May 2017

Miscellanea Photogenica, No 5

26 May 2017: The Miscellanea Photogenica series is a periodic one, designed to highlight smaller or more current stories. With the (very welcome) increased activity going on as a result of the beta release of the website, you may be seeing this series a bit more often. Upcoming Changes in Our Publication Pattern As announced recently, in response …

Perception of Realities, No. 1

19 May 2017: . The late summer of 1968 is most memorable to me for receiving my first dose of tear gas, merely for the crime of photographing the police action in Grant Park during the 1968 Democratic National Convention – the one where Mayor Daley baldly stated that ‘the police are here to preserve disorder.’ It is …

Miscellanea Photogenica, No. 4

12 May 2017: A Farewell to Sir John Herschel It was just two months ago that this blog was able to celebrate the birth of Sir John Frederick William Herschel on 7 March 1792. This week, perhaps a little less cheerfully, we commemorate his death yesterday, 11 May, in the year 1871. I’ve long believed …

May Day – MAYDAY?

5 May 2017: . This week offered so many possibilities that it seemed to be an embarrassment of riches. Cinco de Mayo is today – surely a clever writer could have drawn some parallel between the victory of the Mexicans over the French and the system of Talbot succeeding beyond that of Daguerre. But frankly, that is not …