This topic has interested me from the get-go. As a small pre-school child I peeked into my uncle’s “secret” room where I smelled strange chemicals and saw yellow Kodak packages (but never saw any of the results of his work!) As I grew, I became drawn to the likes of Life, Look and National Geographic magazines. By the time I wanted to make photographs for myself, I was looking at early photography in library books and the occasional museum visit.
No matter what your discipline or pursuit — or if you have none at all — I firmly believe that history should inform you. For some time, I thought I would present something of historical interest around photography in a blog, mainly for the benefit of my kids.
Many years ago, I saw a presentation by Beaumont Newhall, arguably the pre-eminent photography historian of the 20th century, having read his History of Photography, based on his research in the 30s and 40s and subsequently published in several editions (probably out of print now). Here is a special video tribute: