Braidwood Museum features camera exhibit

Does anyone use a stand- alone camera to take photos these days? In the past 20 years, it appears that even professional photographers wield the latest iPhone rather than an “old fashion” 35mm camera.
Yet, true photography is an art form. While anyone can take a duck-face selfie, most of us can’t claim to be artists. True photographers are a delicate blend of technician and artist. They’re able to use their photography equipment and skills in ways that capture a subject in unique and interesting ways. Their photos elicit emotion.
The photo “Flag Raising at Iwo Jima” by Joe Rosenthal, and the photo of Lee Harvey Oswald being shot by Jack Ruby are examples of photography as art.
Camera exhibit
If you’d like to take a break from your cell phone camera, and begin to understand and appreciate photography, the Braidwood Area Historical Society is hosting a vintage camera and projector collection, Saturdays through Dec. 28 from noon to 3 p.m.
The exhibit will feature antique and vintage cameras, projectors, equipment, and photos from the collection of Edward Bunting and the late Edwin Sullivan.
If you’re lucky, you may even score a few photography tips and tricks from Bunting, an award winning professional photographer with decades of knowledge, as well as an extensive collection of cameras and photographic equipment.
“I have some of the old wooden cameras that date back to the end of the 1800s,” Bunting said. “But photography is older than that.”
Photography is relatively new when it comes to the arts, the first photographs were taken less than a couple of centuries ago.
“It was 1839 when photography was first announced,” Bunting said. “It was a fellow by the name of Louis Daguerre who was really influential in photography.”
Daguerre, who was born in 1787 near Paris, invented the first practical process of photography, know as the daguerreotype. He is considered the father of photography.
Intelligence photographer
Bunting, who was chosen to participate in an Honor Flight last June, served as an intelligence photographer in the Navy during the Korean War.
He has also held the position of staff photographer for Northern Illinois Gas for 36 years.
Bunting has taught photography to 4H and other groups, and enjoys sharing his art with museum patrons.
The Braidwood Historical Society is located at 111 N. Center St. For information about the collection, call (815) 458-9010.