BEKEN OF COWES ARCHIVE When Cowes chemist Alfred Beken (1855 – 1915) first sought to experiment with marine photography, the art was in its infancy. While early attempts provided inconsistent quality, undeterred by a myriad of technical problems of photographing at sea, Frank Beken (1880 – 1970) designed and built a new style of camera. […]
In the age of digital photography and the advancement of smartphone cameras, we tend to forget the photographic pioneers of old who experimented with photography in its infancy, battling with issues we simply take for granted. Two such pioneer photographers were Frank Beken and Alfred John West, both of whom are early photographers we have […]
A project to build a collection of important Victorian and Edwardian yachting photographs was launched with the opening of a stunning exhibition in Midhurst, West Sussex. The new Brett Gallery opened in December with an exhibition of photos by Frank Beken, Alfred John West and Stanley Rosenfeld, dating from the late 1800s to the 1930s. […]
