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Charles Macnamara20 February 1910
Arnprior, Ontario, Canada
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Charles Macnamara viewed the world around him with the inquisitive eyes of an artist. He had a methodical, meticulous approach to life and over time adopted the analytical habits and sensibilities of an amateur scientist.In photography, he found a means of expression that challenged his technical ability and engaged him in the pictorial movement that was popular in the early part of the 20th century.
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Richard Macnamara and ''ghost''1894
153 Daniel Street N., Arnprior, Ontario, Canada
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Macnamara started photographing familiar scenes around Arnprior and Marshall's Bay, Ontario, at the age of 24. His father Richard Macnamara, was willing to pose for Charles when he experimented with double exposures in 1894.5
Pontiac19 October 1894
Pontiac County, Quebec, Canada
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We do not know whether Charles Macnamara purchased his first camera equipment or if it was a gift from his family. He used it to record this picturesque scene on an excursion to Pontiac county, across Lac des Chats from Arnprior, in August 1894. Macnamara used glass plate negatives to obtain very high quality prints that possess a wide tonal range and rich detail. He was recognized internationally for perfecting gum bi-chromate techniques which he later shared in various scientific and photography journals.7
Lumber slide at ArnpriorSeptember, 1896
Madawaska River, Arnprior, Canada
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Macnamara was concerned with capturing as much detail as possible when he took this "snap-shot" of the McLachlin Bros. lumber slide in 1896. Accuracy was his goal at this time. In his scrapbook he later wrote, "Putting logs through the slide at Arnprior in September 1896, a pleasant familiar scene of the old times gone forever."9
Letts, Cranstons and others at Marshall's Bay1894
Marshalls Bay, Ontario, Canada
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Early photographs reveal that Charles had difficulty composing group photographs. These friends and relatives were photographed at Marshall's Bay in 1894. From left to right are: Norman Lett, Lizzie Parnell, Jim Cranston, Marion Macnamara, Alan Mohr, Musie Lett, Mrs. Richard Macnamara, Dodie Cranston and two unidentified people.11
Marian Macnamara and friendsJuly, 1896
Marshalls Bay, Ontario, Canada
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This photograph shows improvement in Macnamara's photography with a developing awareness of pattern and composition. He subscribed to various magazines including Photo Beacon, Photo Era, Photogram and Amateur Photography. He also read Henry Rankin Poore, the author of Pictorial Composition and the Critical Judgement of Pictures.13
Elliott's Oat fieldAugust, 1898
Marshalls Bay, Ontario, Canada
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"The Oat Field" represents the beginning in 1898, of Macnamara's successful use of photography as an artistic means of expression. |
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