THERE was a time when photography was not all about pixels and posing.
When photography was in its infancy in the mid-1800s, to be a photographer of any note you had to make your own emulsions and use glass negative plates.
We can thank George Eastman, who invented film with a base that was flexible, unbreakable and could be rolled on to a spool, for making photography affordable and available to a mass audience.
Leader photographer Jane Dyson’s introduction to this craft was through her grandparents, John and Mabel McCredie, who were born early in the 20th century and lived out their lives at Penshurst.
John, an accountant for Barters department store in Hurstville, and Mabel, a secretary for the railways, spent their weekends taking photos of the local area, and around Sydney Harbour.
John’s love of photography was fuelled by Frank Hurley’s images from the near disastrous 1914-1917 Shackleton expedition to Antarctica.
Hurley was the official photographer and produced many pioneering colour images of the expedition using the then-popular Paget process of colour photography.
John saw this exhibition as a young boy and it changed his life and fuelled his love of photography. Mabel was introduced to photography during their courtship and got a Rolleiflex camera for her 21st birthday.
Their dream was to set up a studio and become professional photographers, but World War II put a stop to that.
Instead they married in June 1940 and John enlisted in the army a week later.
He was deployed overseas three times and during that time their first daughter Joan was born.
After the war their second daughter, Phyllis (Jane’s mother) was born.
Although they followed other careers, photography was a big part of their lives.
They had a darkroom purpose-built in their house at Penshurst, with John making sure the air vents were positioned so that no light could get in.
He also built his own enlarger, as they did all their own processing and printing.
They won many prizes in competitions and had photos published alongside famous photographers like Harold Cazneaux.
Jane’s grandmother taught her how to print and process her own work — a prerequisite for a press photographer as late as the early 1990s.
When Jane started on her own photographic career she cleaned out this darkroom where she came across hundreds of glass plates and negatives, along with some of their award-winning photographic prints.
We hope you enjoy this trip back in time. If you, or your family, recognise any local landmarks, let us know by clicking on the comment link below the story or email christiner@fairfaxmedia.com.au
