In
class this week we discussed Adirondack art and the changing styles and themes
overtime. The beautiful depictions of the scenery most likely attracted a lot
of people to the region. Unlike the paintings, which artists sometimes
manipulated to depict the idealized version of the Adirondacks, early
photography was not something that could be altered. It captured the true
version of the sight. In the early twentieth century photography became another
mechanism in which to attract people to the Adirondacks.
One
early Adirondack photographer was Henry M. Beach. He was a New York photographer
that documented the Adirondack region in the first quarter of the twentieth
century. Beach was a local to the world that he photographed. He grew up in the
area and was therefore familiar with the people and the geography of the
region. He first offered his services as a portrait photographer, and then as
an advertiser for local businesses. Postcards eventually became on of his
specialties. He produced thousands of postcards, which were sold to hotel
managers and shop owners, contributing to the tourism in the region. Beach
wanted to document the changes that faced his region at the time, such as the
arrival of commercialism and new technologies. He thought it was best to
capture these ideas through documenting the common man, choosing to focus on
the daily lives of the people. He photographed the manual laborers in the
logging camps and factories. Along with his images of great camps came images
of modest homes and small family owned businesses. Beach embraced the new
technologies and often incorporated it into his photography. Below are a few of
his photographs that depict daily lives of the people in the region.
A Busy Day at Harrisville, NY (1911)
Blue Berry Pickers waiting for the train,
Mt. View, NY (1912)
Works Cited:
Bogdan, Robert, and Henry
M. Beach. Adirondack Vernacular: The Photography of Henry M. Beach. Syracuse,
NY: Syracuse UP, 2003. Online book.
Photos from:
http://www.luminous-lint.com/app/photographer/Henry_M__Beach/C/1/
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