Ernest Baudoux (1828-1897), born in France, was a prominent and prolific photographer in Jersey from 1869 to 1887. He made his living as a portraitist, and taking pictures of affluent islanders’ houses. He also took a large number of pictures documenting outdoor Jersey in the 1870-80s. Baudoux worked in Jersey from 1869 at 11 Craig Street and 51½, 56 and 59 New Street. In 1885 he was joined in business by his son, but two years later they sold out to John Stroud, a young photographer from London, who in turn sold his business, including many of Baudoux’s glass-plate negatives, to Albert Smith. Some of these photographs have been attributed incorrectly to Smith and the Photographic Archive of La Société Jersiaise have a project under way to attempt to correctly identify who took each of the 3000-plus images in their collection attributed to Smith.
The portraits, most of which have names inscribed on the backs (although often only surnames, so that it is difficult to link pictures to particular families) are supreme examples of the Victorian art of photographic portraiture. They convey the fashions of the time, both in clothing and hairstyles. If the subjects of the images appear rather dour this is easily explained. They would have to hold their pose for a lengthy period, which is why they can often be seen posing with their arms folded and supported on the back of a chair, or a firm cushion. Staring blankly at the camera for the required time was relatively easily accomplished, whereas holding a smile was impossible.
A Chromotype portrait
Gallery of some of Baudoux’s portraits:
A gallery of photographs by Ernest Baudoux from the 1870s and ’80s.
Olgaç Bozalp
‘Born and cultured in Turkey, Olgaç Bozalp has spent the last decade of his life in London, bestowing him with a hybrid perspective of the Eastern and Western worlds. His cultural awareness and sensitivity to personal identities mixed with fashion and documentary is what makes his work feel simultaneously nostalgic and alien. Olgaç explores the world of his subjects by frequently shooting in their homes, providing an intimate portrayal between subject and photographer that is undeniably captivating and informative.’ – Futures Photogprahy
Olgaç Bozalp hails from a small, sleepy, conservative town in the centre of Turkey called Konya. With not much to do, aside from escape to the metropolis of Istanbul for entertainment, a restless Bozalp started to create his own fun. “I was always bored in my home town so I started creating these characters for myself,” he explains. “In retrospect, even though I wanted to get away from home, it has actually played a big role as inspiration for my work. My relatives, their homes, the decor – I wanted to recreate those environments in my photographs.”
Analysis of above photo: This photo by Olgac Bozalp is one of many of his environmental-like portraits. It shows a young woman of Eastern European heritage posing on an old fashioned bed. She has a direct intimidating stare into the camera which with the pose creates a seductive kind of atmosphere. The background is most likely her home or somewhere she is staying, the walls are covered in dated wallpaper and the furniture seems to be from a decade long ago. There is a cardboard sign on the wall, with ‘Only Angels Speak To Me’ scrawled across it in black and green paint. This phrase could relate to or mean anything and I think Bozalp wanted to leave it open to interpretation. The colour scheme is orange toned with a pop of blue from her dress which stands out against the bleakness of the rest of the room. Overall the image is quite striking because of the confusion from the sign, the old colourscheme nd dated furniture and her pressing stare into the camera.
Comparison of the both photographers: Despite being from two very different time periods, Baudoux and Bozalp still photograph their subjects in a similar way. Both photographers incorporate the subject’s home/background in their photos, this can be seen more in the Bozalps however it is still evident in Baudoux’s photos as you can decide what class the person/person is in through looking at the background and their gestures in the photos. Another note able similarity of the two is the clothing that all the subjects wear. In Baudoux’s case they convey the fashions of the time, both in clothing and hairstyles. For Bozalp, hisa portfolio features commissions from major fashion brands including Carven and Gucci, who recognised his unique style; a mix of travel reportage and fashion. He street- casts his subjects, and often spends time getting to know them at their homes before each shoot. Being connected to the Middle East region, Bozalp has been at the forefront of a movement to diversify visual culture, introducing new ideas about gender, beauty and race. “We sell products consumed by diverse groups of people, so how come they’re not being represented on the product?” he says. “We shouldn’t categorise beauty – that’s why I really like photographing people who never thought they could be models, or see themselves in those sort of clothes. It’s the main ingredient of my work.”
Sources:
https://www.theislandwiki.org/index.php/Ernest_Baudoux
https://www.bjp-online.com/2019/09/futures-2019-olgac-bozalp/