Friday, November 07, 2008

Daguerreian Society Symposium

This is my first year attending the annual Daguerreian Society symposium, and I've enjoyed it immensely. Held at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., it has provided me with an opportunity to catch up with old friends, make new acquaintances, and put faces with names previously familiar to me only by email and eBay.

Of particular interest was author Joe Bauman's account of the eight Daguerreotypes of Revolutionary War veterans he has collected, and the research he has done about their military service. Bauman and I share the same excitement for the powerful combination of photographic portrait and life story.

I also enjoyed the group Daguerreotype, taken from a second story window in the NPG courtyard. The light was not bright, and so the camera operator called for a two-minute exposure. This gave me a real sense of what it is like to have to remain absolutely still for what seemed like an eternity. He made three plates, and I'm interested to see the results.

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