Architecture, Art and Photography
Book Details

An Eye for Photography

The Camera in Australia

Alan Davies

Tracing the development of photography in Australia from daguerreotypes to digital imagery; both a reflection and an intriguing record of technological, social and artistic change over 150 years.

Opinion

“Davies is a man with an encyclopedic knowledge of his field.”
“Davies has trawled through more than a million photographs in the [NSW State] library’s collection to select 160 classic images which chart the journey of the camera in Australia, from the earliest daguerreotypes to the latest digitals. He’s also written illuminating text, and doesn’t spare the wit or barbs in his captions, which point out where famous shots have been misinterpreted or deliberately doctored.”
(Janet Hawley, Good Weekend, The Age, 13/11/04)

“”disturbing and moving images”
“an eclectic and occasionally stirring mix of predominantly realist, documentary photographs”
(Mireille Juchau, Times Literary Supplement, 10/6/05)

About this Title

Australia’s first photographers were opportunistic entrepreneurs, who wielded cumbersome equipment and charged a guinea for each sitter, even in group portraits! Today they flaunt the latest electronic marvels and manipulate megapixels, but the captivating quality of photography remains. From daguerreotypes to digital imagery, the development of photography in Australia is both a reflection and an intriguing record of technological, social and artistic change more than 150 years.

Alan Davies charts the journey of the camera in Australia with authority and insight. His focus on varied photographic forms including portraits, postcards, panoramic views, family holiday snaps and documentary shots demonstrates the breadth of vision made possible through this ever-evolving medium.

An Eye for Photography features a remarkable selection of more than 160 photographs from all over Australia, drawn from the vast collection of the State Library of New South Wales. It includes treasures such as the oldest photograph in Australia, extraordinary nineteenth-century masterpieces, classic images from Max Dupain and David Moore, a wealth of twentieth century colour and pioneering digital photographs.

An Eye for Photography is a celebration of photographs and of the people who have taken them.

Table of Contents

1. A miniature likeness – the portrait revolution; 2. Amateurs and the personal print; 3. virtual tourism; 4. A long look around – the panoramic view; 5. Documenting change; 6. More than just a record; 7. A world of colour; 8. Megapixels – the digital future

About the Author

Alan Davies has been Curator of Photographs at the State Library of New South Wales since 1989. He has produced numerous catalogues for photographic exhibitions and his previous books include The Mechanical Eye in Australia: Photography 1841–1900, At Work and Play: Our Past in Pictures and Sydney Exposures: Through the Eyes of Sam Hood and his Studio.

Book Preview

978-0-522-85133-5