Fort Calgary

Sweeping landscapes, impressive wildlife, bold people, stirring events - the Western frontier offered rich subject matter to its first photographers. It also presented extreme challenges. Cameras were cumbersome and the plate glass films needed skill and strength to take a successful photograph. The weather also created problems for camera and cameraman alike. In the winter, fragile glass plates shattered and fingers froze; in other seasons, gusty winds blew dust onto lenses and into eyes, changing solid objects into blurred images for the camera. Long exposure times also meant that people posed quietly without smiling, creating images of an unnaturally formal past.

Early photographers worked for various reasons, but the main goal was to make money. Documentary photos were taken by survey teams, military forces, and scientists. Governments and large companies commissioned scenic photographs of the West to entice new settlers and tourists. Commercial photographers traveled the region in the 1870s and 1880s, posing native people in their most exotic regalia for postcard views and stereopticon cards for an eager eastern audience. Professional photographers offered their services to ranchers, businesses, and individuals. And after 1895, plastic film and lightweight cameras made it possible for more amateurs to take snapshots of the West.

Through their photographs, people with cameras recorded historical details, promoted businesses, reported events, and helped create an often romantic vision of the disappearing Western frontier. Difficult as it was, photography from this frontier period was often informative and artistic. Early photographers worked for various reasons, but the main goal was to make money. Documentary photos were taken by survey teams, military forces, and scientists.
Governments and large companies commissioned scenic photographs of the West to entice new settlers and tourists. Commercial photographers traveled the region in the 1870s and 1880s, posing native people in their most exotic regalia for postcard views and stereopticon cards for an eager eastern audience. Professional photographers offered their services to ranchers, businesses, and individuals. And after 1895, plastic film and lightweight cameras made it possible for more amateurs to take snapshots of the West.

This exhibit is on loan to Fort Calgary from the Glenbow Museum.