Best of the Best: Julia Margaret Cameron

For today's series, we'll be talking about the life and work led by one of the most profound Pictorialist-portraitists of the 19th century – Julia Margaret Cameron.

Julia Margaret Cameron, a British photographer during the 1800s, was recognized for her romanticized, sepia-toned, Victorian portraits. Unlike other famous classic photographers, Cameron started photographing in her late 40s when she received a camera as a gift from her daughter. Taking pictures became her hobby and later on, it transformed into her greatest passion and obsession until the last years of her life.

Another thing which differentiated Julia Margaret Cameron from other photographers was that her pictures had technical flaws. Others were taken purposely out of focus, some were soft and very picturesque, and some were just plain unpleasant. She did not take photos to earn a living which was why her craft was considered to be experimental and unconventional. In spite of this, she marked a solid place in the history of photography. She had a profound capacity to visualize and her images illuminated her chosen subjects’ personalities.

She made use of large photographic plates, dark backgrounds, and subdued lighting and she required her models to sit for a long time. Her photographs may lack sharpness but their dreamy, emotional, and sometimes almost spiritual, mood compromised the efforts and sacrifices made in order to yield such fancy portraits. The women in Cameron's photographs imbued tragic heroines whose sadness made them beauteous and pure. Her works were synonymous to tableaux vivants, or living pictures, and they were highly acclaimed for their eccentricity and theatrical artificiality.

Julia Margaret Cameron only had a short spanned photographic career. Her work centered around females but she also took portraits of eminent males such as the poets Alfred Lord Tennyson and Robert Browning, the painter George Frederic Watts, and the scientist Charles Darwin, to name a few. She received honors abroad and her work was later popularized in books which, in turn, inspired other photographers, like Imogen Cunningham, to indulge in portrait photography as Cameron did.

Which of these Julia Margaret Cameron photographs strike your liking the most? What other classic portrait photographers would you like to be written about? Read more about the Best of the Best Series. This article was written by Community member basterda.

written by basterda on 2011-03-22 #lifestyle #classic #victorian #photographers #sepia #soft-focus #portraits #best-of-the-best-series #portraitures