The Holy Grail

[Note this was written on May 16th on the train back to Paris.]

It would be hard to imagine a day spent any more in the heart of the world of photography history. We started out at the Maison (house) Niepce, about 20 minutes outside Chalon Sur Saone. I had been in email contact with Eva at Speos, a photo university and also curator of the house. While the house was ferme, (closed) at this time of year, for a price (120 Euro) they sent out a guide to let us in. I apologize I forgot his name but we had been forewarned he only spoke French. He was very nice but apologetic about his inability to speak English. Yet, he did ok in starting an English video of the restoration of the building. Then, there were large cards with the highlights of each room we were allowed to go in. Unfortunately, the photo rights to the building had been granted only to Gamma, a photo agency. Therefore, we could not take any pictures except in the first room downstairs and outside. Our guide tried his best to explain many of the features in each room. Room 2 was the holy grail of photo history. In that room we saw a replica of the camera Niepce used and looked out the same window that Niepce took what is believed to be the first fixated image in photography. The actual photo is now at the University of Austin, Texas and the camera is at the Musee Niepce, which is in the town. The guide wrote that the photo is worth some $160 million but I think some research is in order there. Going on in the house we go upstairs in the east attic to the lab. We saw one window next to the lab that had several metal plates on the floor. It is believed this is also where Niepce took many photos as the chemistry that he used probably spilled on the floor and ate away the wood. An opposite window does not have this. Much research went into verifying the authenticity. They recreated the shot but noticed things didn’t quite match. Further exploration found the “window” had been moved 70 cm in a later renovation. They also found the floor was not the original and pulled out some boards to have them dated. Another darkroom on the opposite side of the attic was used during Niepce’s collaboration with Daguerre. Our guide did know a little English and pointed out a few things and used animation (boom with his hands and eyes going up) to show the caustic value of Niepce’s chemistry, amongst the terms he used was Benzene, which I knew as petrol or gasoline. Niepce, and his brother Claude who lived across the street, were quite the inventors. In addition to photography, they invented a velocipede, a forerunner of the bicycle but no pedals as you had to use your feet, sort of like a Flintstone car. Also, combustion engines, one was used on a boat. Not many people speak English in this area of France, such as our cab driver.

I love the slow pace of this country. We came back to town, went to the musee (museum) Niepce but we only had about a half hour before it closed for two hours for lunch. Most retail stores do the same. We had a wonderful lunch but I must confess, I don’t think too many people here are aware of the dangers of cigarette smoking. The downside of sitting outside at a café is that is where all the smokers are. Oddly, in contrast to the US, there aren’t too many people inside.

The musee Nicephore Niepce is more devoted to photography that Niepce himself. However, a statue of him close by, erected in 1885, does pay homage to the man. The museum has his original camera, one huge view camera, about 16x20 inches, and other photographic tools. I was impressed that a group of students, about junior high age, were on a field trip that day in the museum. Most of the writing is in French but some English is by a few exhibits also. Photogravure’s that Niepce did and many Daguerreotypes were displayed and many styles of cameras such as the Hasselblad that went to the moon, an underwater housing built to hold a Rollei twin lens reflex, and an exhibit on cameras with flash. In addition, there was a bank of 3D images, controlled by a track ball and shown on a screen that one could view upon putting on the 3D glasses. Mary Beth and I looked like something out of the 50’s in that room. Autochromes were also on display. The last part of the museum consisted of contemporary images shown in a gallery.

The night before, we were looking for someplace to eat but decided first to visit a place I had seen on the internet called the Boogie Blues Bar. We met a man named Jean Pierre who, along with a woman we believe to be his wife, ran the bar. We were the only ones there initially and when Jean Pierre found out our interest in photography, he smiled and brought out this stereo viewer that held a bank of stereo slides and one could pull down a lever while looking through the eyepieces to advance to the next slide. Jean Pierre provided the nicest hospitality as well as serving drinks at extremely affordable prices, especially the Glenmorangie. Before we left we exchanged email addresses and he gave us a bottle of local wine.

Back again

[after a harrowing time with no Internet, this blog resumes!]
Emmanuel Radnitzky, if I remember correctly, was the real name of Man Ray. It was a marvelous day on Wednesday for us, if you enjoy art history. London appears to be rich in that
category. We first visited the Tate Modern gallery where there was a Duchamp, Man Ray, and Picabia, exhibit. Evidently, those three were buddies. The Duchamp pieces had all the images and 3D work one has studied. Fountain, Nude descending a staircase, and the image of Mona Lisa with a moustache and a goatee. Especially helpful for me was Bride stripped bare by her bachelors. Seeing it in person where I could walk around it was far better than any book might be. Man Ray had quite a variety of work there from his early/late paintings to his Rayographs to his photos of Duchamp and Picabia as well as their work. I had never heard of Picabia. However, one interesting note on him is that his grandfather had told him that photography would replace painting. All these gentlemen were in the early 20th century time period. I had heard the term Fauvism but Picabia’s work had it illustrated. While some of the three dabbled in everything from Impressionism (Picabia) and Cubism, (Duchamp and Man Ray) and rejected being in any class, most feel Dadaism was what defined them. Duchamp was interesting in his attempt to turn 2D into perceived motion. As I remember, Eadward Muybridge was an influence on him.

After lunch, we went to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. What a repository for paintings! My main goal was to see the Jan van Eyck Arnolfini wedding portrait and it was certainly there. I had given a presentation on the image in one of my Master’s classes. There was an American instructor there giving a brief talk to about 10 students. It appeared that 1 in 10 of the other paintings was either of Madonna and Child or Christ after her came down off the cross. The names you had always heard of in painting abounded there. Titian, Rembrandt, (love that lighting) and Vermeer to Pollack, Van Gogh, and Renoir. While we had to pay to see the special exhibit at the Tate, the rest of the Tate and the National Gallery were both free, otherwise.

Warren Zevon had a popular song titled “Werewolves of London.” I have it downloaded to my iTunes. In the song he talks about going to Lee Ho Fooks and having a bowl of beef chow mien. We found Lee Ho Fooks in Chinatown but I had the Szechuan beef.

As I write this we are on the Eurostar train to Paris. From there, we’ll take another train to Chalon Sur Saone. Tomorrow we’ll visit the Niepce museum.

AHHHHHHHHHH!

If you're following this, know that I've been having some internet problems. More to come soon!

Today in London we did all the things Roger Miller talked about. Roger who? Ah, you must be under 40. Eng-a-land swings like a pendulum do, Bobbies on bicycles two by two. (OK, they were on foot or horses)

Westminster Abbey (who charges 10 pounds to get in and won’t let you photograph) the tower Big Ben (which sounds like my mother’s grandfather clock) and yes there were little chil-dren. However, my most inspiring moment was a trip into the National Portrait Gallery where there are paintings from the 1600’s forward of just about every royalty, scientist, author, et al. HUGE portraits with EXTREME detail of the full house of commons and many others. The pay exhibit we saw as the rest of the gallery is at no charge) had portraits from Vanity Fair magazine. Vanity Fair was in production from 1913 until 1936 and was resurrected in 1983. Portraits from the likes of Stieglitz, Steichen, Man Ray, Leibovitz and Herb Ritz of people such as Peter Lorre to Margaret Thatcher and the infamous Demi Moore pregnant cover which was controversial in its time. One imagines these images in person in contrast to what you see in print. The real deal. Walter Benjamin speaks of the loss of aura in an age where images are reproduced. The aura is certainly there in those images. One can’t help but feel that aura. What causes the popularity of these images? Why do we want to see them? Jack Nicholson in his bathrobe? Yikes! These in contrast with those ala Dorthea Lange of simple migrant workers. Tomorrow we hike to see Duchamp, Man Ray, and Van Eyck! Right now, a beer and dinner is calling my name.

After our harrowing evening last night, I assume

the blog looked a bit like a diary. Let me say one more time; do NOT drive in downtown London. In any event, the car has been returned to Hertz and we are far more mobile on foot.

I wanted to add a few images to the blog that I was too exhausted (OK, maybe a few beers too) to finish. The first is a wonderful camera obscurra that was at the Lacock Abbey museum. If you’re not familiar with one, it is a device that light passes through and on some wall or screen in this case, an image is formed. This fascinated people for many years regarding how to fixate the image.

The window shot you see here is the same window used by Fox Talbot to take one of his first images in 1835. The mansion is lovely but they do not permit photography inside, unfortunately, except for this one window. This is not a venue that is rich in photography inside the Abbey but it is a cool place to run around with a fisheye lens. Most of what is displayed regarding photography is when you first come in showing his process to obtain a paper negative which might sound odd except after the negative was finished, it was waxed to allow light through and was subsequently printed onto another paper negative to make a positive. A nice display of old cameras, some chemistry utensils of the time, and Talbot’s hat box were also displayed. (but don’t touch!) And lest I forget, the abbey was used for a shot in a Harry Potter movie. I will allow you to investigate which one.

This next image is one from the Julia Margaret Cameron exhibit. This is what the original manuscript appeared like with Cameron’s illustrations and Tennyson’s text. images in 1835.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHH!!!!

As the grateful dead once said "what a long strange trip it's been." The day started out with a wonderful breakfast @ the B&B we stayed at and then off to Lacock Abbey. GPS is my friend. Judith Dench (AKA the English voice on our GPS machine) guided us all over the western English countryside. Talk about using new media for augmentation!!!! At the Abbey, we saw a Julia Margaret Cameron exhibit that worked with Alfred Tennyson. Evidently, he was a willing neighbor who allowed her to take his picture. Yet, her images inspired him to write Idylls of the King which helped to illustrate the manuscript. The Abbey, home of Fox Talbot, was a wonderful visit looking through the same window (and also taking a picture as well) Talbot took one of his first images in 1835. The gift shop was not easy to pass by. A wonderful place, the Abbey, that Mary Beth has advised she's like a venue such as that to live in. My feeling is, a lot of stuffy portraits we'd have to replace w/our photos!
Off to Stonehenge after that for another photo expedition. Interesting place although with all the people around, not an easy item to photograph. I can now say I was there but no sacrifices done.
Then, on to London. Let me say one thing. Driving a car in beautiful downtown London is not something anyone should do. DO NOT drive in downtown London, unless you are crazy or a loony. Did I mention stay the HECK out of downtown London with a rental car? I'm now on a first name basis with the police here. Nice fellows, and completely understanding. (You're from the states, aren't you? You're the second American we've stopped today!) Always remember, DO NOT drive in downtown London. We simply parked at some parking lot and walked around. MB say a Borders and we bought a map of London. We FINALLY found our hotel. We left two bags in the car. Oh, did I mention 29 pounds a day to park? I think that figures out to $60 a day. I figured out how to call the hotel but they had no idea where the heck I was at. A Polish gentleman named Miroslaw, I believe, walked us back to our car to get our remaining bags. And, if I haven't mentioned it already, Don't drive in downtown London. Pardon me, gentle reader, but after all that, I have no images to share although I did take about 4GB worth. I'll be downloading them later and I'll have more to share but after today's ordeal, there were a few pints calling our names. Oh, and a little bit of Irish whiskey to take the edge off.
Finally, allow me to tell you, don't drive in downtown London.

We have landed in the British Isles and have spent our first night. The city of Bath certainly deserves more exploration but perhaps at a later date. We rented a car and I opted for GPS. I am VERY thankful as the city of Bath is NOT laid out logically. Also, after 9 hours on a plane through the night, maps are not the easiest to figure out no matter how logical they seemed at the time. I am still trying to figure out Adobe's Lightroom (export, not "save as") I am enjoying the Pentax K20D and Mary Beth is working well with her Pentax *ist DS, also. Off to Lacock Abbey today and back to London later this evening. Weather is sunshine with highs in the upper 70's. Great stuff!

The journey begins tomorrow. We leave Denver, bound for London. We'll get in about noon and then rent a car and continue on to Bath, where we'll spend the night. In the morning we'll go to Lacock Abbey, where William Henry Fox Talbot did some of the first photos in England. http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-lacockabbeyvillage/w-lacockabbeyvillage-talbotmuseum.htm That evening, we'll head back to London and stay there for a few days. Tentatively on the agenda will be visiting the National Gallery, http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/ Portrait Gallery, http://www.npg.org.uk/live/index.asp and Tate Modern. http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/On Wednesday, we'll take a Eurostar to Chalon-Sur-Saone, spend the night there and the next day visit the home and both museums of Joseph Nicephore Niepce. That same day we head to Paris. While in Paris, we'll visit the Louvre and the Henri Cartier Bresson foundation. Lots of super photos at many of these galleries and, of course, I'll be taking photos as well.