The AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER magazine

The contribution which The Amateur Photographer, affectionately known as the AP, made to the development and encouragement of photography has seldom been noted, which is surprising, given the stature of many of its contributors right from its beginnings on October 10, 1884.

By this time photography had been in existence some fifty years. However, this was also a period when those who practised photography varied enormously in their styles, and there was considerable intolerance of other peoples' methods.

Up till this period photographs, like paintings, had to be viewed at exhibitions. However, that year saw the beginning of photography reproduction in printing, and also coincided with the publication of H. P. Robinson's "Picture Making by Photography."

Being well aware of the rivalry between Robinson and P.H.Emerson the astute editors of the AP invited each to review exhibitions, especially those which contained each other's work, and were duly rewarded! Emerson described a piece of work by Robinson as

"inane, flat...worthless. Its composition is childish and its sentiment puerile..."

whilst Robinson, reviewing Emerson's book "Naturalistic Photography for Students" wrote:

"We cannot help feeling his system is pernicious, and excusing bad photography by calling it art... We feel it to be the...duty of a journal like our own to produce a disinfectant, and stop the disorder..." In 1891 the rejection by the Photographic Society of George Davidson's picture "The Onion Field" from its annual exhibition precipitated many resignations from the Society and led to the formation of the Linked Ring. This new Society formed its own annual exhibition called the Photographic Salon. Meetings of this group were often held at AP's offices in London.

One of the most long-serving editors was F.J.Mortimer who kept a tight rein on the magazine, ensuring in particular that alternative movements like the Photo Secessionists were kept at bay.

AP has continued to this day, though it is very different from the rather stuffy and text-ridden journal it once was. It becomes fashionable (a form of one-upmanship perhaps) to decry the magazine once one has gained some expertise in photography, but this is misplaced. Photographers, whether they practise for profit or as amateurs , can always gain from the experiences of others, and of course there is always a new generation of beginners who can gain much from reading it. Moreover, for those interested in the history of photography there is a wealth of data in the early copies showing the rise and fall of certain models of cameras, and the fads of the time.

For example, Sir Henry Wood, of Promenade Concert fame, does not feature as a photographer, but “Amateur Photographer” (Jan 2, 1902) provides details of a Christmas lecture for children at the (now) Royal Society of Arts, where he presented a few experiments on the properties of light, including spherical and chromatic aberration and, in a second lecture, the use of the camera for scientific investigation. He also gave a demonstration of the principles of colour photography. Obviously Sir Henry was not only a man of distinction in music!