 1994, when she donated the collection to the University of California, Davis.

The Library at UCD now manages The Eastman Project, part of the Library’s Special Collections Department, designed to “provide digital access to the 12,500 images in the Eastman’s Originals Collection, a series of photographic negatives depicting California life, created by Jervie Henry Eastman and Mirl Simmons of Eastman Studios, Susanville, California”. This collection may be searched using the UC Davis Harvest Catalog.

For more on Jervie Eastman, check out the Sierra Nevada Virtual Museum project, which has chronicled Eastman’s life.

In photography, toning is a method of changing the color of black-and-white photographs.

In analog photography, toning is a chemical process carried out on silver-based photographic prints. This darkroom process can not be done with a color photograph and although the black-and-white photograph is now toned, it is still considered a black and white photograph as it is monochromatic.

Because toners convert the silver of the image into some other material, they can improve the long-term stability of a print. As well as toning the whole picture, you can achieve particularly striking results in some cases by toning (or coloring) selected areas.

Next Wednesday, Dec. 7th, at 3pm, we will be ‘stinking up’ McCloud Hall with sepia toner. Please bring UNMOUNTED black and white photos for toning. You can sepia tone individual photos, or your whole project. Dress down for this activity, or just bring an old kitchen apron to wear.

Sepia Toning

Sepia toning converts the silver image to tones ranging from light to dark brown. Such toning can be achieved by using either Direct or Indirect toners. Sepia toning requires the image to be bleached before toning. Both lead to an improved image permanence.

Below gives details on ‘Direct’ and ‘Indirect’ techniques – for sepia toning images.

Direct Sulphide toners

Direct Sulphide toners are single solution toners, and act on the image directly – to convert it (partially or completely) to silver sulphide.

Direct sulphide toners work well with Multigrade FB Warmtone paper. Such toners have little effect on Multigrade IV papers however.

These types of toners have the advantage that toning can be stopped when the desired colour is reached, and also partially toned images can be further treated in other toners to produce various other special effects.

Prints toned in direct sulphide toners generally have similar density and contrast – to untoned prints.

These toners can be used at room temperature but they act very slowly – taking up to 30 minutes to reach completion. This time can be shortened considerably by raising the temperature to 100F/38C, but the drawback is that at higher temperatures this already initially strong smelling toning solution – will be even more unpleasant.

Examples of commercially available direct sulphide toners are :- Kodak Brown toner, Photographers Formulary Hypo-alum, and Photographers Formulary Polysulfide.

Indirect Sulphide toners

Indirect sepia toning is done in three stages. First the print is soaked in a potassium ferricyanide bleach to convert the metallic silver to silver halide. The print is washed to remove excess potassium ferricyanide then immersed into a bath of toner, which converts the silver halides to silver sulfide. The bleach used is normally a ferricyanide bromide type – which converts the silver image to silver bromide.

The darkening (redeveloping) solution is a solution of sodium sulphide. This solution has a very strong/nasty smell – and most users now prefer to use odorless toners. Odorless toners use an alkaline solution of thiourea to convert the silver bromide image to silver sulphide. Apart from being odorless, they also have the advantage of allowing the resulting image color to be adjusted by controlling the pH of the second bath. The pH adjustment is achieved by adding more or less sodium hydroxide solution to the second bath. More additive gives a colder image tone, less additive gives a warmer image tone.

Prints toned to have a very warm image tone generally have considerably lower density and contrast to untoned prints.

Examples of commercially available indirect sulphide toners are :

• Indirect sulphide toners – Berg Rapid RC Sepia, Kodak Sepia, Photographers Formulary Sepia Sulphide 221, and Tetenal Sulphide.
• Thiourea sulphide toners (non variable warmth) – Photographers Formulary Thiourea, Speedibrews Speedisepia.
• Thiourea sulphide toners (variable warmth) – Fotospeed ST20 sepia toner, Rayco Varisepia, Tetenal Triponal.

Here’s a link to Ilford’s manual on Toning for B&W Photos

ART 11A FINAL PROJECT

As your final assignment for ART 11A, you will tell a story using a series of images without words. A minimum of five images must be used, and no more than seven are allowed. Images must be mounted and presented at the Final Critique.

Creating a photo essay is a combination of art and journalism. As with a written essay, the elements of a photo essay should be structured in a way that easily conveys a story to the viewer. Each individual photo contributes to the overall story, theme, and emotions of the essay. The photos you choose must not only be compositionally and artistically strong, but also informative and educational. Creating photos that have both qualities can be very challenging, but the result can be very powerful.

There are two types of photo essays: the narrative and the thematic. The narrative essay tells a story through a sequence of events or actions. They may follow an individual or activity over a period of time and present this story in chronological order. A thematic photo essay focuses on a central theme (e.g. homelessness, the environment, etc.) and presents photos relevant to that theme.

Regardless of what type of photo essay you choose to present, the following elements should be considered during its creation:

• The story: your essay should be able to stand alone, without a written article, and make logical sense to the viewer.
• A range of photos: a variety of photos should be included. See the types of photos section discussed below.
• The order of the photos: It is important that the order of your photos effectively tell a story, in an interesting and logical sequence.
• Information and emotion: Your photos should include both informational and emotional photos. Those essays that effectively evoke emotion while providing information tend to convey their messages the best.

Types of Photos

By including a variety of types of photos in your essay, you will ensure that it is both interesting and informative. The following types of photos, presented together, can create a successful photo essay. Not only is it important to choose powerful photos, but also to present them in an effective order. While the order of some photos (e.g. the lead photo, and the clincher) is set, the order of most types of photos in your essay is your preference.

• The Lead Photo: Similar to the first two sentences of a newspaper article, your lead photo should effectively draw in your audience. This is usually the most difficult photo to choose and should follow the theme of your essay. It could be an emotional portrait or an action shot, but ultimately it should provoke the curiosity of the viewer.
• The Scene: Another photo should set the stage and describe the scene of your story.
• The Portrait: Your photo essay should include at least one portrait. Capturing an emotional expression or telling action shot can effectively humanize your story.
• The Detail Photos: Detail photos focus in on one element, be it a building, a face, or a relevant object. These photos are your best opportunity to capture specific objects. The captions of these photos should be informative and educational. Similarly, close-up photos provide an opportunity to focus in on specific objects. These photos are tightly cropped, simple shots that present a specific element of your story. Again, this is an excellent opportunity to present information in the caption.
• The Clincher Photo: The final photo, the clincher, should evoke the emotion you want the viewer to walk away with, be it a feeling of hope, inspiration, or sadness. Decide on this mood before you select this photo.

Remember, these suggestions are only guidelines. Photo essays are a form of art, and like any artistic creation, breaking the rules can sometimes create the most powerful result. Don’t be afraid to try something different.

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Final critique date is Wednesday, December 14 at 3pm sharp. Attendance is required – no excuses accepted. If you are late or leave early, you will receive an “F” for the final critique (200 points). If you miss the final critique entirely, you will receive an “F” for the course.

Bring your final assignment, any past assignments overdue, and your binder of negatives, contacts and prints.

The grade you earn is based on the following point accumulation: Critiques 1, 2 & 3 (100 points each); quizzes (100 points total); term paper (150 points); your final critique (200 points); your binder (50 points); your class participation (200 points).

Last week, we explored the invention of photography, and it’s impact on the world. But photography was still an unwieldy, cumbersome enterprise, and the spontaneity that we commonly assume is inherent in the medium was not yet attainable. That would change radically by 1888.

The idea of photography as a portable media for everyone would come to fruition in 1884, when George Eastman patented the first film in roll form to prove practicable. In 1888 he perfected the Kodak camera, the first camera designed specifically for roll film. In 1892, he established the Eastman Kodak Company, in Rochester, New York. It was one of the first firms to mass-produce standardized photography equipment. The company also manufactured the flexible transparent film, devised by Eastman in 1889, which proved vital to the subsequent development of the motion picture industry.

This period decisively shifted documentary from antiquarian and landscape subjects to that of the city and its crises. The introduction of halftone reproduction around 1890 made low cost mass-reproduction in newspapers, magazines and books possible. The figure most directly associated with the birth of this new form of documentary is the journalist and urban social reformer Jacob Riis. Riis was a New York police-beat reporter who had been converted to urban social reform ideas by his contact with medical and public-health officials, some of whom were amateur photographers. Riis used these acquaintances at first to gather photographs, but eventually took up the camera himself. His books, most notably How the Other Half Lives of 1890 and The Children of the Slums of 1892, used those photographs, but increasingly he also employed visual materials from a wide variety of sources, including police “mug shots” and photojournalistic images.

This image, by Jacob Riis, is “Bandit’s Roost, 1888″ (Bandits’ Roost at 59½ Mulberry Street was considered the most crime-ridden, dangerous part of New York City.)

Riis’s documentary photography was passionately devoted to changing the inhumane conditions under which the poor lived in the rapidly expanding urban-industrial centers. His work succeeded in embedding photography in urban reform movements. His most famous successor was the photographer Lewis Wickes Hine, whose systematic surveys of conditions of child-labor in particular, are generally credited with strongly influencing the development of child-labor laws in New York and the United States more generally.

“There is work that profits children, and there is work that brings profit only to employers. The object of employing children is not to train them, but to get high profits from their work.”  Lewis Wickes Hine (September 26, 1874 – November 3, 1940)

Lewis Hine was a social justice activist. He believed that a picture could tell a powerful story. He felt so strongly about the abuse of children as workers that he quit his teaching job and became an investigative photographer for the National Child Labor Committee. Hine traveled around the country photographing the working conditions of children in all types of industries. He photographed children in coal mines, in meatpacking houses, in textile mills, and in canneries. He took pictures of children working in the streets as shoe shiners, newsboys, and hawkers. In many instances he tricked his way into factories to take the pictures that factory managers did not want the public to see. He was careful to document every photograph with precise facts and figures. To obtain captions for his pictures, he interviewed the children on some pretext and then scribbled his notes with his hand hidden inside his pocket. Because he used subterfuge to take his photographs, he believed that he had to be “double-sure that my photo data was 100% pure–no retouching or fakery of any kind.” Hine defined a good photograph as “a reproduction of impressions made upon the photographer which he desires to repeat to others.” Because he realized his photographs were subjective, he described his work as “photo-interpretation.”

Hine believed that if people could see for themselves the abuses and injustice of child labor, they would demand laws to end those evils.

Note: this article was assembled by utilizing references to Wikipedia and the National Archives