Framed or unframed, desk size to sofa size, printed by us in Arizona and Alabama since 2007. Explore now.
Shorpy is funded by you. Patreon contributors get an ad-free experience.
Learn more.
New Zealand circa 1910. "Unidentified group outside a tent, possibly at Sumner, Christchurch." Glass negative by Adam Maclay. View full size.
The man on the far left and the girl, fourth person from the left, both each have one very dark arm and hand. The girl sitting down with the white hat also has a similar dark hand. Is this just an optical illusion, are they in shadow, was this poorly developed, or is there another cause?
There is a little shoe, possibly drying out, hanging at the top of the tent.
I'm pretty sure the subjects are neither scared nor grim. Although photography was hardly new by 1910, most people had still never been photographed. In addition to the fact that holding still for a slow shutter is easier with a solemn face than with a smiling one, having one's photograph taken was still momentous for the average person and therefore an occasion to be taken seriously. It seems obvious to us now that one should smile for a photograph even when a few seconds before one was simply chatting with a relaxed face, but that cultural norm would have seemed almost manic to most people in the first decades of photography and probably still seemed so to many people in 1910. Think about oil portraits: we don't expect big grins there and in fact often appreciate solemnity.
The men of the family, self-described as amateur astronomers and outdoor enthusiasts, assured the ladies that a night spent in the woods would serve as the best location for the observance of Earth's traversing of the tail of Halley's Comet. The ladies disagreed as revealed by the clear signs of HCP (Halley's Comet Panic) across their fear-stricken faces.
Oh, to have been a privileged Kiwi during those splendid times. All dressed up and dining al fresco -- back in those same years, my American ancestors were shoveling coal and taking in laundry. Missed the boat, in more ways than one!
Something people could say when you take their photograph and it looks like they are smiling.
The wife looks with child again - I bet he is hoping for a boy!
How frightening was the photographer?
The woman holding the child qualifies as the older sister of Marjorie Main (Ma Kettle) and the one seated in front of the bicycle as the sister of Margaret Hamilton (Wicked Witch of OZ). Will be interesting to hear from our bicycle experts on this one.
This may be a family group, as the woman with the teacup on the left bears a strong resemblance to the younger girl kneeling, also holding a teacup.
The folks in these photos always seem so stiff and reserved; they just don't appear to be having any fun.
I guess I wouldn't either if I had to wear my Sunday best just to go camping....
The young girl on the extreme left is extraordinarily pretty. The older girl on the right is as well.
But what strikes me is that every single female in this photo looks fearful.
On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5