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Videos BBC on Hurley, brought to you by Rangefindergeneral
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James Francis “Frank” Hurley, OBE (15 October 1885 16 January 1962) was an Australian photographer, film maker and adventurer. He participated in a number of expeditions to Antarctica and served as an official photographer with Australian forces during both world wars.
His artistic style produced many memorable images but he also used staged scenes, composites and photographic manipulation for which he has been criticised on the grounds that it diminished the documentary value of his work.
Hurley was the third of five children to parents Edward and Margaret Hurley and was raised Glebe, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. He ran away from home at the age of 14 to work on the Sydney docks. When he was 17 he bought his first camera, a 15 shilling Kodak Box Brownie which he paid for at the rate of a shilling per week. He taught himself photography and set himself up in the postcard business.
At the age of 25, in 1910, Hurley learned that Australian explorer Douglas Mawson was planning an expedition to Antarctica; Hurley cornered Mawson on a train and asked to be made expedition photographer. Mawson did just that, while the manager of a local Kodak branch who Hurley was in debt to provided photographic equipment. The Australasian Antarctic Expedition departed in 1911 and lasted until 1914.
Hurley was also the official photographer on Ernest Shackleton’s Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition which set out in 1914 and was marooned until August 1916; Hurley produced many pioneering colour images of the Expedition using the then-popular Paget process of colour photography. He later compiled his records into the documentary film South in 1919.
In 1917, Hurley joined the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) as an honorary captain and captured many stunning battlefield scenes during the Battle of Passchendaele. In keeping with his adventurous spirit, he took considerable risks to photograph his subjects, also producing many rare colour photographs of the conflict. His period with the AIF ended in March 1918. Hurley also served as a war photographer during World War II.
Photographs by Hurley of the Antarctic are held by a number of institutions. Notable collections include the Australian War Memorial, National Library of Australia, Scott Polar Research Institute, Royal Geographical Society, and the South Australian Museum.
Have just watched Shackleton (2011) and was interested to know more about Frank Hurley and see the pictures he took on the expedition. This was a great video, thank you. Really beautiful. (typo spotted : Word War 2!)
Thank you..thank you so much for this.
Amazing human, talent. and utter waste of all aforementioned; WW1 was a common equalizer among that poor and uber — misfortune generation ..
I suppose we can rank photographic artists on the basis of the aesthetic quality of the work, its historical importance, the technical challenges encountered and overcome, and the quantity of high quality work in a lifetime of dedication. Frank Hurley checked all of those boxes. In this digital age we can barely comprehend how difficult it would have been getting the right exposure and depth of field with all that white and sub zero terrain, and then properly preserving the film for later development. Simply astonishing.
Fantastic upload – thank you
really great – thank you!
An excellent production, well done. If you get the chance please have a look at : SCOTT OF THE ANTARCTIC. Birdie, the doctor and me.
This is a video that I made featuring a song composed by Pete HUNT and performed by him with his colleague Micky LYNE. I have laid it over photos taken by Frank Hurley on Capt. Robert falcon Scott's last expedition to the South Pole from which he and 4 colleagues never returned.
I would value your comments. Thanks for a great film.
Roy (Youtube name: KCAZYT)
very interesting.really enjoyed your video.
thanks, regards, Cybele
Excellent selection of Frank Hurley!!! You picked the right music as well!!!
wow.. really.. amazing pictures..