The Photograph and Australia

From its beginnings in the 19th century to today's digital revolution, The Photograph and Australia investigates how photography was harnessed to create the idea of a nation. It reveals how Australia's view of the world and itself has been changed by the advent of photography, which paralleled the development of the colonies and the relationships between settlers and Indigenous Australians.

Taking a thematic approach, the book encourages the reader to explore connections—between different forms of photography, people and place, past and present. It features renowned artists such as Richard Daintree, Charles Bayliss, Frank Hurley, Harold Cazneaux, Olive Cotton, Max Dupain, Sue Ford, Carol Jerrems, Rosemary Laing, Tracey Moffatt, Ricky Maynard, Patrick Pound, and Robyn Stacey, among many others. Their work is reproduced alongside that of unknown photographers in cartes de visite, government and family albums, and early scientific and astronomical photography.

Above all, this publication reminds the reader of the sense of wonder that the photograph can still induce with its ability to capture both things of the world and those of the imagination.

Visually rich with fine reproductions, The Photograph and Australia will not only be an important addition to the scholarship on Australian photography but also a valued addition to the bookshelves of photography experts, lovers of photography, and history enthusiasts.