It was in 1851 with Frederick Scott-Archer's (1813-1857) introduction of the 'collodion wet plate' process which with its ease of use (relative to its predecessors) promoted wider acceptance along with the publication of books, journals and the formation of photographic societies such as the London now known as the Royal Photographic Society in 1853 and others followed.

Bradford leads the way
Several local enthusiasts were now practising this new art form and eventually around twenty formed themselves into a 'mutual' society. Thus, the Bradford Photographic Society was formed on the 7th November 1860 under the Presidency of one John Venimore Godwin. After less than two months of Presidency, Godwin's name does not re-appear in the records. One assumes he moved on to concentrate upon his civic duties for he became Mayor in 1865 and later Godwin Street was named after him. Those early meetings were held monthly at the St George's Hall and were very formal with the presentation of technical papers and demonstrations by luminaries of that period and many meetings were well documented in the British Journal of Photography.

As popularity of this 'new-fangled science' rapidly grew, membership came from a wide area of the county and so in 1874 the name was changed to 'West Riding of Yorkshire Photographic Society' although it still tended to be spoken of as 'Bradford'. Ten years later in 1884 it became the Bradford Amateur Photographic Society followed in 1895 by the adoption of its present title: Bradford Photographic Society or simply the 'BPS'.
A prominent (indeed dominant) name in the Society in 1895 was that of Alexander Keighley (1861-1947) who became a leading figure, along with Percy Lund and Ezra Clough, in the Society's affairs and other important events which were to follow. Keighley's photographic work is still held in high regard and he was considered as being 'ahead of his time' in what were still pioneering years.

Movie history was also made at the Bradford Photographic Society when on 9th March 1896 a new innovation described as the 'wonder of wonders' was given its first public presentation - it was Henry Hibbert's new cinematograph machine actually made here in Bradford.

BPS gives birth to the YPU
1898 was a phenomenally successful year for the BPS for following a historic Pictorial Photographic Exhibition in the old Municipal Art Gallery, a new organisation, or 'union' to be more precise, was to be formed at the inspiration of Ezra Clough, Secretary of the BPS at that time.

The Yorkshire Photographic Union was the first federation of photographic societies in the country and its inaugural meeting was held at the BPS meeting room in the old, and now demolished, Bradford Grammar School in Manor Row on the 27th January 1899. Five weeks later at the same venue its principal officers were elected - the aforementioned Percy Lund as the first President, Ezra Clough as Hon Secretary and the redoubtable Alex Keighley as Hon Treasurer. At its birth, the YPU and BPS were inextricably linked and no doubt each had some influence upon the other despite the various objections from a couple of clubs who saw no reason to form such a union.

The newly formed Union had as its primary objectives to provide opportunity for the exchange of opinions, prints and lantern slides to promote social intercourse between societies by arranging exhibitions and competitions. An important aspect was (and still is) to assemble a list of competent lecturers, demonstrators and judges who would make themselves available to the member societies of the Union.

Through Two World Wars
Photography, the BPS and the YPU each continued to expand through the early decades of the twentieth century and kept going throughout the First and Second World Wars though with much reduced support.

Bradford Photographic Retailers
Joseph Bruce of the rival Bradford Camera Club and Alfred Greenwood formerly of the Bradford Photographic Society founded the Bradford Camera Exchange, a retail photographic business which flourished in Victoria Square and still continues business under the founder's son, John Greenwood, in North Parade.

1945 and the end of World War II brought one Eric Alderton back to the city with his de-mob money to invest. He started Errick's in minuscule premises in the old Town Hall Square. Small it might have been but Errick's had the distinction of being the 'first in Britain' to have cool-dry colour film refrigeration to ensure freshness. He also claimed to be the first in the county to demonstrate electronic flash and to publish a photomagazine for customers.

Bradford has been well served by its specialist photographic retailers over the decades and many local photographers will remember such names as: B. Sandford Taylor; Felix M. Rimmington & Son; Eric Sunderland and his Savoy Studios; Royal Sutcliffe, Susan Wilding and the rather quaint old photographic departments of the Emporium (now Sunwin House) and Brown Muff's - all long gone but fondly remembered.

Crowning Glory
Perhaps the crowning glory for the recognition of photography in Bradford is the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television which established itself in the city on 16th June 1983 and opened by the eminent photographer Lord Snowden. Following its refurbishment, the NMPFT opened its doors again in the Spring of 1999 to attract both amateur and professional photographic visitors from far and wide. The City of Bradford website will tell you more about the city and its activites.

Club Membership
Throughout the country photographic clubs have seen great fluctuations in membership levels over the last three or four decades. The Bradford Photographic Society, for example, recorded its highest levels in the 1950's and 1960's with a peak of almost two hundred members in 1966.

Although club support in 1999 is nowhere near those historic levels, the enthusiasm is still evident as is the challenge to take on the new digital age. Clubs seem to have returned to their original and more intimate group atmosphere and battling with the many other distractions which now compete for our leisure time as we enter the new Millennium.

Copyright
These brief notes are part of a more detailed history of the Bradford Photographic Society researched by Colin Sutton and are copyright. They may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.