Last week, Brandon-based photographer Colin Corneau wrote about a Foote photo entitled The King and Queen of Siam.
For those of you who might be interested, specifically, they were King Prajadhipok and Queen Rambhai Barni.
According to Wikipedia, Prajadhipok was crowned King of Siam in February 1926 at the age of thirty-two.
He abdicated in 1935 after political turmoil in what was to become Thailand.
This helps to date the Foote photo, as does a similar photo taken in Germany in 1934.
Thanks to UMP director David Carr for the research on Thailand's last absolute monarch!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Found Foote Photo #5: Cycles
From Margaret Shaw-MacKinnon, Margaret Shaw's daughter:
"Margaret Shaw, our mom, created Cycles while she was in the Penhandler’s writing group, a Winnipeg women’s writers’ criticism group that was founded in 1940 and that ran until 2010.
Cycles was published in The Penhandler’s Almanac in 1988.
The Penhandler’s group at the time consisted of Helen Norrie, Kay Dalton, Bernice Cunnington, Olive Goldie, Isabel Reimer, Anne Fairley, Marjorie MacDonald, Muriel Leeson, Audrey Peterkin, Betty Dyck, Margaret Shaw, Mary Lile Benham, Anita Schmidt, Lillian Downes, Bess Kaplan, Joan Grenon, Margaret Owen, Beatrice Fines, and Dorothy Garbutt.
I look back fondly to the time when Mom was writing the story and sharing her process with me. She was reading Ann Moray’s A Fair Stream of Silver: Love Tales from Celtic Lore (1965) as part of her story-writing inspiration, and she would read me passages that struck her as particularly moving and lyrical. I had completed my MA in English at the U of M and was busy with Ph.D. coursework. Mom had lost Dad, Dr. E.C. Shaw, back in 1980, and several years later when she was writing Cycles, she could still easily write out of that loss.
A bright light for her and for me was that we were constantly in dialogue over writing matters — including her Cycles story inspired by the family photo she cherished that was taken by Lewis Foote and in which she includes him."
* * *
An excerpt from Cycles by Margaret Shaw:
"Margaret Shaw, our mom, created Cycles while she was in the Penhandler’s writing group, a Winnipeg women’s writers’ criticism group that was founded in 1940 and that ran until 2010.
Cycles was published in The Penhandler’s Almanac in 1988.
The Penhandler’s group at the time consisted of Helen Norrie, Kay Dalton, Bernice Cunnington, Olive Goldie, Isabel Reimer, Anne Fairley, Marjorie MacDonald, Muriel Leeson, Audrey Peterkin, Betty Dyck, Margaret Shaw, Mary Lile Benham, Anita Schmidt, Lillian Downes, Bess Kaplan, Joan Grenon, Margaret Owen, Beatrice Fines, and Dorothy Garbutt.
I look back fondly to the time when Mom was writing the story and sharing her process with me. She was reading Ann Moray’s A Fair Stream of Silver: Love Tales from Celtic Lore (1965) as part of her story-writing inspiration, and she would read me passages that struck her as particularly moving and lyrical. I had completed my MA in English at the U of M and was busy with Ph.D. coursework. Mom had lost Dad, Dr. E.C. Shaw, back in 1980, and several years later when she was writing Cycles, she could still easily write out of that loss.
A bright light for her and for me was that we were constantly in dialogue over writing matters — including her Cycles story inspired by the family photo she cherished that was taken by Lewis Foote and in which she includes him."
* * *
An excerpt from Cycles by Margaret Shaw:
I coast down the little ravine, then up the other side, keeping up the speed now that I'm on the level. I want to see my mother again...and my father, with his good-natured teasing, and dependable kindness.
Past the bridge now, the path splits on the left into the clay-covered 'monkey trails,' which fall sharply down to the edge of the river. On an impulse I turn into one, but misjudge my speed and the slipperiness of the clay, damp in the deep shade, even in this heat.
"Oh!" I yell as the bicycle skids sideways and I fall. Eyes closed, my head is spinning. Then it stops.
Coming back along a hollow passageway, I feel someone patting my hand, as if to waken me.
"Oh!" I cry again. A man, possibly in his late 30s, kneels beside me with a worried expression on his face. He has bright blue eyes, not unlike my own, and is dressed in a plain vest and pants, and a white shirt with a stiffly starched collar. There is something vaguely out-of-date about his clothing.
He smiles, a slightly asymmetrical smile, again like my own.
"You're alright then. That's a relief. You had me worried. I'm afraid you'll be hurting after a fall like that."
"Oh, it doesn't matter."
He smiles encouragingly. "If you're hurting, it matters. But you'll be alright. Time heals, as they say."
He lifts my bicycle and gives me his hand. There is a world of strength in it. As I stand to brush myself off, he says, "You must have come down that path at quite a clip. Whoever taught you how to ride should have taught you how to stop as well."
I can't help smiling. "It's the brakes. I often back-pedal, instead of using my hands."
He is inspecting the hand brakes with interest when a voice calls, "Alistair! We're taking the picture!"
As I turn I see a group of about 20 people, dressed in clothing from the 20s. Laughing and talking, they are arranging themselves for a photograph against a backdrop of trees.
"Are those your friends?"
"Aye, and maybe relatives one day. They're here for a family picture with Lewis Foote, the photographer. That's him with the camera. They want me in the picture but I'm just engaged to one of the daughters - I'm not married yet!"
A craggy-faced man comes out from under the black cover of the tripod, and waves in the direction of the trees.
"I'd better be getting back. You'll be alright now." A statement, yet with a questioning lilt.
"I think so. It's a good thing you came by."
"I wanted to...to let you know that we are here." He indicated with a nod the laughing group on the lawn. An intent look of concern, a smile, and then, "You'll not forget I'm wishing you well."
"No, no," I say. "Thank you."
I don't look at the group again, and their voices still to silence by the time I am at the end of the clay trail and out in the sunshine again.
Back on the main path, I notice the chaotic designs of patches in the asphalt. I walk the bicycle a little farther until the pedal is in the right position for my foot, then ease myself onto the seat and start riding. Gingerly, I test the hand brakes once or twice. Then I pick up speed and feel the fresh air on my face as I head toward home.
Back in the house, I set the keys down on the kitchen counter and start up the stairs to the attic. In a large dust-sprinkled cardboard box, I find a stack of old albums, and open one to a dimly-remembered family group. They have been interrupted at a picnic, as my cousins have baseball bats and a soccer ball in front of them. Smiling, loving faces - aunts and uncles, one after another, Grandma and Grandpa as the heads of the clan, cousins' young faces showing traces of their adult features. Mother with bobbed hair, graceful in her chemise dress and buttoned pumps, calm eyes looking at the camera.
Father isn't there.
I study the photograph for a long time, and then gently close the page and put the book away.
Found Foote Photo #5: Picnic in Assiniboine Forest, 1923
"The McLean family was very proud to have a photo taken by L.B. Foote.
Our grandmother, Janet McLean (second from the left in the middle row), came to Canada in 1912. When this family photo was taken at Assiniboine Park, she was engaged to our grandfather, Alexander Munro. Our grandfather, who was at this family get-together, was asked to join the family photo. However, he felt that since he hadn't officially joined the family through marriage yet, he shouldn't be included in the photo. Our grandparents married in the 1920s. Our mother, Margaret, was born in 1929.
John and Norman McLean (far left and far right, back row) came to Canada in 1911 to work for a newspaper in Regina. They left Regina to purchase a newspaper in Transcona. Originally the paper was called the Transcona Times. Later, they became the founders of The Elmwood Herald.
The rest of the family moved from Scotland to Transcona in 1912. The other two brothers, Robert and Archibald (far right and far left, middle row), worked at the Transcona Times. Our grandmother was a stenographer and her sister, Margaret (second from the right, back row), was a clerk for the CNR. Our great-grandfather, John McLean (third from right, back row), also worked for the CNR. Both Archie and Robert served during the First World War in France as did our grandfather, Alex."
Submitted by the family of Margaret and Ed Shaw:
Janet, Sandra, Margaret, Ed, and Irene
* * *
Thanks to Janet Shaw-Russell for sharing both this photo and the story behind the photo!
Our grandmother, Janet McLean (second from the left in the middle row), came to Canada in 1912. When this family photo was taken at Assiniboine Park, she was engaged to our grandfather, Alexander Munro. Our grandfather, who was at this family get-together, was asked to join the family photo. However, he felt that since he hadn't officially joined the family through marriage yet, he shouldn't be included in the photo. Our grandparents married in the 1920s. Our mother, Margaret, was born in 1929.
John and Norman McLean (far left and far right, back row) came to Canada in 1911 to work for a newspaper in Regina. They left Regina to purchase a newspaper in Transcona. Originally the paper was called the Transcona Times. Later, they became the founders of The Elmwood Herald.
The rest of the family moved from Scotland to Transcona in 1912. The other two brothers, Robert and Archibald (far right and far left, middle row), worked at the Transcona Times. Our grandmother was a stenographer and her sister, Margaret (second from the right, back row), was a clerk for the CNR. Our great-grandfather, John McLean (third from right, back row), also worked for the CNR. Both Archie and Robert served during the First World War in France as did our grandfather, Alex."
Submitted by the family of Margaret and Ed Shaw:
Janet, Sandra, Margaret, Ed, and Irene
* * *
Thanks to Janet Shaw-Russell for sharing both this photo and the story behind the photo!
Friday, February 17, 2012
Favourite Foote Photos: Bob Lower
I spent much of the 1970s haunting the Manitoba Archives Photo Collection. As a filmmaker I rarely finish a film without an historical sequence, so through the years I looked at every snap in the drawers, most more than once. Then one day, the photos started haunting me. Specifically, one group of photos and of that one particular image, but I’ll get to that.
When the Foote Collection first showed up it was breathtaking, and not just for the obvious reasons. What made it really special was the quality of the prints. Foote used 8x10 glass negatives for much of his career and the archivists, bless their hearts, made contact 8x10 prints from them, several for each, which were put into the folders for purchase by any passing researcher. Their clarity and immediacy were and are stunning. I couldn’t resist several of these and I still have them. One of my favourites is “Fred Ferguson and his son – 1928.” Father and son stand beside a little Aeronca monoplane and the boy’s proud glee evokes so much of my own plane-crazy childhood, he makes me laugh.
The one that haunts me, however, I haven’t seen for 35 years and more. I found it among Foote’s photos for the coroner, a sad and sordid record of violent and accidental deaths through the decades. Several made me curious about the stories behind them, but one group wouldn’t leave me alone. I think they were from 1930 or 31 and perhaps taken in April, but it could have been late fall. They record a multiple murder-suicide in a poverty-shack farmhouse on a patch of bald prairie...somewhere. The farmer has shot his family and himself. All the images are terribly disturbing but one stands out. It is the thinly clothed body of an unidentifiable woman huddled on the ground many yards from the house. Whether he chased her and killed her there or she crawled out and died of wounds or exposure is unclear but several things about the photo make it unforgettable.
First there is the spot itself. What a lonely, cheerless, exposed spot to spend her last minutes - maybe hours. Hard dry stubble, freezing ground, no shelter from icy wind or stalking brute. Did she lie out here listening to her family die one by one? Or was it all over then but her own slow demise? How awful were her memories if what they led toward was this? What guilt did she feel for her children’s fate? Did she hope and pray for help or had all reason to live left her?
And then there is one more detail in the picture, an element that gives the scene a whole other dimension: in the background of that shot is a car that I remember as a Ford Model A. No other cars or people, just a depression-era sedan stopped in the middle of nowhere.
There is no hint of living presence in any of the photos except this. Suddenly you are aware of another layer of bleak activity taking place. Foote’s assistant, police, coroner’s men, perhaps a neighbour, all digesting this horror first hand out on the chilly, silent prairie, each in his own way aware that this could be his life, his family - or strenuously holding such awareness at bay. And Foote, fastidiously recording every detail on another glass plate.
After about the third time I had reason to be in that collection and found myself riveted, I decided I should have that photo. Along with several others (I seem to recall a group of Tribune delivery boys going to a movie) I put it in my car while I did some downtown shopping. When I came back they were gone. I’ve forgotten the rest after all these years, but I’ve never forgotten that one.
Unless I made the whole thing up.
- Bob Lower
* * *
Bob Lower has been writing, editing and directing films in Winnipeg since 1971, and as such is a walking history of the Winnipeg film community. Drama, documentary, commercials - you name it, he’s got the scars. He is currently working on a film about the National Film Board during the Second World War.
When the Foote Collection first showed up it was breathtaking, and not just for the obvious reasons. What made it really special was the quality of the prints. Foote used 8x10 glass negatives for much of his career and the archivists, bless their hearts, made contact 8x10 prints from them, several for each, which were put into the folders for purchase by any passing researcher. Their clarity and immediacy were and are stunning. I couldn’t resist several of these and I still have them. One of my favourites is “Fred Ferguson and his son – 1928.” Father and son stand beside a little Aeronca monoplane and the boy’s proud glee evokes so much of my own plane-crazy childhood, he makes me laugh.
The one that haunts me, however, I haven’t seen for 35 years and more. I found it among Foote’s photos for the coroner, a sad and sordid record of violent and accidental deaths through the decades. Several made me curious about the stories behind them, but one group wouldn’t leave me alone. I think they were from 1930 or 31 and perhaps taken in April, but it could have been late fall. They record a multiple murder-suicide in a poverty-shack farmhouse on a patch of bald prairie...somewhere. The farmer has shot his family and himself. All the images are terribly disturbing but one stands out. It is the thinly clothed body of an unidentifiable woman huddled on the ground many yards from the house. Whether he chased her and killed her there or she crawled out and died of wounds or exposure is unclear but several things about the photo make it unforgettable.
First there is the spot itself. What a lonely, cheerless, exposed spot to spend her last minutes - maybe hours. Hard dry stubble, freezing ground, no shelter from icy wind or stalking brute. Did she lie out here listening to her family die one by one? Or was it all over then but her own slow demise? How awful were her memories if what they led toward was this? What guilt did she feel for her children’s fate? Did she hope and pray for help or had all reason to live left her?
And then there is one more detail in the picture, an element that gives the scene a whole other dimension: in the background of that shot is a car that I remember as a Ford Model A. No other cars or people, just a depression-era sedan stopped in the middle of nowhere.
There is no hint of living presence in any of the photos except this. Suddenly you are aware of another layer of bleak activity taking place. Foote’s assistant, police, coroner’s men, perhaps a neighbour, all digesting this horror first hand out on the chilly, silent prairie, each in his own way aware that this could be his life, his family - or strenuously holding such awareness at bay. And Foote, fastidiously recording every detail on another glass plate.
After about the third time I had reason to be in that collection and found myself riveted, I decided I should have that photo. Along with several others (I seem to recall a group of Tribune delivery boys going to a movie) I put it in my car while I did some downtown shopping. When I came back they were gone. I’ve forgotten the rest after all these years, but I’ve never forgotten that one.
Unless I made the whole thing up.
- Bob Lower
* * *
Bob Lower has been writing, editing and directing films in Winnipeg since 1971, and as such is a walking history of the Winnipeg film community. Drama, documentary, commercials - you name it, he’s got the scars. He is currently working on a film about the National Film Board during the Second World War.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Found Foote Photo #4: Regalia!
As was mentioned in the previous post, in addition to her Foote photo Joan Lyons brought in a few pieces of her grandfather’s AOF ensemble: a medal and a ribbon that proclaimed that he belonged to Court Excelsior, No. 6898.
Interestingly, the teal ribbon could be turned over to reveal a black version, presumably for attending funeral services when a fellow member died.
Sewn between the two ribbons was piece of cardboard printed with the following:
Jas. C. McQuade
Society Regalia
Badges Banners Seals Stamps Etc.
Manton Block
Winnipeg, Manitoba
It seems surprising that a business could exist solely on the basis of selling regalia for fraternal and friendly societies...until you read biographies from that era.
For instance, Winnipeg’s Frederick McArthur, who was a lawyer and a member of the AOF from the same era, had the following affiliations:
“He was a member of the Ancient Free & Accepted Masons (Past Supreme Master at Arms, Ancient Landmark Lodge), Knights of Pythias (Supreme Representative), Knights of the Maccabees, Ancient Order of Foresters, Woodmen of the World, SOS, Modern Woodmen of America, and Baptist Church.”
Thanks to the Manitoba Historical Society for McArthur’s biography!
Interestingly, the teal ribbon could be turned over to reveal a black version, presumably for attending funeral services when a fellow member died.
Sewn between the two ribbons was piece of cardboard printed with the following:
Jas. C. McQuade
Society Regalia
Badges Banners Seals Stamps Etc.
Manton Block
Winnipeg, Manitoba
It seems surprising that a business could exist solely on the basis of selling regalia for fraternal and friendly societies...until you read biographies from that era.
For instance, Winnipeg’s Frederick McArthur, who was a lawyer and a member of the AOF from the same era, had the following affiliations:
“He was a member of the Ancient Free & Accepted Masons (Past Supreme Master at Arms, Ancient Landmark Lodge), Knights of Pythias (Supreme Representative), Knights of the Maccabees, Ancient Order of Foresters, Woodmen of the World, SOS, Modern Woodmen of America, and Baptist Church.”
Thanks to the Manitoba Historical Society for McArthur’s biography!
Found Foote Photo #4: Ancient Order of Foresters
Winnipeg's Joan Lyons brought in an altogether fascinating collection of items that centered around a Foote photo of the Winnipeg 'court' of the Ancient Order of Foresters.
As we sat down in the St John's College cafeteria, she explained that her maternal grandfather, Timothy James Webster, is the gentleman on the extreme right of the image.
The photo is 12” X 14” and “Foote Photo. Wpg.” is written the photo just under Timothy’s feet. Joan inherited the framed photo and had it archivally re-framed a few years ago.
Timothy Webster came to Canada from England in 1905. He worked as a tinsmith for the CNR and brought his wife Edith and their two children to Winnipeg in 1906.
Eventually, he heard about available farmland in rural Manitoba. The family moved to Ashern in 1910, where Timothy started a mixed farm and eventually become Reeve. He and Edith had seven children, the last of which was born in 1920.
The farm was sold in the 40s and Timothy died in 1956 but the family still has a cottage in Ashern.
But between 1905 and 1910, when Timothy was still in Winnipeg, he joined the Ancient Order of Foresters. Given that the AOF originated in England, Joan thinks that her grandfather may have been a member before immigrating to Canada.
According to the Foresters Friendly Society, the modern incarnation of the AOF, the Ancient Order of Foresters
“seems at first to have been a purely sociable society until the members decided that they had a duty to assist their fellow men who fell into need ‘as they walked through the forests of life’. This 'need' arose principally when a breadwinner fell ill, could not work and, therefore, received no wages. Illness and death left families financially distressed and often destitute. Relief of this need has been the main purpose of the Foresters throughout their long history. It was achieved by members paying, initially, a few pence a week into a common fund from which sick pay and funeral grants could be drawn.”
It's sort of hard to reconcile the elaborate costumes, the medals on their chests and the plumes in their hats, with the very practical - and probably much-needed - social safety net that these kinds of groups offered their members.
But you have to remember that for men like Timothy Webster, these groups offered a chance to meet other recent British immigrants, men who had similar backgrounds. And there's nothing wrong with a little pomp and circumstance every now and then.
Thanks to Joan for sitting in the SJC cafeteria with me, sipping tea and sharing the story of her photo!
UPDATE: According to Esyllt Jones, the award-winning U of M historian who will select and also introduce the photos used in UMP's Foote book, Foote worked "as a recruiter for the Order of Foresters, playing his autoharp and hosting entertainment all along the south shore of Nova Scotia, encouraging people to join the Order." This would have been early in his career, somewhere between 1891 and 1902.
As we sat down in the St John's College cafeteria, she explained that her maternal grandfather, Timothy James Webster, is the gentleman on the extreme right of the image.
The photo is 12” X 14” and “Foote Photo. Wpg.” is written the photo just under Timothy’s feet. Joan inherited the framed photo and had it archivally re-framed a few years ago.
Timothy Webster came to Canada from England in 1905. He worked as a tinsmith for the CNR and brought his wife Edith and their two children to Winnipeg in 1906.
Eventually, he heard about available farmland in rural Manitoba. The family moved to Ashern in 1910, where Timothy started a mixed farm and eventually become Reeve. He and Edith had seven children, the last of which was born in 1920.
The farm was sold in the 40s and Timothy died in 1956 but the family still has a cottage in Ashern.
But between 1905 and 1910, when Timothy was still in Winnipeg, he joined the Ancient Order of Foresters. Given that the AOF originated in England, Joan thinks that her grandfather may have been a member before immigrating to Canada.
According to the Foresters Friendly Society, the modern incarnation of the AOF, the Ancient Order of Foresters
“seems at first to have been a purely sociable society until the members decided that they had a duty to assist their fellow men who fell into need ‘as they walked through the forests of life’. This 'need' arose principally when a breadwinner fell ill, could not work and, therefore, received no wages. Illness and death left families financially distressed and often destitute. Relief of this need has been the main purpose of the Foresters throughout their long history. It was achieved by members paying, initially, a few pence a week into a common fund from which sick pay and funeral grants could be drawn.”
It's sort of hard to reconcile the elaborate costumes, the medals on their chests and the plumes in their hats, with the very practical - and probably much-needed - social safety net that these kinds of groups offered their members.
But you have to remember that for men like Timothy Webster, these groups offered a chance to meet other recent British immigrants, men who had similar backgrounds. And there's nothing wrong with a little pomp and circumstance every now and then.
Thanks to Joan for sitting in the SJC cafeteria with me, sipping tea and sharing the story of her photo!
UPDATE: According to Esyllt Jones, the award-winning U of M historian who will select and also introduce the photos used in UMP's Foote book, Foote worked "as a recruiter for the Order of Foresters, playing his autoharp and hosting entertainment all along the south shore of Nova Scotia, encouraging people to join the Order." This would have been early in his career, somewhere between 1891 and 1902.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Favourite Foote Photos: Colin Corneau
It doesn't take too many viewings of LB Foote's work to realize he was an unique soul.
The well-honed sense of the absurd he clearly possessed came through in such surreal images as a toddler and a bulldog standing atop a pile of ammunition, a banquet being held - for some unknown reason - in an ornate underground sewer, or a severed horse's head staring lifelessly up to the heavens.
Also notable were his many acts of daring, such as his high-altitude photographs from atop the newly constructed Hotel Fort Garry or the shot of the Eaton's building being raised. Speaking from personal experience, these are nerve-wracking moments but to do so with the limitations of the camera technology he had at that time is simply astounding.
However, one image I keep coming back to is his relatively straightforward photograph of the "King and Queen of Siam."
Photographs made with the limited technology of the time often needed much more time to set up and longer exposures. This made candid photography challenging, if not impossible. So, when subtle details on the part of subjects shows through, it's more than luck - it speaks to the skill and insight of the photographer.
In this image, we see a range of expressions and moments that, taken together, tell an interesting story (maybe enough for a great story, novel or movie). On the face of the King we see a bemused expression, perhaps smiling out of duty or perhaps wondering how he ended up in such a strange faraway place.
Beside him, his queen is decidedly less amused. Her pretty features are devoid of any pleasure. One can only speculate, but this may be protocol, it may be gender roles of the time and culture or perhaps weariness at what must have been a long journey.
Flanking the honoured guests on either side are the local dignitaries with the obligatory expressions. I can't imagine why the royal couple of what is now Thailand would come to Winnipeg, but the occasion was clearly an important one and these men would have been entrusted with the impression these exotic foreigners would have of our city.
All about them are fellow passengers or dignitaries, wearing expressions that range from from happiness and pride to stoicism. Of particular note to me was the person at the left, in the background beside the head of the uniformed man, seemingly craning his head to see what's going on or to be included in the event.
It's difficult enough to find such subtleties in quiet, everyday moments. But to do so in the middle of the pomp and circumstance of an 'official' event - not to mention some probable constraints on time - shows a skill not only technically based but with people as well.
- Colin Corneau
* * *
Colin Corneau is a Manitoba photographer with a particular interest in film and analog processes. His photographs of China have been exhibited around the province and he currently documents the people and events of southwestern Manitoba as a staff photographer with the Brandon Sun. His work can be seen at www.colincorneau.com.
The well-honed sense of the absurd he clearly possessed came through in such surreal images as a toddler and a bulldog standing atop a pile of ammunition, a banquet being held - for some unknown reason - in an ornate underground sewer, or a severed horse's head staring lifelessly up to the heavens.
Also notable were his many acts of daring, such as his high-altitude photographs from atop the newly constructed Hotel Fort Garry or the shot of the Eaton's building being raised. Speaking from personal experience, these are nerve-wracking moments but to do so with the limitations of the camera technology he had at that time is simply astounding.
However, one image I keep coming back to is his relatively straightforward photograph of the "King and Queen of Siam."
Photographs made with the limited technology of the time often needed much more time to set up and longer exposures. This made candid photography challenging, if not impossible. So, when subtle details on the part of subjects shows through, it's more than luck - it speaks to the skill and insight of the photographer.
In this image, we see a range of expressions and moments that, taken together, tell an interesting story (maybe enough for a great story, novel or movie). On the face of the King we see a bemused expression, perhaps smiling out of duty or perhaps wondering how he ended up in such a strange faraway place.
Beside him, his queen is decidedly less amused. Her pretty features are devoid of any pleasure. One can only speculate, but this may be protocol, it may be gender roles of the time and culture or perhaps weariness at what must have been a long journey.
Flanking the honoured guests on either side are the local dignitaries with the obligatory expressions. I can't imagine why the royal couple of what is now Thailand would come to Winnipeg, but the occasion was clearly an important one and these men would have been entrusted with the impression these exotic foreigners would have of our city.
All about them are fellow passengers or dignitaries, wearing expressions that range from from happiness and pride to stoicism. Of particular note to me was the person at the left, in the background beside the head of the uniformed man, seemingly craning his head to see what's going on or to be included in the event.
It's difficult enough to find such subtleties in quiet, everyday moments. But to do so in the middle of the pomp and circumstance of an 'official' event - not to mention some probable constraints on time - shows a skill not only technically based but with people as well.
- Colin Corneau
* * *
Colin Corneau is a Manitoba photographer with a particular interest in film and analog processes. His photographs of China have been exhibited around the province and he currently documents the people and events of southwestern Manitoba as a staff photographer with the Brandon Sun. His work can be seen at www.colincorneau.com.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Foote note #6
So the University of Manitoba Press does banners for the entry page of its website.
The banners are advertisements for the current season's books, one per book.
It's hard work, boiling down a book to a postcard-sized square, something that will entice visitors to the site to check out that particular book.
Since the summer, it's been my job to create them.
Like Cheryl Miki (UMP's Sales & Marketing Supervisor) before me, I usually use images from the photo sections of the books or, if a book doesn't have a photo section, something that plays off a related visual concept.
Doing a banner for this blog was difficult in that there were SO MANY CHOICES even just considering the photos we've used ON this blog, nevermind the hundreds of images we have scanned for use in the book.
But this photo has stuck with me. There's something about the faces of these babies, how very raw they are, knowing that they're probably dead and gone by now...so I thought I'd try it.
(Which I suppose makes it MY Favourite Foote Photo.)
Having recently watched Jeff McKay's documentary on Foote, I appreciated how he zoomed in on the photos, so I thought I'd use a detail instead of the entire photo. And although you have to be careful with hand-writing fonts, I've been looking at Foote signatures on photos for weeks and WEEKS now and thought it was an interesting element to include.
Ariel Gordon
UMP Promotions/Editorial Assistant
The banners are advertisements for the current season's books, one per book.
It's hard work, boiling down a book to a postcard-sized square, something that will entice visitors to the site to check out that particular book.
Since the summer, it's been my job to create them.
Like Cheryl Miki (UMP's Sales & Marketing Supervisor) before me, I usually use images from the photo sections of the books or, if a book doesn't have a photo section, something that plays off a related visual concept.
Doing a banner for this blog was difficult in that there were SO MANY CHOICES even just considering the photos we've used ON this blog, nevermind the hundreds of images we have scanned for use in the book.
But this photo has stuck with me. There's something about the faces of these babies, how very raw they are, knowing that they're probably dead and gone by now...so I thought I'd try it.
(Which I suppose makes it MY Favourite Foote Photo.)
Having recently watched Jeff McKay's documentary on Foote, I appreciated how he zoomed in on the photos, so I thought I'd use a detail instead of the entire photo. And although you have to be careful with hand-writing fonts, I've been looking at Foote signatures on photos for weeks and WEEKS now and thought it was an interesting element to include.
Ariel Gordon
UMP Promotions/Editorial Assistant
Friday, February 10, 2012
Favourite Foote Photos: Ian McCausland
This image has been widely used as visual shorthand for the flood of immigration in Western Canada. We see it small in textbooks, or Wikipedia entries, but as with all things about our history, once you zoom in and personalize it, it resonates more.
As a photographer here in Winnipeg, I've spent over 20 years looking at our faces, finding the stories.
Zoom in...see the children in the front row: a whole book could be written on the brother and sister in the very front! The warm embrace four rows back, of one friend to another as they set off to that plot of land in the Interlake they've been promised.
I sit here warm and cozy in February and look at the scarves, the furry collars on wool coats, imagine the long train ride and shiver. This being Winnipeg, you probably know someone who's claiming their great-grandpa is that guy holding the box of Harvest bread. Whether it's true or not? Look hard at this photo and you see men who've given up everything to come over to this wild, strange, and cold land and make something better for themselves and their families back home. But you also see hope.
In my mind's eye...I see Foote standing on a rickety wooden luggage wagon, pushed out to the train by a couple of porters. He's under the cloth, focusing a big clunky 4X5 camera on a tripod.
A translator stands in front of the wagon, explaining to all in Ukrainian or German or Hungarian that they all have to have a photo taken to represent the process of immigration for a story in the newspaper and they must stand very still for the exposure.
Foote blows on his bare hands, cold from handling the gear, as he cocks the shutter and pulls the dark slide. Grabbing the cable release he tells the translator it's time. The translator yells louder: this is the time to stand very still and look at the camera. Foote looks out in the sea of faces, gauges when it's time and gently presses the cable release for the 1/2 of a second. Of course that one guy, there is always ONE guy, moves during the exposure. Foote shrugs, no time to do another, he's already late for the next job. He replaces the dark slide and gives the translator a little nod.
As Foote packs up, everyone files past the wagon silently.
I see this photo happening this way, vividly, because I've done big shots like this (in fact, I’m shooting a 240 person group shot this week!). I've also worked with the essentially the same camera, the 4X5.
As well, a few years ago I captured the same moment for the Province of Manitoba, promoting immigration. A family of four from Ghana rather than a sea of white faces, this time at the airport instead of the train station, but in the eyes, the same hope for a better life.
- Ian McCausland
* * *
Ian McCausland has been a commercial photographer in Winnipeg since 1988. He lives in St James with his wife and son. His website is http://www.ian.ca/ and his blog is http://www.ian.mb.ca/.
As a photographer here in Winnipeg, I've spent over 20 years looking at our faces, finding the stories.
Zoom in...see the children in the front row: a whole book could be written on the brother and sister in the very front! The warm embrace four rows back, of one friend to another as they set off to that plot of land in the Interlake they've been promised.
I sit here warm and cozy in February and look at the scarves, the furry collars on wool coats, imagine the long train ride and shiver. This being Winnipeg, you probably know someone who's claiming their great-grandpa is that guy holding the box of Harvest bread. Whether it's true or not? Look hard at this photo and you see men who've given up everything to come over to this wild, strange, and cold land and make something better for themselves and their families back home. But you also see hope.
In my mind's eye...I see Foote standing on a rickety wooden luggage wagon, pushed out to the train by a couple of porters. He's under the cloth, focusing a big clunky 4X5 camera on a tripod.
A translator stands in front of the wagon, explaining to all in Ukrainian or German or Hungarian that they all have to have a photo taken to represent the process of immigration for a story in the newspaper and they must stand very still for the exposure.
Foote blows on his bare hands, cold from handling the gear, as he cocks the shutter and pulls the dark slide. Grabbing the cable release he tells the translator it's time. The translator yells louder: this is the time to stand very still and look at the camera. Foote looks out in the sea of faces, gauges when it's time and gently presses the cable release for the 1/2 of a second. Of course that one guy, there is always ONE guy, moves during the exposure. Foote shrugs, no time to do another, he's already late for the next job. He replaces the dark slide and gives the translator a little nod.
As Foote packs up, everyone files past the wagon silently.
I see this photo happening this way, vividly, because I've done big shots like this (in fact, I’m shooting a 240 person group shot this week!). I've also worked with the essentially the same camera, the 4X5.
As well, a few years ago I captured the same moment for the Province of Manitoba, promoting immigration. A family of four from Ghana rather than a sea of white faces, this time at the airport instead of the train station, but in the eyes, the same hope for a better life.
- Ian McCausland
* * *
Ian McCausland has been a commercial photographer in Winnipeg since 1988. He lives in St James with his wife and son. His website is http://www.ian.ca/ and his blog is http://www.ian.mb.ca/.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Found Foote Photo #3: Retirement Party
The day the Winnipeg Free Press article appeared, a folder was dropped off at UMP.
Inside was an slightly battered 8" X 10" group photo and a cheery blue guide to the eighty-nine people in the photograph.
Ian Park, the Manager of Food Services at St. John's College (where UMP has its office), happened to have the photos in his office.
The photo commemorates the retirement supper of Ian's maternal great-grandfather, W.A. Aldridge. It has the following signature on it: "Jan. 15th 1944, L.B. Foote Photo." It also bears the number "2163."
William Aldridge is the tall man standing against the wall at the back of the photo, or, according to the diagram, #5.
William was the Deputy City Engineer for the City of Winnipeg. We know that he graduated from St. John's College with a BA in 1900, so he was retiring after more than 40 years' service.
According to Ian, William was a Freemason and president, in 1928, of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Manitoba. He also played the trumpet and followed Winnipeg's jazz scene.
Interestingly, according to this Manitoba Historical Society article, William was a diarist. But not of his personal doings: he kept a record of flood information.
Here's a quote from William D. Hurst, who became City Engineer in 1944:
"In 1896, Mr. William Aldridge commenced to draw a graph of river elevations for each spring break-up and he continued this practice until his retirement as Deputy City Engineer in 1945. Commencing in 1922, he added a diary narrative to each year's break-up as well as the drawing of the hydrograph."
Although he retired in 1944/5, William lived to the age of 103. Ian was 20 when he died and remembers him clearly...
We were initially confused by the chart that came with the photo. It would have taken Foote at least three times as much time to compile the names of all the people in the photograph than it would to TAKE the photo.
Ian explained that his great-grandfather had drawn up the diagram himself, which given his engineering background, made sense. William was very likely to have had scrap blueprint paper in his possession as well as the inclination to want to label all 89 invitees to his dinner.
Thanks to Ian for sharing this photo!
Inside was an slightly battered 8" X 10" group photo and a cheery blue guide to the eighty-nine people in the photograph.
Ian Park, the Manager of Food Services at St. John's College (where UMP has its office), happened to have the photos in his office.
The photo commemorates the retirement supper of Ian's maternal great-grandfather, W.A. Aldridge. It has the following signature on it: "Jan. 15th 1944, L.B. Foote Photo." It also bears the number "2163."
William Aldridge is the tall man standing against the wall at the back of the photo, or, according to the diagram, #5.
William was the Deputy City Engineer for the City of Winnipeg. We know that he graduated from St. John's College with a BA in 1900, so he was retiring after more than 40 years' service.
According to Ian, William was a Freemason and president, in 1928, of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Manitoba. He also played the trumpet and followed Winnipeg's jazz scene.
Interestingly, according to this Manitoba Historical Society article, William was a diarist. But not of his personal doings: he kept a record of flood information.
Here's a quote from William D. Hurst, who became City Engineer in 1944:
"In 1896, Mr. William Aldridge commenced to draw a graph of river elevations for each spring break-up and he continued this practice until his retirement as Deputy City Engineer in 1945. Commencing in 1922, he added a diary narrative to each year's break-up as well as the drawing of the hydrograph."
Although he retired in 1944/5, William lived to the age of 103. Ian was 20 when he died and remembers him clearly...
We were initially confused by the chart that came with the photo. It would have taken Foote at least three times as much time to compile the names of all the people in the photograph than it would to TAKE the photo.
Ian explained that his great-grandfather had drawn up the diagram himself, which given his engineering background, made sense. William was very likely to have had scrap blueprint paper in his possession as well as the inclination to want to label all 89 invitees to his dinner.
Thanks to Ian for sharing this photo!
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Favourite Foote Photos: John Paskievich
One of my favourite Foote photographs is the one of Princess Elizabeth, now Queen, taken in 1951 on the sidewalk in front of the Canadian Pacific Railway Station and the conjoined Royal Alexandra Hotel on Higgins Ave.
My reasons for especially liking this picture are two-fold; the first is nostalgic and the other is photographic.
Arriving with my family in Winnipeg in 1958 I remember us walking out of the CP station and then heading right on Higgins towards Main St. along the same strip of sidewalk where the photo was taken. However, I can't recall any crowds across the street atop Segal Drugs welcoming our arrival.
Growing up in Point Douglas, my friends and I would spend our Saturdays at one of the many movie theatres that lined Main St. from Higgins to Alexander Ave. To get to Main St. we would often take a short cut through the CP Station and Royal Alec via a little known back entrance located at the foot of Austin St. When we were older we shot pool and got educated in various subjects at the billiards hall in the rear end of the Princess Hotel which was located at about where the Alberta sign is in the Foote picture. I'm wondering if the Princess Hotel was formerly called the Alberta?
The photography that Foote did in the early part of the past century was in the formalist tradition of the time. The subjects were placed firmly in the centre of the frame and looked directly at the lens. The bulky cameras and individual large negatives with slow emulsions weren't conducive to spontaneity either in the photographer or the subject. The more candid shots that Foote took of parades, outdoor celebrations and, most famously, the Winnipeg 1919 Strike were done from a distance where the camera, mounted on a tripod, could be methodically operated with the most efficiency.
When Foote photographed Princess Elizabeth he was at the end of his illustrious career. By then cameras were smaller and films were faster, allowing for more spontaneous photography. Foote's photo of Elizabeth is thoroughly modern in its fortuitous and dynamic arrangement of triangles. The princess and the two uniformed men lead the viewer's eye past the spectators in the roof to the billboard while the motorcade, overhead wires and the drugstore recede into the right side of the frame. Elizabeth's legs, crossed at the ankles, form a delicate triangle that neatly punctuates the picture.
The photograph has the look of a somewhat surreal collage. The princess's posture is so perfectly elegant that it looks like it may have been posed and shot elsewhere and then cut and pasted onto the street scene in Winnipeg. Not knowing who else might be inside the car with the open door and wondering who or what outside the left side of the frame elicited such a lustrous smile from the Princess adds a fine anticipatory tension to the picture.
- John Paskievich
* * *
John Paskievich is a Winnipeg photographer and filmmaker who has yet to get over the savaging of Portage Ave and North Main Street.
My reasons for especially liking this picture are two-fold; the first is nostalgic and the other is photographic.
Arriving with my family in Winnipeg in 1958 I remember us walking out of the CP station and then heading right on Higgins towards Main St. along the same strip of sidewalk where the photo was taken. However, I can't recall any crowds across the street atop Segal Drugs welcoming our arrival.
Growing up in Point Douglas, my friends and I would spend our Saturdays at one of the many movie theatres that lined Main St. from Higgins to Alexander Ave. To get to Main St. we would often take a short cut through the CP Station and Royal Alec via a little known back entrance located at the foot of Austin St. When we were older we shot pool and got educated in various subjects at the billiards hall in the rear end of the Princess Hotel which was located at about where the Alberta sign is in the Foote picture. I'm wondering if the Princess Hotel was formerly called the Alberta?
The photography that Foote did in the early part of the past century was in the formalist tradition of the time. The subjects were placed firmly in the centre of the frame and looked directly at the lens. The bulky cameras and individual large negatives with slow emulsions weren't conducive to spontaneity either in the photographer or the subject. The more candid shots that Foote took of parades, outdoor celebrations and, most famously, the Winnipeg 1919 Strike were done from a distance where the camera, mounted on a tripod, could be methodically operated with the most efficiency.
When Foote photographed Princess Elizabeth he was at the end of his illustrious career. By then cameras were smaller and films were faster, allowing for more spontaneous photography. Foote's photo of Elizabeth is thoroughly modern in its fortuitous and dynamic arrangement of triangles. The princess and the two uniformed men lead the viewer's eye past the spectators in the roof to the billboard while the motorcade, overhead wires and the drugstore recede into the right side of the frame. Elizabeth's legs, crossed at the ankles, form a delicate triangle that neatly punctuates the picture.
The photograph has the look of a somewhat surreal collage. The princess's posture is so perfectly elegant that it looks like it may have been posed and shot elsewhere and then cut and pasted onto the street scene in Winnipeg. Not knowing who else might be inside the car with the open door and wondering who or what outside the left side of the frame elicited such a lustrous smile from the Princess adds a fine anticipatory tension to the picture.
- John Paskievich
* * *
John Paskievich is a Winnipeg photographer and filmmaker who has yet to get over the savaging of Portage Ave and North Main Street.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
His Most Famous Picture
Friday, February 3, 2012
Favourite Foote Photos: Bryan Scott
Winnipeg has never looked more glorious than it does in the photographs of L.B. Foote.
Capturing image after image of the city at its economic zenith, Foote's archive is a treasure trove, providing a bittersweet glimpse into a Winnipeg that has been lost for decades.
My favorite Foote photo is perhaps a wide angle shot of the 1939 royal procession at the SE corner of Main and Higgins.
The high energy of the period is captured with incredible clarity in the sea of curious royal onlookers, as well as the meticulous and ornate signage that decorates every storefront in the frame.
Even the dampened streets add to the intrigue of the scene, reinforcing the notion that Winnipeg was, once upon a time, a gleaming centre of commerce, industry, and glamour. Foote's Winnipeg is as photogenic as any city in the world.
Significantly, little of the architecture in the frame remains today.
Decimated by good intentions in the name of urban renewal (arguably falling short of the mark), all that's left of the dynamism and joy of the corner is Foote's haunting, timeless photograph.
-Bryan Scott
* * *
Bryan Scott is a Winnipeg-born photographer and graphic designer. His website winnipeglovehate.com features daily photos of the city's good, bad, and sometimes ugly sides. In 2010 he self-published a book version of the blog, Winnipeg Love Hate: Selected Photographs.
Capturing image after image of the city at its economic zenith, Foote's archive is a treasure trove, providing a bittersweet glimpse into a Winnipeg that has been lost for decades.
My favorite Foote photo is perhaps a wide angle shot of the 1939 royal procession at the SE corner of Main and Higgins.
The high energy of the period is captured with incredible clarity in the sea of curious royal onlookers, as well as the meticulous and ornate signage that decorates every storefront in the frame.
Even the dampened streets add to the intrigue of the scene, reinforcing the notion that Winnipeg was, once upon a time, a gleaming centre of commerce, industry, and glamour. Foote's Winnipeg is as photogenic as any city in the world.
Significantly, little of the architecture in the frame remains today.
Decimated by good intentions in the name of urban renewal (arguably falling short of the mark), all that's left of the dynamism and joy of the corner is Foote's haunting, timeless photograph.
-Bryan Scott
* * *
Bryan Scott is a Winnipeg-born photographer and graphic designer. His website winnipeglovehate.com features daily photos of the city's good, bad, and sometimes ugly sides. In 2010 he self-published a book version of the blog, Winnipeg Love Hate: Selected Photographs.