Albert Smith
Albert Smith is the best known and probably the most prolific of Jersey’s early photographers, although a significant number of pictures attributed to him, and particularly those used for his postcards, were taken not by him, but by employees or by Ernest Baudoux, whose business he acquired when he arrived in Jersey from London.
Not all of Albert’s photographs were taken by him personally, however they are all attributed to his business. Many are overtly commercial, but others constitute a fascinating documentary of life in Jersey in the late 19th and early 20th century. Although an early advertisement promoted portrait photography in clients’ homes, Smith, unlike many of his contemporaries in Jersey was not predominantly a portraitist. He preferred to work out of doors, photographing groups on carriage and charabanc outings.
Image Analysis
This image shows the Royal Visit of King George V and Queen Mary in 1921 where they were presented with the Jersey cow at a cattle show at Springfield. The Jersey Cattle Breed is famous for its high butterfat content of milk and lower maintenance costs attending its lower body weight, as well as its genial disposition. The image appears to be over exposed, allowing the dark tones to become more contrasted. The focus is maintained on the cow as it is in the forefront and is shown to be observed by the other subjects in the image. The image is in black and white as it wasn’t until 1935 when Kodak brought out Kodachrome, a 16mm color film, that colour photography became more common.
Tom Pope
Tom Pope is an award winning photographer born in Bristol, UK in 1986. Acting as the 2015 Archisle International Photographer in Residence for Jersey, he produced the work “I Am Not Tom Pope, You Are All Tom Pope”.
“The work I intend to carry out in Jersey will explore notions of play and how we conduct ourselves in public. Gathering inspiration from the Société Jersiaise Photo Archive and collaborating with the Jersey community, performances and situations will be initiated where the act of taking and making photographs becomes a social event.”
Image Analysis
The image features a figure chopping wood with an axe. This is mysterious and intriguing to the viewer as the image is cropped to not reveal who the person in the image is. This similar technique is used in many of Tom Pope’s other works. A vignette appears across the top left side of the image due to the use of a flash which places the focus on the subject. The image feels almost dynamic due to the scarf hanging down before the swinging axe.
Pope’s use of flash brings out the contrast of colour in all of his images, allowing for the subject to become more important in the foreground.
When producing my work to represent the future of St Helier, I want to use the flash in the same way Pope used to bring out the same vibrance and contrast of colour.