The allure of photographic image

PHOTOGRAPHS elicit emotional responses from the viewer. We respond to the memories preserved in old family snapshots, the visual beauty of a landscape, the joy or grief captured in an interaction between people, we are appalled by the violence of an event or swayed by the propaganda behind a photograph.

- MARK LEVIN

Since the invention of the camera, photographs have recorded South Africa through a panoply of social, cultural and political subjects for nearly 200 years. In his new book, Life Itself: Photography and South Africa, Simon A Clarke charts that history.

A chance meeting in Paris with renowned photographer Roger Ballen aroused Clarke's curiosity in South African photography. New technology was behind its advance and growth, particularly in the 1860s with the carte-de-visite camera which created multiple duplications at low cost. These photos became popular items of exchange among family and friends.

Photographic studios sprang up, initially in Cape Town, but soon in other towns. Spotting the commercial opportunities, even tobacconists and watchmakers acquired carte-de-visite cameras as a side hustle, although their photographs were often of an inferior quality.

Individuals or small groups posed in a studio setting where props were on hand. These ranged from plinths and vases to backdrops of rolling landscapes and classical architecture. And how best to display these portraits then in a photo album which became a must-have item.