Hannah Maynard

As a lifelong practitioner of the written word, it galls me to have to admit the truth of that old expression, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

But, as that more modern and wretched saying goes, “It is what it is.”

I’ve been thinking about what photography has meant to recording history and how it has ultimately changed our lives. After primitive beginnings such as the daguerreotype came the cumbersome large-format camera that required a tripod to hold it still for its slow exposures, followed by messy wet processing in a darkroom.

All of this required a strong work ethic not to mention artistry.

Today, it’s a cultural phenomenon: mini-cameras, smart phones and computers with their instantaneous, effortless imagery—just point and click. Absolutely anyone can take a decent photo today and capture not just scenes and portraits but events as they’re occurring.

But, of course, it has been a long road and many of the greatest photographs of the past century and a-half were taken with difficulty, sometimes at great personal risk, and involved not only talent and skill but intensive thought and effort. Thus it’s only right that some pioneer photographers have achieved near-legendary status.

One of them is British Columbia’s own Hannah Maynard, a true photographic innovator who broke new ground with her artistic experimentation. Also a truly remarkable lady, as we’ll see in next week’s British Columbia Chronicles.

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PHOTO: The amazing Hannah Maynard on two wheels. She probably was more comfortable in her studio and darkroom. —BC Archives