the Library of Congress may monitor any user-generated content as it chooses and reserves the right to It was his hope that these children, many of whom had Eastern … The following is a guest post by Ryan Brubacher, Reference Librarian, Prints & Photographs Division, John Howell, an Indianapolis newsboy … Photo by Lewis Hine, 1908 Aug. (The shadow of the photographer and his camera are in the foreground.) Ad-Free Shorpy. Analysis of Hine Photographs The power of Lewis Hine's images was in their composition—the posing, lighting, and subject matter, which all worked together to appeal to viewers' emotions. Posted in: Photographs, Portraits, Visual literacy. Standard Disclaimer. may result in removed comments. … Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. While certain of Hine's photographic projects such as on immigration, child labor, New York City, and the building of the Empire State Building are well known, few exhibitions have considered his entire life's work. Renee Grouyer, “the adopted daughter” of the Intelligence Section of the Army Field Clerks, 2nd Section, GHQ, [can’t] play ball very well… Photo by Lewis Hine, 1918 August. Pushing the boundaries of the thought of the time, Hine posed his subjects to look straight at the camera. They thought this particular project would help the students, have the same regard for contemporary immigrants as they have for the Pilgrims who landed on Plymouth Rock. During WWI, the American Red Cross hired Hine to photograph the relief mission to France and the Balkans. American National Red Cross Collection. This task added another dangerous aspect to Hine’s career; he would hang from cherry-pickers, balancing 100 stories high to achieve certain aerial views. He attended university extension courses where he met Frank Manny, who was principal of the State Normal School in Oshkosh. With Manny’s encouragement, Hine eventually became a teacher, and studied under two of the most recognized liberal educators of the time: John Dewey and Ella Flagg Young. Search Shorpy. Perhaps also he liked the idea that a “slice of a life” is brought into focus, extracting individuals with little financial import from obscurity, and bringing clarity to a messy world of industrialization and war. Within two years of being introduced to photography, Hine had published several articles for The Elementary School Teacher, The Outlook, and The Photographic Times, to promote photography as an educational tool. Photo by Lewis Hine, 1912 December. So what do we make of Hine’s aesthetic decisions? This is one of the colonies established by the Comite Franco-Americain pour la Protection des Enfants de la Frontiere… Photo by Lewis Hine, 1918 27 August. Grade Daly, three years old. Lewis Hine, without any doubt, is responsible for keeping America’s children from labouring in sweatshops, factories and fields. Aug 23, 2020 - Lewis Wickes Hine (September 26, 1874 – November 3, 1940) was an American sociologist and photographer. Please read our old – but didn’t know her name or age – tending stand at Washington and 3rd St. for older sister…Hoboken, New Jersey. //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/nclc.00907. As part of its ongoing series ‘Darkroom,’ Vox has published a video showing how the work of photographer Lewis Hine helped bring to light the injustice of child labor across the United States. Lewis Wickes Hine (1874 - 1940) American Biography. Read our In the Hine image, the girls are shown in sharp focus looking directly toward the photographer, while the world around is blurry. //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/nclc.01070, Young Driver in Mine: Had been driving one year. Does he use it differently in the two bodies of work, NCLC and ANRC? Schon 1890, nach Beendigung der Grammar School und der Geschäftsaufgabe seines Vaters, begann Hine … National Child Labor Committee Collection. “Hine also used wide angle lenses and open apertures to capture more light (allowing a faster shutter speed that reduced blur from movement), both of which contributed to shallower depth of field.”. Child labor was extremely profitable and many business owners were unwilling to accept or adhere to the laws. He was a revolutionary. From biographical accounts of his life alongside the notes and captions for his photos, I tend to think it was a strong and passionate desire to humanize his subjects – to make them appear as real as they would if one was really standing there. The Photo-Secessionists favored soft lighting and muted scenes, similar to impressionist art. Given the capabilities of his equipment, Hine was apparently making a conscious choice to keep the focus shallow. The Ethical Culture School was specifically designed to cater to students of Eastern Europe. Thank you for these observations that even a layman can understand. MAY CONTAIN NUTS. Hine's vision is rare because it is essential. Spring. Join and Share. I say effective because cropping increases the effective focal length. Framed or unframed, desk size to sofa size, printed by us in Arizona and Alabama since 2007. As an 8th grader doing a memorialization project, this was very helpful!! Photography as an art form began with the influence of Alfred Stieglitz, who had organized the Photo-Secession group, which promoted a “painterly” style of photography. Lewis Hine is linked both with the progressive reforms of the 19th and early 20th centuries and the straight documentary style of photographic art that became prominent in the 1930’s. Lewis Hine, Young Driver in Mine, Virginia, 1908 (courtesy Wikimedia Commons) However, the other photographs, and the textile mill series in particular, are shaped by a very different sensibility. Inspector General | Legal | Accessibility | External Link Disclaimer | USA.gov, photographs Lewis Hine made for the National Child Labor Committee, photographs that have been attributed to Lewis Hine, background of the American National Red Cross Collection, Inquiring Minds: Opening a Treasure Chest of Unfinished Stories, Take a closer look at the American National Red Cross Collection, The George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film has Lewis Hine’s personal papers and photographs. The impact of Lewis Hine's photography on working conditions for American child labourers in the Progressive Era. His images of workers on scaffolds high above the city streets are among his most famous. One of his most important and famous commissions was to photograph all stages of construction of the Empire State Building. Lewis Hine was no mere itinerant photographer, accidentally happening upon a significant moment in American history. Hine was a social activist with a camera. Hine once questioned the groups artistic methods, from their ivory tower, how could they see way down to the substrata of it all? A mirrored viewer allowed the photographer to see the exact image that was coming through the lens and allowed a photographer to more quickly make images than the earlier view camera (where the photographer had to focus under a dark cloth). //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/anrc.09027. Additionally, the Graflex cameras were advertised for the new speed and accuracy by which one could focus and make pictures. Gratuitous links to sites are viewed as spam and The impact of these photographs on social reform was immediate and profound. From these various assignments came forth a portfolio, which Hine called “Work Portraits.” In April 1924, Hine received the Art Directors Club of New York Medal for photography. Situating them side by side allows us to compare the manipulation of focus by Hine with that of his contemporary Alfred Stieglitz. Newberry Mills (S.C.) Noon hour. His photographs were instrumental in changing child labor laws in the United States. High-resolution vintage photo archive with thousands of HD images. This introduction opened doors to more relationships and eventually Lewis Hine became a freelance photographer for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), an agency that promoted and aided enactment of child labor laws. You bring up an issue I found in my research, which is that there does not seem to be sufficient information about specific equipment combinations he used during the different projects. Thank you for this excellent post: we will use it in our work with teachers. privilege to post content on the Library site. One who viewed the image would have no choice as to look the subject straight in the eye. Why did he choose to emphasize selective focus? Hine’s photos exhibit a beauty despite the ominous undertones of images depicting the realities of war and the conditions endured by young workers. We further reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to remove a user's Seven of these are master exhibition prints in the astonishing 16x20 inch size //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/nclc.01123. “Our Strength Is Our People”: The humanist photographs of Lewis Hine consists entirely of rare vintage or early prints, which are the purest expression of Hine’s lasting vision. Thank you! National Child Labor Committee Collection. 1890. Hine used his camera as a tool for social reform. Photo by Alfred Stieglitz, published in Camera Notes, 1902 Jan. //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3b46416, Maud Daly, five years old. Robert, thanks for your photo knowledge, and for the correction on the effect of the wide-angle lens! Explore now. The characteristics of this type of photography were romanticized images produced in a “soft-focus.” Trickery of the actual image-making and its production were the heart of creating this type of photography. Hine used his camera as a tool for social reform. Most settle for the facts of the situation: the broken floor and fetid wall, the garbage-strewn alley and the bleak frame dwelling. This blog is governed by the general rules of respectful civil discourse. National Child Labor Committee Collection. Hine published a series of photo essays and played a major role in The Pittsburgh Survey, a survey of social and living conditions inequality of that industrialized city. Their income is about $1 a week while working some nights as late as 8 p.m. He envisioned photography’s potential as an educational tool. Hine would then use these photographs for publication in magazines, pamphlets, books, slide lectures, and traveling exhibitions. Both of these boys are shown at half-length, near a work environment, facing toward the photographer and centered. Hine spoke about his work on extensive lecture tours, and his photographs were widely disseminated through newspapers, socially concerned publications, and posters. By 1905, he had received his master’s degree in pedagogy from New York University. //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/nclc.03824. She does not acknowledge the photographer and there is no obvious plane of focus. This type of confrontation was daring, but effective. Many of Hine’s photographs of children, such as this image of a girl at the door of an orphanage, describe the relationship between an individual and an institution. Lewis Wickes Hine wuchs in einem einfachen Restaurantbetrieb in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, im Nordosten der USA auf. The characteristics of this type of photography were romanticized images produced in a “soft-focus.” Trickery of the actual image-making and its production were the heart of creating this type of photography. Photo by Lewis Hine, 1911 March. Both Riis and Hine used their camera as a tool for social reform. By late 1904, Hine made the first of many visits to Ellis Island to document this movement. Zitat Hine: „Photography can light-up darkness and expose ignorance / Fotografie kann Dunkelheit erhellen und Unwissenheit aufdecken.“ Die Anfänge: vom Lehrer zum Fotografen Nach dem Studium der Soziologie beginnt er an der Ethical Culture School in New York als Lehrer zu arbeiten. The photos seem to provide objective facts by virtue of their crispness, but we are constantly made aware of things falling out of that precise focus. Thank you for this! In the case of Hine, my research revealed he was using large format cameras (most often cited as a Graflex, and most likely to be the Press Graflex, which was produced between 1907-1925) making 4×5 inch and 5×7 inch negatives. As a photographer and photography teacher your article was a pleasure to read. 1907 schrieb er sich an der Columbia University in New York noch einmal für Soziologie ein. Most often Hine would have to disguise himself in order to gain entry into these places. November 1940 in New York) war Lehrer, Soziologe und sozialdokumentarischer Fotograf. Until 1917, Hine traveled from the Northeast to the Deep South, photographing children working under extreme conditions in mills, factories, mines, fields and canneries. Riis photographed and documented the lives of immigrants and… “Photography is an empathy towards the world.” Lewis Hine(1874-1940) not only spoke those words, he embodied them. He photographed women in the workplace for the cover of Western Electric News, a famous series called the Shelton Loom Series. The content of all comments is released into the public domain Lewis Hine, at a certain point in his career, began to refer to himself as an “interpretive photographer” and not a social photographer as he’d been previously termed. Copy of photo by Jacob Riis, ca. The Photo-Secessionists, a group headed by Alfred Stieglitz, promoted photography as fine art. This was quite an undertaking, as many were against, often violently, the introduction of such laws. Hine also focused his camera on working conditions of women during the 1920s and 1930s. The Library of Congress holds two significant groups of Hine’s photographs, … For Hine, the art of photography lay in its ability to interpret the everyday world, that of work, of poverty, of factory, street, household. The early 1930s marked our country’s greatest depression, and Hine so desperately wanted to take part with Roy Stryker, who led the FSA project of documenting the people of the depression, but was repeatedly denied. Links to external Internet sites on Library of Congress Web pages do not constitute the Library's endorsement of the content of their Web sites or of their policies or products. The Library of Congress holds two significant groups of Hine’s photographs, the images made for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC) and his work for the American National Red Cross (ANRC) during World War I. Parallel zu seinem Studium arbeitete er von 1901 bis 1908 als Lehrer //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/nclc.01476, In centre is one of the young boys working underground in the Bliss Shaft of the D.L. See more ideas about lewis hine, child labor law, child labor. //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/anrc.17213. Many great photographers -- including Paul Strand, Walker Evans, Gordon Parks, Milton Rogovin, Margaret Bourke-White, and Dorothea Lange (the subject of a recent PBS documentary) -- have used the camera as a weapon in the struggle for social reform.Perhaps the most successful documentary photographer in American history was Lewis Hine, who was born 140 years ago this week (September … //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/nclc.03181. He continued his education at New York and Columbia Universities, and taught at the School of Ethical Culture. In photographs with deep depth of field, the entire image appears sharp. National Child Labor Committee Collection. As photographer, Hine’s primary job was to document the social and academic aspects of the school. In addition, Hine photographed housewives; he believed, the homemaker deserves recognition as one of our workers. Do some independent research into the social documentary of Jacob Riis and Lewis Hine and make some notes in your learning log comparing the styles that these two photographers adopted to convey their message. In the 1930s, Hine worked for agencies such as The New Deal Agency, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Rural Electrification Administration, the Works Progress Administration, the National Research Project and many more. In 1901, Manny became superintendent of the Ethical Culture School in New York. In 1930, Hine was given the task of photographing the construction of the Empire State Building. In the Stieglitz photo the girl, in soft focus, is surrounded by nature with tree branches and plant stems behind her and in front of her. Hine was trained as a sociologist. Log In | Join; Learn More . View George Eastman House’s, If you want to read more about how to achieve different depths of field technically, there is a lengthy article in Wikipedia, “. Hine used his camera as a tool for social reform. Very nicely done! Lewis Hine (1874 – 1940) was an American sociologist and photographer. Is it photographing children that seems to provoke him to narrow his depth of field? //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/anrc.17112, Little girl, apparently 6 yrs. Hine soon realized the power that photography had to reveal truth and reality, which made an ever-lasting impact on him. His photographs were instrumental in changing the child labor laws in the United States. Lewis Wickes Hine (September 26, 1874 – November 3, 1940) was an American sociologist and photographer. Other jobs followed, such as a janitor in a bank. They lift their subjects up as worthy of attention. The Press Graphic that Hine used was a SLR so there had to be a distance between the back of the lens and the film plane so the mirror could swing out of the way. In this photo, we can see that the table edge is fuzzy directly in front of the first girl’s bowl, and immediately behind her, such that her neighbor’s cup is already falling out of focus. About | Press | Jobs | Donate If you are unfamiliar with the concept of depth of field, it refers to the area of a photograph that remains in focus. The confusion over Hine’s involvement stems from the wrong assumption that the skyscraper was the Empire State Building, which Hine did photograph. Hine, from the beginning, considered his photography as an educational tool in addition to an art form. One reason may be that Hine never relinquished ownership or rights of his negatives. unless clearly stated otherwise. Hine’s story is a fascinating one. Lewis Hine/The U.S. National Archives Katie, age 13, and Angeline, age 11, hand-stitch Irish lace to make cuffs. After the war he did work for the American Clothing Workers, the National Tuberculosis Commission, the Tenement House Commission, the Boy and Girl Scouts, the Milbank Foundation, the Harkness Foundation and the Interchurch World Movement. If Hine was unable to enter the workplace, he would wait patiently outside and photograph people as they left. I am so grateful for this blog! I often use Hine’s photos to engage my 8th-grade students (in fact, teaching this era right now). September 1874 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin; † 3. Chateau de Grand Val, Sucy-en-Brie. National Child Labor Committee Collection //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/nclc.03225. American National Red Cross Collection. All are working here … Photo by Lewis Hine, 1908 December. “Washing up” in the newsboys’ lodging house. Selected images from the culmination of these projects eventually became Men at Work, an excellent, pioneering picture book. 1892 starb sein Vater durch einen Unfall oder durch Selbstmord. So well written! 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