Photography

Harold Cazneaux's first camera, 1904, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-141166704

Harold Cazneaux (1878–1953) was perhaps Australia's best-known photographer of the early twentieth century. He purchased this camera in 1904, shortly after moving from Adelaide to Sydney, and made photographs of Sydney's streets and waterways.

In 1909 he became the first Australian photographer to exhibit his works in a solo show.

Cazneaux was a master of the pictorialist style of photography, using soft focus to capture scenes that were - and remain - familiar to many Australians in a new light. He was able to find a timeless, extraordinary beauty in the everyday.

Cazneaux collection

A large collection of glass negatives, papers and photographs dating mostly from 1904 to 1940 depicting many aspects of Australian life and architecture.

Collection guide

Map of East India Islands, Dutch colonies, with Thailand, French colonies, Indochina and Malay Peninsula.

Henry Otley Bayer, Malay Archipelag 1:8,500,000, 1942, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-580711626

Beyer Collection

Papers, including manuscripts on Philippine ethnography, books and pamphlets in various languages on a wide range of subjects with a focus on the Philippines, photographs and printed and manuscript maps collected by Henry Otley Beyer.

Collection guide

A black and white aerial image of Charters Towers.

Charters Towers Replenishing Centre, 1952, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2909430463

Aerial photographs collection

Aerial photographs of Australia, the Australian Antarctic Territory and Papua New Guinea

Collection guide

Map of Antarctica showing territories and dependencies.

Australia. Department of the Interior. Property and Survey Branch. & E. P. Bayliss, J. S. & Cumpston, Antarctica, 1939, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-236895938

Australian explorations in the Antarctic

Diaries, papers, photographs, maps and other material related to Australia's involvement in the Antarctic

Collection guide

On the right is a man holding a camera. On the left are the words 'Fit to Print: Defining Moments from the Fairfax Photo Archive'

Learn with the Curator: Fit to Print photography

Learn from our expert curators to discover stories behind Fit to Print: Defining Moments from the Fairfax Photo Archive, and the methods used to produce these slices of life from Australian history.

Learning activity for adults

Video

Wolfgang Sievers, The gears gears for the mining industry, Vickers Ruwolt, Burnley, Melbourne, 1967, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-136505226

Documenting modern Australia

Module

This resource is aligned to the Australian Curriculum: Design and Technologies standards for Year 5 and 6. It draws on the Library’s Wolfgang Sievers Collection to explore how photography, design and industry have transformed modern Australia, encouraging students to investigate how technologies are developed, used, and understood in social and environmental contexts.

Digital Classroom

Wolfgang Sievers, [Photograph of Wolfgang Sievers], Berlin, Germany, 1991, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-161009403

Wolfgang Sievers

Topic

Wolfgang Georg Sievers, AO (1913–2007) was a well-known modernist photographer who documented Australian architecture and industry over a career spanning almost 60 years.

Digital Classroom

Bookplate cafe at the Library set up with long tables set with white table cloths, wine glasses and flowers

Interior of Bookplate restaurant at the National Library of Australia.

My Story: An evening with Mike Bowers

Join us for dinner at Bookplate with renowned photojournalist, and guest curator of our Fit to Print exhibition, Mike Bowers.

*Booked out*

Event

Black and white image of a man, woman and child sitting at a beach looking out towards the ocean

One with the Land ... Waiting for the Sacred Fish to come in : Maynard Williams , leena Watts, Joy Anne Williams - Llarabin Beach , Mornington Island QLD 1978 - Juno Gemes ©

In Conversation: Until Justice Comes with Juno Gemes, Djon Mundine and Michael Aird

Juno Gemes, Djon Mundine and Michael Aird shared their own personal histories as friends, colleagues and collaborators, telling the true history of Australia.

Event

Video