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Friday, October 22, 2010

Julia Margaret Cameron

Hi everyone!!!

I apologize for being MIA! I have had a terrible flu!

I have never been so sick in my life.

Get your flu shots!!!

We are studying history of photography in school right now and it is my favorite.

I wanted to share the first women photographer with you, Julia Margaret Cameron. I love her work.

She is known for soft focus. My favorite as well.

Here is some of her work and little history.

Julia_Margaret_Cameron-I_wait

I am in photography school 5 hours every Saturday.

I will continue the program next semester. I love it. I am almost done with this semester.

I am going to teach you in future post about studio lighting and portraits!

cameron_herschel

Photography

In 1863, when Cameron was 48 years old, her daughter gave her a camera as a present, thereby starting her career as a photographer. Within a year, Cameron became a member of the Photographic Societies of London and Scotland. In her photography, Cameron strove to capture beauty. She wrote, "I longed to arrest all the beauty that came before me and at length the longing has been satisfied."[4]

"Annie, my first success", 29 January 1864. Cameron's first print she was satisfied with

The basic techniques of soft-focus "fancy portraits", which she later developed, were taught to her by David Wilkie Wynfield. She later wrote that "to my feeling about his beautiful photography I owed all my attempts and indeed consequently all my success".[5]

Paul and Virginia / Cameron

Alfred Lord Tennyson, her neighbour on the Isle of Wight, often brought friends to see the photographer.

Cameron was sometimes obsessive about her new occupation, with subjects sitting for countless exposures in the blinding light as she laboriously coated, exposed, and processed each wet plate. The results were, in fact, unconventional in their intimacy and their particular visual habit of created blur through both long exposures, where the subject moved and by leaving the lens intentionally out of focus. This led some of her contemporaries to complain and even ridicule the work, but her friends and family were supportive, and she was one of the most prolific and advanced of amateurs in her time. Her enthusiasm for her craft meant that her children and others sometimes tired of her endless photographing, but it also means that we are left with some of the best of records of her children and of the many notable figures of the time who visited her.

Here is one of her maids!  She was also known for making everyone seem equal.

Royalty or not.

During her career, Cameron registered each of her photographs with the copyright office and kept detailed records. Her shrewd business sense is one reason that so many of her works survive today. Another reason that many of Cameron's portraits are significant is because they are often the only existing photograph of historical figures. Many paintings and drawings exist, but, at the time, photography was still a new and challenging medium for someone outside a typical portrait studio.

The bulk of Cameron's photographs fit into two categories – closely framed portraits and illustrative allegories based on religious and literary works. In the allegorical works in particular, her artistic influence was clearly Pre-Raphaelite, with far-away looks and limp poses and soft lighting

Marriage

Cameron was educated in France, but returned to India, and in 1838 married Charles Hay Cameron, a jurist and member of the Law Commission stationed in Calcutta, who was twenty years her senior. In 1848, Charles Hay Cameron retired, and the family moved to London, England. Cameron's sister, Sarah Prinsep, had been living in London and hosted a salon at Little Holland House, the dower house of Holland House in Kensington, where famous artists and writers regularly visited. In 1860, Cameron visited the estate of poet Alfred Lord Tennyson on the Isle of Wight. Julia was taken with the location, and the Cameron family purchased a property on the island soon after. They called it Dimbola Lodge after the family's Ceylon estate.

I will also be catching up on all my post and visiting everyone!

My pal Maria from Dreamy Whites and I have been talking a ton of photography shop lately.

I have purchased Florabella Collection and Elements 8 photo shop. 

Can’t wait to show you what I have done.

I have some fun announcements coming up too.

Please bare with me as my son and I are still a little sick.

Have a wonderful nite!

Always,

Signature

27 comments:

  1. ~*~So sorry to hear you and your little guy have been sick..glad you are feeling a bit better!! :) Thanks so much for sharing her with us! I am just amazed how breathtaking her images are.And so long ago..just amazing! Cant wait to see what you have been working on too. Hugs,Rachel~*~

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  2. Oh Lu,
    I love her photography, it is beautiful and so soft and romantic looking. Thank you for introducing me to her!

    Hope you're 100% soon. My hubby's got something too and I hope I don't get it.

    Chat soon, get better!
    xoxo~Tracie

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  3. Hi Lu, hope you are soon feeling better. I had that last week, and it's still hanging on a little but at least I can work. A very interesting post with lots to learn. I need all the tips and tricks I can get, thanks so much.

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  4. Thank you so much for sharing these photographs. She captured the beauty of her subjects so very well, with none of the stiffness we expect from 19th century photography.

    Kate

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  5. Thank you for this post. So interesting! I particularly love that last image.

    ~ Clare x

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  6. Sorry to hear you're under the weather - hope you're feeling better soon.
    What a great post! It's so interesting to hear about early photographers, particularly women. Her images were beautiful - it's no wonder she became very well known. :)

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  7. Oh Lu, I hope you and your little man are feeling better soon, sweetie! Loved reading this post and I am so happy to hear how much you are enjoying school! Thinking of you, and sending you all my love as always! Hugs~ Tina xx

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  8. Those photographs are stunningly beautiful and romantic. Glad you are feeling better. Flu can be mild or downright 'feel like I am dying'. Have a lovely weekend.

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  9. Friend...so sorry you've been sick!

    I can't wait to see what you and Maria are dreaming up!

    Happy Weekend~FEEL BETTER SOON!

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  10. Hope you are feeling better soon...and I can't wait to hear your announcement!!!

    ~mary~

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  11. Hi Lu, So wonderful how this photography passion has found you! Beautiful post, thanks for introducing us.
    xo

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  12. I'm so sorry to hear you had the flu...

    this post was so great this morning - i just read a christian fiction novel on a "ficional" famous photographer...it was rather slow in the beginning..but interesting perspective she had - she got a job with a portrait photographer, bu ther passion was landscapes - you might like it -
    after reading the story, looking at old portrait photographs are different....i look at them like a critic! terrible i know...but after you learn something, you analyze...
    (sorry- rambling)
    talk soon Lu
    xo+blessings,
    Anne Marie

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  13. Lulu~ Those are some of THE MOST AMAZING photos I have ever seen. I am so impressed by what she did...and had never heard of her before. WOW! And WOW again. I am a hopeless photographer and I am so impressed by anyone that can take a good picture. What a wonderful talent you are developing! Hugs- Diana

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  14. Such beautiful images, Lu. The little girl with the angel wings just speaks to me. Stunning.

    I hope you are feeling better, friend. We have had that same yucky junk in our house this week. and... Annabelle came home with pink eye yesterday! Fun.

    I am sending you lots of get -well- soon hugs!

    xoxo,
    Melanie

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  15. These pictures are absolutely amazing! I'm glad your feeling better.... :) xoxoxo www.1942charm.blogspot.com

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  16. Thanks for the introduction. Her photographs are stunning! I especially love the first photograph. Enjoy your classes. I am glad you are feeling better and I can sympathize because we have had the same crude around here.
    xo, Sherry

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  17. Hope you get well. I as a nurse believe in immunization against the flu. I hope folks take your advice to heart. This woman's photographs are beautiful and evocative. hugs♥olive

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  18. Thanks for sharing this wonderful photographer with us, Lulu. Her pictures are beautiful!! I need to take a photography class... I'm sure it would answer a lot of questions I have about the subject.
    Can't wait to see some of your Florabella pictures and hearing your announcements!
    Sorry you and your son have been sick. I hope you both feel better soon. :)
    XO ~ Jo

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  19. I'm so sorry you haven't been feeling well. No fun being sick. I welcome any instruction you can give on taking good photos and photoshop. I'm trying to find some very basic, very easy step by step instructions on how to download actions in PSE8 using a mac. Any ideas?

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  20. What a beautiful post. Gorgeous photos and the history of Cameron's work is so interesting.

    Get well soon... Laurie

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  21. Love her photography. Can't wait to see your "school work"!

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  22. Hey Lulu - Hope you are both feeling better today. Thank you for the inspirational and informative post on this talented lady. It was so very interesting - and her photos are just breathtaking! :)

    xoxo laurie

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  23. Amazing photos...speaking of amazing photos, I just spent the morning looking over the Shabby Chic website and noticed all the new photos and they are simply gorgeous!!! Not sure if you shot all of them or which ones you did shoot but how lucky you are to be involved in something so special :)

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  24. Oh Lu I hope you and your sweet son are feeling much better now...the flu is no fun! Your photography classes sound soooooo interesting! I would love to take a class...one of these days I'll find the time!!

    Big hugs ~

    :) T

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  25. So cool to see a post on Julia Cameron! I have a book of her photographs and so love looking at the images she has created. :)

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