Photographic Workshop

More than 30 people attended the joint venture of The Friends of Weymouth Museum and The South Dorset Group of The Somerset & Dorset Family History Society’s Photographic Workshop at the Resource Room, Brewers Quay.

After enjoying coffee and biscuits the first speaker was Mike Bolton. He gave a brief history of photography and then proceeded to amaze us with the numerous things which you can do to old and new photographs.

He started by showing us a photo of a barn in what looked like an old country lane, but he then proceeded to put back street furniture, white lines on the road, colour, and telephone wires, it was obvious that it had been taken very recently. He did this with several other photos. Mike then showed us how to restore old photos using free programmes from the internet, such as Picasso 2, [Infan View] and Photofiltre. This included rectifying faded photos, cropping and trimming, and even correcting the yellowing on the old colour snaps. At the end of his talk he answered questions and gave individual advice.

There was then time for those present to try their hand at these programmes on the computers provided, many had brought their own photos but for those who had not there were some already on the programme to play with. 

Audrey Linkman arrived early and set to work talking and helping people individually with their photos.

At 2p.m. she was introduced and the audience was told that in The Guardian that morning there was an article of hers in a Family History supplement.

She gave a more in-depth history of photography starting with Daguerreotypes which were introduced in 1839. Richard Beard was the first person to hold licenses for Britain and the colonies, and he charged a considerable amount for these so only large cities could sustain a studio. But this system was a nightmare to police and in the end he went bankrupt. Over the years photography came down in price, which meant that by the end of the 1850s ordinary working people could afford to have their photo’s taken. Ferrotype dry plates, where the whole process was in the camera were introduced in the 1850s and went on until the 1950s. One of the easiest ways to date photos was by the thickness of the card which they were mounted on, the thinner ones being the earliest, and from the 1880’s coloured card was used for mounting. Audrey also gave other examples of dating photos. She also answered questions at the end of her talk and had brought lots of examples of different types of photography which were available to not only look at but also to handle.

It was a very interesting and enlightening day and Pauline Carter and David Lane must be congratulated for organizing such a prestigious event.

Back to South Dorset Group Meeting Reports

Back to Home Page

All text © Somerset and Dorset Family History Society

E-mail address: society@sdfhs.org Postal address: Somerset & Dorset FHS, PO Box 4502, Sherborne DT9 6YL, England; Telephone/Fax: 01935 389611

Web Site maintained by Alan J Brown