The Sydney Camera Circle Explained

The Sydney Camera Circle was a Pictorialist photographic society formed in 1916 in Sydney, Australia. It was most active before World War II, and was influential on Australian photography for fifty years.

History

The Sydney Camera Circle was formed on 28 November 1916 at the Bostock-Little Studio, Phillip Street, Sydney. The founders were Cecil Bostock, Harold Cazneaux, Malcolm McKinnon, James Paton, James S. Stening and William Stewart White. All six signed a manifesto, pledging to advance and promote a Pictorialist photography devoted to Australian sunlight and shadow as opposed to the greys and ‘dismal’ shadows of European styles.^[1] In this ambition they shared the ideals of the Heidelberg School of Australian painters. The group was dominated by amateurs interested in photography as an art form who shared constructive criticism and support at their meetings, exhibiting their work under the name of The Sydney Camera Circle.

The group continued as an entity until 1978 when membership was dwindling in competition with that of the Australian Photographic Society and the Camera Club of Sydney.

Membership

The membership of the Sydney Camera Circle was predominantly male and rarely was there more than one woman member at a time,^[2] with the first woman admitted probably being Florence Milson.^{[3] [4]} Dates show period of membership:

Selected exhibitions

• 14 to 28 February 1921: at the invitation of Henri Mallard, 115 prints were displayed at the Kodak Salon, Sydney with sales totaling £70.^[5]
• February 1921: Scottish Photographic Federation Salon, Dundee included 60 prints from The Sydney Camera Circle.
• July 1921: London Salon shows 9 prints by 8 members of the Circle.
• October 1921: Melbourne Arts and Crafts exhibition shows 50 photographs by the members. Kodak Melbourne shows the work in their windows.
• 1922: Colonial Competition 1922. Sydney Camera Circle takes first place with medals awarded to Henri Mallard and Florence Milson by the Amateur Photographer and Photography.
• 12 June to 8 July 1979: Art Gallery of New South Wales 'Australian Pictorial Photography', S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney.
• 14 January to 1 April 1984 Art Gallery of NSW 'The Sydney Camera Circle: The Early Years, 1916 – 1938'.

External links

• A history of The Sydney Camera Circle

Notes and References

1. Harold Cazneaux letter to Jack Cato, National Library of Australia Manuscript MS 5416
2. Book: Miles, Melissa . The Language of Light and Dark : Light and Place in Australian Photography . McGill-Queen's University Press ; Power Publications. . 2015 . 9780773545502 . 1st, hardback . Montreal Kingston . 67 n.133 . en . 895338570.
3. News: 11 October 1927 . Charm Of The Camera . 8 . The Herald.
4. News: 1927-11-15 . The Photographic Exhibition . 8 . The Mercury . 2023-06-23.
5. Harringtons Photographic Journal, Tuesday 1 March 1921 Page 22:"In an exhibition of photographs opened on the 24th February at the Kodak Salon, George Street, Sydney, there are many examples of discerning selection of subject and artistic treatment in reproduction. The whole of the work is by members of the Sydney Camera Circle and includes quite a number of pictures that had been sent for exhibition to London. In pictorial photography the greatest success is achieved in the realm of repose – in capturing glimpses of city or countryside, revealing some of the more restful moments of the passing hour. Some very striking examples of artistic fidelity in this direction are to be seen at the exhibition. The pictures cover a wide field, including photographs of sea and sky, of trees, of shipping, of crowded streets, of almost deserted thoroughfares and so on. Of all these, perhaps, those photographs in which trees form a dominant part of the composition are the most satisfying to the artistic sense. "Sentinels of the Wood" and "Cameo" by Mr J.E. Paton and Mr W.S. White, are exquisite examples of what the artist photographer may accomplish. "Flower Sellers" by Mr C.W. Bostock – a picture which was reproduced in these pages some months ago – is well deserving of contemplation by amateurs, who so often are vexed by the difficulties of strong sunlight and deep shadows. It is a masterly piece of work. Among the pictures of pastoral life, one of stockmen watering their horses at a creek is a happy representation of a typical outback scene. The exhibitors are Messrs. C.W. Bostock, Chas. Wakeford, J.E. Paton, W.S. White, D.J. Webster, Monte Luke, H. Mallard, Arthur Ford, E.N. Poole, C. Laseron and Stanley William Eutrope."