Camera Press

Last updated

Camera Press is a photographic picture agency founded in London in 1947 by Jewish Hungarian Tom Blau, a portrait photographer [1] of major contemporary political figures, musicians and film stars, [2] who, in 1935, migrated from Berlin where he was born and lived, becoming a naturalised British citizen (also in 1947.)

Contents

Historic archive

The Camera Press archive is of historic importance, the agency having represented among others Antony Armstrong-Jones, Patrick Lichfield, Cecil Beaton, Norman Parkinson, Thurston Hopkins, Baron (photographer) and Yousuf Karsh, whom Blau had signed on as the agency's first photographer. [3] Baron's first assignment for the agency was the wedding of Queen Elizabeth II; Blau was the first to distribute pictures of the event.

It also counted among its members lesser known photographers, such as Hedda Morrison in Sarawak, and mountaineer Alfred Gregory, whose work in distant parts of the British Commonwealth were of interest to the picture magazines thriving in the 1950s.

Each decade is represented in the collection with some of the best known celebrities: Steve Emberton's picture of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen at Vicious’ Maida Vale home in 1978; Clive Arrowsmith’s Kate Bush in 1980, Madonna, and Public Enemy in the 1990s.

In 2007 Daryl Bradford took over management of the agency from Roger Eldridge, former managing director who had joined the agency as an editor in 1969 and who died suddenly, at 63 years old, on the way to a radio interview about the 60th anniversary of Camera Press. [4] Other former managing directors of the agency included Donald Chapman and Jon Blau.

Emma Blau's photograph of Basement Jaxx appeared in an exhibition she curated of Camera Press imagery Camera Press at 70 – A Lifetime in Pictures which was held May 17–June 10, 2017 at the Bermondsey Project Space, 183-185 Bermondsey Street, London. [5]

When Camera Press moved to Butlers Wharf near Tower Bridge from their original premises in Russell Square in March 1993 the agency opened and ran the Tom Blau Gallery at 21 Queen Elizabeth Street, London SE1 to exhibit photographers including Roger Bamber, Robert Whittaker, Gemma Levine and Marcus Lyon. In 1996 it became an independent charity and appointed a new director Keith Cavanagh. [6] Emma Blau took over as Director of the Gallery in 2002 and in 2004 it became The Camera Press Gallery and changed focus to concentrate on showcasing its own photographers’ work. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Bailey</span> British photographer

David Royston Bailey is an English photographer and director, most widely known for his fashion photography and portraiture, and role in shaping the image of the Swinging Sixties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Photojournalism</span> Using images to tell a news story

Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography by having a rigid ethical framework which demands an honest but impartial approach that tells a story in strictly journalistic terms. Photojournalists contribute to the news media, and help communities connect with one other. They must be well-informed and knowledgeable, and are able to deliver news in a creative manner that is both informative and entertaining.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Steichen</span> American photographer, artist, and curator

Edward Jean Steichen was a Luxembourgish American photographer, painter, and curator, renowned as one of the most prolific and influential figures in the history of photography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eve Arnold</span> American photojournalist (1912–2012)

Eve Arnold, OBE (honorary), FRPS (honorary) was an American photojournalist, long-resident in the UK. She joined Magnum Photos agency in 1951, and became a full member in 1957. She was the first woman to join the agency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bert Hardy</span> English photographer

Albert William Thomas Hardy was an English documentary and press photographer known for his work published in the Picture Post magazine between 1941 and 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Ellen Mark</span> American photographer (1940–2015)

Mary Ellen Mark was an American photographer known for her photojournalism, documentary photography, portraiture, and advertising photography. She photographed people who were "away from mainstream society and toward its more interesting, often troubled fringes".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fashion photography</span> Genre of photography

Fashion photography is a genre of photography that portrays clothing and other fashion items. This sometimes includes haute couture garments. It typically consists of a fashion photographer taking pictures of a dressed model in a photographic studio or an outside setting. It originated from the clothing and fashion industries, and while some fashion photography has been elevated as art, it is still primarily used commercially for clothing, perfumes and beauty products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War photography</span> Photographic documentation of wars

War photography involves photographing armed conflict and its effects on people and places. Photographers who participate in this genre may find themselves placed in harm's way, and are sometimes killed trying to get their pictures out of the war arena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Shore</span> American photographer

Stephen Shore is an American photographer known for his images of scenes and objects of the banal, and for his pioneering use of color in art photography. His books include Uncommon Places (1982) and American Surfaces (1999), photographs that he took on cross-country road trips in the 1970s.

Tom Hunter is a London-based British artist working in photography and film. His photographs often reference and reimagine classical paintings. He was the first photographer to have a one-man show at the National Gallery, London.

Alfred Gregory FBIPP, FRPS (Hon) was a British mountaineer, explorer and professional photographer. A member of the 1953 British Mount Everest Expedition that made the first ascent of Mount Everest, he was in charge of stills photography and, as a climbing member of the team, reached 28,000 feet in support of the successful Hillary-Tenzing assault on the summit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis Morris (photographer)</span> British photographer

Dennis Morris is a British photographer, best known for his images of Bob Marley and the Sex Pistols.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E. O. Hoppé</span> German-born British portrait, travel and topographic photographer

Emil Otto Hoppé was a German-born British portrait, travel, and topographic photographer active between 1907 and 1945. Born to a wealthy family in Munich, he moved to London in 1900 to train as a financier, but took up photography and rapidly achieved great success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ylla</span> Hungarian photographer

Camilla "Ylla" Koffler was a Hungarian photographer who specialized in animal photography. At the time of her death she "was generally considered the most proficient animal photographer in the world."

Harry Goodwin was a British photographer, known for his images of pop musicians and sports personalities. He was the resident photographer of the BBC Television programme Top of the Pops from its inception in 1964 until 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Jay</span> British photographer and writer (1940–2009)

William Jay was a photographer, writer on and advocate of photography, curator, magazine and picture editor, lecturer, public speaker and mentor. He was the first editor of "the immensely influential magazine" Creative Camera (1968–1969); and founder and editor of Album (1970–1971). He is the author of more than 20 books on the history and criticism of photography, and roughly 400 essays, lectures and articles. His own photographs have been widely published, including a solo exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. He is known for his portrait photographs of photographers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Godfrey Argent</span> English photographer

Bernard Godfrey Argent was an English photographer notable for his black and white portraits of royalty, politicians, aristocrats and celebrities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marilyn Stafford</span> British photographer (1925–2023)

Marilyn Jean Stafford was a British photographer. Born and raised in the United States, she moved to Paris as a young woman, where she began working as a photojournalist. She settled in London, but travelled and worked across the world, including in Tunisia, India, and Lebanon. Her work was published in The Observer and other newspapers. Stafford also worked as a fashion photographer in Paris, where she photographed models in the streets in everyday situations, rather than in the more usual opulent surroundings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Claridge</span> British photographer

John Claridge is a British photographer, known for his work in advertising, black and white portraits in Soho and street photographs in the East End of London.

Godfrey Thurston Hopkins (16 April 1913 – 27 October 2014), known as Thurston Hopkins, was a well-known British Picture Post photojournalist and a centenarian.

References

  1. ↑ "Tom Blau Statement - Hyman Collection - British Photography". www.britishphotography.org. Archived from the original on 2018-08-02. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  2. ↑ Blau, Tom (1983), In and out of focus, Elm Tree Books, ISBN   978-0-241-11058-4
  3. ↑ Charlotte Jansen (2017) 'Inner workings: picture agency Camera Press toasts 70 years in the business'. Wallpaper, May 19, 2017
  4. ↑ Wald, Jacqui Ann (13 November 2007). "Obituary: Roger Eldridge". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  5. ↑ "Camera Press at 70 - A Lifetime in Pictures - Bermondsey Project Space". Archived from the original on 2018-08-02. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  6. ↑ Tom Blau Gallery goes solo. British Journal of Photography August 14, 1996; 143, 7089. pg. 5
  7. ↑ British Journal of Photography, December 8, 2004; 151, 7510; pg. 6
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.