Famous Botanical Photographers from the past use a variety of techniques not in common use today
- such as cyanotope photograms, photogravures and radiographs
- such as cyanotope photograms, photogravures and radiographs
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Botanical photographers in history who are covered in this page include:
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You can see notable contemporary botanical photographers listed on Alternative Art Media
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Famous British Botanical Photographers
Anna Atkins
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Anna Atkins (1799-1871)
Born in 1799 in Kent, Atkins was an English botanist who developed "cameraless" photography as a medium for recording images of plants. She knew both the pioneer photographer William Henry Fox Talbot, and Sir John Herschel who invented the cyanotype printing method. The very striking cyan blue colour is caused by a mix of ammonium ion citrate and potassium ferricyanide - in a process developed by the astronomer and scientist Sir John Herschel. The images produced are now commonly known as "blueprints". You can see images of her work online in Wikipedia. Her book British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions was one of the first uses of light-sensitive materials to illustrate a book. It focused on ferns and seaweeds.
Organisations owning copies of her work include The New York Public Library and The J. Paul Getty Museum. EXHIBITION:
BELOW is a video discussing Anna Atkins's role in relation to Botanical Illustration and Photographic Innovation |
Cystoseira granulata. Cyanotype photogram by Anna Atkins from Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions (1843)
A cyanotype photogram of Woodland horsetail (Equisetum sylvaticum) made by Anna Atkins and Anne Dixon in 1853, from their book Cyanotypes of British and Foreign Ferns
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REFERENCES for images:
- Anna Atkins at the John Paul Getty Museum
- Cyanotypes of British Algae by Anna Atkins - the New York Public Library made digital images of her cyanotopes available to view on Flickr Commons
- Cyanotypes of British Algae by Anna Atkins (1843) | The Public Domain Review
- New York Public Library - Photographs of British Alage, Cynaotope Impressions
- Early photography: Anna Atkins and algae | Kew Gardens
- Anna Atkins's cyanotypes: the first book of photographs By Kerry Lotzof | Natural History Museum
- Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions 1843–53 | Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Blue prints: photography pioneer Anna Atkins's hand-crafted images – in pictures | The Guardian
- Blooming marvellous: the world's first female photographer – and her botanical beauties | The Guardian
- Blue prints: photography pioneer Anna Atkins's hand-crafted images – in pictures | The Guardian - Anna Atkins's striking images feature in a major retrospective of Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum. New Realities: Photography in the Nineteenth Century is at Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Anna Atkins - Biography and Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions
by Lisa Shea
by Lisa Shea
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This is a Kindle e-book (File Size: 4,265 KB)
It contains:
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from Amazon UK
from Amazon.com Charles Jones
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Charles Jones (1866-1959)
Jones was a trained gardener who worked at several private estates between the years 1894 and 1910. He was a gardener at Ote Hall in Sussex, and was mentioned in a Gardener’s Chronicle article of 1905 for his skill with herbaceous borders and his “delight in his well-trained fruit trees”. Jones also photographed what he produced. He created a series of gelatin silver prints of vegetables, fruits, and flowers. Unusually he photographed them in isolation against a neutral backdrop so that the images highlight the distinctive features of the subject matter. Born a year later than Blossfeldt, he worked in a similar way but with more of a focus on the horticultural detail rather than an abstract aesthetic. Jones remained completely unknown as a photographer in his lifetime. It seems that his interest was not shared with anyone outside his immediate family. He died a near recluse in Lincolnshire in 1959. Some 500 of his photographs were discovered by Sean Sexton, a collector, in Bermondsey Market in 1981 and their value recognised. He was only identified as the photographer when the photographs were displayed on the BBC and his granddaughter identified them - and promptly wrote to the producer. Sean Sexton created a monograph about the images in 1998 and Jones subsequently enjoyed wider attention as a photographer rather than a puzzle. Since then his work has been exhibited by the Howard Greenberg Gallery (10 November, 2006 – 6 January 2007) |
Broad beans by Charles Jones
REFERENCE:
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With Cunningham and Blossfeldt the plants aren’t conveyed as individuals but as specimens, examples of form: clean-lined and curvy, often cropped into abstraction.
Charles Jones, however, seems to have been aiming for something weirder and, to my mind, a little more interesting: looking at many of his images you have the unavoidable impression that they are portraits of vegetables. You see the flecks of dirt hanging off them, the rumpled edges of the photographic backdrop, the scuff marks on the floor as he has moved and repositioned them. There’s poignancy in such details, as well as a gentle absurdity.
Charles Jones and his vegetable portraiture
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The Plant Kingdoms of Charles Jones
by Sean Sexton and Robert Flynn Johnson   |
This second revised edition of a book first published in 1998 contains more than 100 photographic 'portraits' of vegetables, fruits and flowers by Charles Jones.
Hardcover: 128 pages Publisher: Thames and Hudson Ltd Original publication: 1998 Revised edition: 25 Aug. 2016 BUY THIS BOOK The Plant Kingdoms of Charles Jones
 from Amazon UKThe Plant Kingdoms of Charles Jones
 from Amazon.com |
Famous German Botanical Photographers
Karl Blossfeldt
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Karl Blossfeldt (1865-1932)
Photographed plants in close-up. Trained as a sculptor but was also very interested in plants and a keen amateur botanist and used photography as a teaching tool to demonstrate the differences in botanical forms. He developed cameras which allowed him to photograph both plants and the texture of their surfaces in unprecedented magnified detail (x 30) He first published black and white photogravure images in Urformen der Kunst (1929) - which translates as Artforms in Nature - after an exhibition of his work at Berlin's Gallery Nierendorf. In total he produced some 6,000 photographs. His images are unique in the portrayal of plants although a number of people have sought to emulate him. He focuses in particular on the form and structure of plants.
REFERENCES: These are sites where you can see his work
The Hayward Touring Exhibition of Karl Blossfeldt - Art Forms in Nature can be seen in 2016 at the following venues
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'the plant must be valued as a totally artistic and architectural structure' 
Karl Blossfeldt: Adiantum pedatum (1928)
(Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Karl Blossfeldt: Allium ostrowskianum, Knoblauchpflanze (Gelatin silver print 25.9 × 20.4 cm)
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Karl Blossfeldt. The Complete Published Work
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This is a small fat book of the most incredible photographs of plants. Once seen never forgotten.
This was originally published as Urformen der Kunst (Art Forms in Nature) in 1928 and has since been reproduced a number of times as a monograph. Taschen's impeccable production standards means the reproductions are excellent - and I own a copy! |
 
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Hardcover: 544 pages
14 x 19.5 cm Publisher: TASCHEN Gmbh; Mul edition Publication date: 25 Feb. 2014 Rated an average of 5 out of 5 stars by 4 reviewers (UK) and 5 reviewers (USA) Karl Blossfeldt. The Complete Published Work
from Amazon UK
Blossfeldt: The Complete Published Work
 from Amazon.com |
Karl Blossfeldt Masterworks
Foreword and Botanical Notes by Hansjörg Küster | Edited by Ann Wilde
Foreword and Botanical Notes by Hansjörg Küster | Edited by Ann Wilde
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For those who like their photographs larger - this is a new edition of plant portrait photographs by one of the great pioneers of botanical photography,
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Hardcover: 160 pages
36.50 x 23.50 cm 70 Illustrations (mono) Publisher: Thames and Hudson Ltd; NEW Date: 01 edition (2 Mar. 2017) Karl Blossfeldt: Masterworks
from Amazon UKKarl Blossfeldt: Masterworks
 from Amazon.com |
Famous American Botanical Photographers
Imogen Cunningham
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Imogen Cunningham (1883 – 1976)
After 1920 she became increasingly interested in botanical photography and rendering plants in macro shots and sharp focus. Between 1923 and 1925 she carried out an in-depth study of the Magnolia flower. One of her most notable works is Magnolia Blossom (1925) Her photographs continue to be available as Estate Stamped Platinum / Palladium Print EXHIBITIONS There is an exhibition of her work - Imogen Cunningham in Focus - which includes her botanicals, at the Museum of Fine Art in Boston Dates: September 3, 2016 – June 18, 2017 Venue: Herb Ritts Gallery (Gallery 169), MFA, Boston Previous exhibitions of her Botanicals include:
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Succulent (1920) by Imogen Cunningham
REFERENCE:
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Imogen Cunningham: Flora
This is a collection of black and white photographs of plants and flora spanning some 55 years of her career as a photographer. Her fascination with plants endured throughout her career. It includes 40 duotone and eight colour plates of works exhibited in San Francisco in Richard Lorenz contributes a bio and critical essay about her place within the pantheon of the premiere photographers of the natural world in the 20th century |
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Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Bulfinch Publication date: May 1, 2001 Caution! The consensus is that the images are really great but the production values for the paperback print run could have been better. Look for second hand hardback books which won't hurt your pocket. Buy in USA: Imogen Cunningham: Flora
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Dain L. Tasker
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Dr. Dain L. Tasker (1872 - 1964)
Dr Tasker's records of flowers made using the X-Ray process - radiographs - stemmed from his knowledge of x-Rays and his developing interest in photography. Dain Tasker was born in 1872 in Beloit, Wisconsin. He was the chief radiologist at Wilshire Hospital in Los Angeles when radiology was in its beginning stages. In terms of photography:
He recorded record numerous varieties of flowers with the x-ray process. The images he generated as a result are some of the most striking and unique in the history of making records of flowers. They
His work was championed by Will Connell, a prominent Los Angeles photographer and educator who promoted his work and urged him to exhibit his prints in the salons of the Camera Pictorialists of Los Angeles and at the 1939 Golden Gate Exposition in San Francisco. Tasker’s x-ray photographs were featured in U.S. Camera and Popular Photography which raised their profile to a wider audience. |
Tulip, 1931, by Dr Dain L. Tasker (radiograph - vintage gelatin silver print, 11.5 x 9 inches) - Image courtesy of Joseph Bellows Gallery
Flowers are the expression of the love life of plants REFERENCE:
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Dr. Dain L.Tasker
(Catalogue by Howard Greenberg Gallery)
(Catalogue by Howard Greenberg Gallery)
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Dr Dain Tasker was the chief radiologist at Wilshire Hospital in Los Angeles
This is a monograph record of some of his work taking X-rays of botanical flowers and plants - as exhibited at the Howar Greenberg Gallery. However, NOTE the small number of pages and the very expensive price. |
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But in UK: Dr. Dain L.Tasker
BUY in USA Dr. Dain L.Tasker (Howard Greenberg Gallery)
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