On September 24, 1848 Charles Fontayne and William S. Porter—using one of the earliest forms of photography, daguerreotype—photographed Cincinnati from atop a building in Newport, Kentucky, creating a sweeping, eight-plate panorama. Although daguerreotype is still revered for its superior clarity and resolution, it was dirty, dangerous, and took many years to master. While photographic techniques moved on, the desire to photograph the city never did. Cincinnati’s skyline would be immortalized many more times through the years.
On September 24, 2018 a group of local photographers recreated the iconic image. Every detail including time of day, location, elevation, and focal length was meticulously researched and executed with the very best technology the world currently has to offer:
Chris Ashwell of Cincy Stories had the idea and organized all the moving parts. Hasselblad provided their renowned cameras for the re-creation. The Cincinnati Library is home to the original daguerreotype and hosted our modern recreation. And Fotofocus made it possible for their 2018 Open Archive Biennial.
Featured Artists included: Chris Ashwell, Charles Fontayne, Maureen France, Sharee Allen, William S. Porter, Allen Woods, Chris Glass
Below, my additional four photos for the exhibition:
