David Octavius Hill

David Octavius Hill (1802-1870) was a painter/lithographer who became interested in photography and joined forces in the mid 1840's for four years with Robert Adamson who was a photographer using the calotype photographic process invented by Fox Talbot. Hill and Adamson produced over 3000 paper negatives consisting of portraits, landscapes and scenes of everyday life which were considered the best paper photography of that time.
I particularly loved the photographs of children and families such as "sisters, the misses Griersons" and "Sandy (or James) Linton, his boat and bairns". The documentary quality of the photos such as the "oyster woman" and the photos depicting fishermen and fisherwoman give a clear insight into a different era. I think these photos really demonstrate the art of photography in their "story telling" and I can see why Hill and Adamson were credited as true artists in their field. Having lived in Edinburgh I was also interested in the early photographs of Edinburgh such as "Mons Meg, Edinburgh Castle", "Greyfriar's churchyard" and "The Scots Monument".