Photography | National Library of Australia (NLA)

Photography

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1904 camera

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
A rock sculpture with 2 figures

Yves Coffin, Coffin collection of photographs of Bali, Cham, Javanese, Khmer and Thai art, architecture and sculpture, (196?), nla.gov.au/nla.obj-140366892

Coffin Collection

Featuring over 4,700 photographs of ancient art and architecture across Southeast Asia is the Coffin Collection. Captured between 1955 and 1972 by Yves Coffin, this collection highlights Khmer monuments at Angkor, Cham sculptures, and Thai temples, alongside the art of Java and Bali. A valuable visual record of Southeast Asia's rich cultural heritage.

Collection guide
Deadly Dialogues
Deadly Dialogues: Photographers in conversation

A conversation of First Nations photographers with Uncle Mervyn Bishop, Prof. Wayne Quilliam, Aunty Barbara McGrady, Tiffany Garvie, Michael Jalaru Torres, and Tamati Smith.

Event
Video
man working on huge gears

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
Mountain biker in full gear riding a rocky, dirt path

Mandy Lamont, Remy Blair riding in the All-Mountain Enduro race during the Cannonball Mountain Bike Festival, high alpine Panorama trail, Thredbo, New South Wales, 2025, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3613430477

Documenting regional sport and competitive events

Score! We’ve commissioned photos of different sports in Australia, including rock climbing, mountain biking and woodchopping.

News article
Man steering a large male cow that is pulling a wagon with his wife and children inside

Mallee farmer and family with his bullock wagon, Victoria, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-153091696

Finding and dating photographs

Find family photos and piece together dates and places from the many clues they contain. 

Learning activity for adults
Video
Book cover for 'Fit to Print' which features the title in white text and a black and white photo of two men working on a large ship propeller
Fit to Print

Mike Bowers

Book
Grey background with white text reading 'Fit to Print: Defining Moments from the Fairfax Archive' and a black and white photo of two men working on a large ship propeller
Fit to Print: Defining Moments from the Fairfax Photo Archive selected by Mike Bowers

Explore the art of photojournalism with highlights from the Fairfax Photo Archive.

Exhibition
Cover of the book 'Harold Cazneaux'
Harold Cazneaux

National Library of Australia

Book
NLA Publishing book
Family of three sitting in the crowded stands of a sports stadium while various events take place on the track and field. The parents seem to be enjoying a warm beverage while looking at their baby who lies in a stroller.

Family having a picnic in the stands, with a baby in one basket, and picnic paraphernalia in the other, Olympic Games, Melbourne, 28 November 1956, nla.obj-148938429

How to watch sports: a lesson from the 1956 Olympics

Browse photographs from the 1956 Melbourne Olympics to learn the top tips for how to watch a sports game.

Blog
Collection guide
Humphery Collection

About 6500 lantern slides, glass negatives and photographs, mostly of Australian ships, especially sailing ships.

Collection guide
Frank Hurley and Masly Williams looking towards Jerusalem

Frank Hurley, Frank Hurley and Maslyn Williams Looking Out Over the Kidron Valley Towards Jerusalem, Mount of Olives, Palestine, 1940?, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-151339245

Hurley Collection

Over 10,000 black and white negatives and colour transparencies, about 1000 exhibition prints, several photograph albums, a group of stereographs, plus maps, diaries and personal papers.

Collection guide

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