Osnovy Foundation Blog English

Archival cinematography

When looking at the photos of the Ukrainian Soviet photographer Iryna Pap it is rather easy to imagine yourself in the shoes of a heroine or a hero from a black-and-white movie. It could very well be a light-hearted melodrama like Once Again About Love (1968) starring Tatiana Doronina and Alexander Lazarev. “You’re the most outstanding girl in the entire USSR!” the protagonist confesses to the flight attendant Natasha. Who would not want to be called the most beautiful woman, and who would not want to be next to someone like the lead character?

SALIUT OUT OF FRAME

Since its inception in early 1830, photography has been gender-neutral, although an activity that was rather inaccessible to the general public. Such scientists and researchers as Constance Fox Talbot, Anna Atkins, Lady Clementina Hawarden, Julia Margaret Cameron had pioneered this profession. As early as the 1890s, Kodak advertisers campaigned to appeal to a new clientele: women photographers.