Lady Photographer in Montana - Lena Nelson Dooley

Evelyn Jephson Cameron, a British-born beauty, came to Montana on her honeymoon in 1899. She and her naturalist husband, Ewen, loved the primitive beauty of the area. They soon returned and settled on a ranch near Terry, Montana. Over the years, Evelyn produced an outstanding photographic record of the state's early days. She was already an accomplished photographer, and the couple built a dark room in their log home.

In this picture, Evelyn examines a batch of her photographs.

Their neighbors called her Lady Cameron, because of her genteel manners and British accent. She lugged her bulky camera equipment around the countryside as the chronicled her beloved state. One thing she was proud of  was being known as the first woman in all of Montana to ride her horse astride, wearing a split skirt, instead  of using a sidesaddle.

A young Montana couple finds refuge from the harsh Montana winter in their snug kitchen.

A farm family is preparing a meal for their field hands.

On a bright sunny day, Mrs. Cameron captured a heavily laden chuck wagon. 

She also captured her own shadow, maybe even intentionally.

Evelyn and her husband had two pet wolves that she often photographed with him with the vast mountains and plains behind them. As a writer, I'm thankful for people like this woman, who preserved this era for posterity in photographs. I love perusing historical photographs wherever I can find them.

 One of my aunts collected family history information, and photographs of my mother's family. And my brother has a collection of family historical photos from our father's side of the family. He's scanned many of them and sent the files to me. 

Do you have a collection of historical photos from your family's history? How have you used them?

All three books of my McKenna's Daughters Series are available now. Maggie's Journey was awarded the BRMCRC Selah Award for Historical Novel. Mary's Blessing was a Selah Award finalist for Historical Romance. And I received word this week that Catherine's Pursuit is a NTRWA Carolyn Reader's Choice Award Finalist for this year. The winner will be announced in a month or two.

I'm also on the production team, as screenwriter, for the Christian movie, Abducted to Kill. We're now in the pre-production crowd-funding campaign. Please pray for a successful campaign. You can check it out here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/abducted-to-kill-the-christian-movie/x/6657416 

Say Cabbage and Smile!

In 1850, Julia Shannon of San Francisco took the family portrait to new heights when she shockingly advertised herself as a daguerreotypist and midwife. 

After reading about her I just had to write about a lady photographer. Of course, the heroine of my book A Vision of Lucy doesn’t deliver babies but she still finds plenty of ways to get into trouble.

 

I loved writing about old time photography and have nothing but awe for the brave souls who first took camera in hand. Not only did they contend with unwieldy equipment but also dangerous chemicals and exploding labs.

Women had an advantage over male photographers who were often confounded by female dress.  
This explains why one photographer advertised in 1861 for an assistant, “Who understands the hairdressing business.” Women also had a few tricks up their leg of mutton sleeves—or rather their skirts. Elizabeth Withington invented a “dark thick dress skirt” to use as a developing tent when she traveled.

Those cheerless faces in early photographs were partly due to vices that held heads still for long periods of time. 

Photographers used all sorts of devices to hold a client’s interest. One even had a trained monkey. Another photographer had a canary that sang on command. Mechanical birds were a favorite gimmick and “Watch the birdie” became a familiar refrain in studios across the country.

Magazines and newspaper ran ample advice for posing. An 1877 edition of The Chicago Inter-Ocean advised women with large mouths to say the word “Flip,” although one photographer preferred the word “Prunes.” If a small mouth was the problem the word “Cabbage” would make it appear larger. 

Not everyone was enamored with cameras. One dog owner put up a sign warning “photographers and other tramps to stay away” after his dog had an unfortunate run-in with a tripod.

Did photography have a bearing on the suffragette movement? Indeed, it did, but it appeared to be more of a detriment than a help. The photographs of militant suffragettes and women dressed in bloomers did more harm than good.

If you think America was tough on suffragettes, think again. 

The women’s rights movement was considered the biggest threat to the British Empire. According to the National Archives the votes-for-women movement became the first "terrorist" organization subjected to secret surveillance photography in the world.

Photography has come a long way since those early daguerreotype days. One can only imagine what the brave souls of yesteryear would think of today’s “aim and click” cameras. Now days you can’t even drive down the street without having your picture taken. But as the heroine of A Vision of Lucy would say, it's best not leave the house unless you’re ready for your close up.

Having your photograph taken used to be a special occasion. Today, no one thinks twice about snapping pictures. Do you think we value photos less or more today than we did a century ago?

When posing for Lucy anything can happen--and usually does.  

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Margaret Brownley has authored thirty books 

and is a New York Times Bestselling Author.

www.margaretbrownley.com