The Development Course of American Professional Photographers Association

1880 in April, the American Photographers Association was established. John Ryder from Cleveland, Ohio was elected as the first chairman. 237 photographers attended the first congress held in Chicago from August 23 to 26. The economic recession from 65438 to 2009 in 1980s had a negative impact on many industries, including photography. During this period, in order to keep photographers interested in the association, the association tried to allocate some funds for making gold, silver medals and trophies to reward the winning works exhibited during the conference. The concept of "photography salon" came into being at the congress of 1906. This salon included 25 photos, which were selected by the jury, representing the best level of the year. This move paves the way for the annual international film festival and prestigious roving exhibition, which is watched by thousands of viewers around the world every year. From the beginning, PAA has been paying attention to the promotion of photography art. The original organization called for popularizing photography knowledge among its members and encouraging photography exploration and creation. Since the first meeting of 1880, manufacturers and famous photographers have used the annual meeting to introduce products and share knowledge and information. In the meeting of 1880, a PAA special committee demonstrated dry printing, which set off a revolution for later photographic plate making. According to the report made by the members' experiments, they decided that the dry version would become the standard professional material. At the same time, there are many advocates of silver plate photography, including John fitzgibbon, who appeared in the early PAA conference. John started taking pictures with silver plates as early as 184 1. 1839-40 silver plate photography came out, which is the first practical and profitable photographic plate-making method. At the congress of 1888, george eastman introduced his Kodak camera and film development service, and won the first prize medal and special honorary certificate. 1889, Eastman Kodak Company introduced a new transparent celluloid film. 1908, the appearance of color photography caused an uproar in Detroit's parliament. 1930, the 50th anniversary of the association, the first artificial lighting equipment (including mercury lamps and electrical appliances) came out. In the early days of PAA, there was a tradition of providing forums for famous photographers every year, such as Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Weston, Dr. Kenneth Meese and edward steichen. Further educate its members. As early as the beginning of the 20th century, photographers began to realize the importance of sharing information, which was very different from the general trading methods at that time. At that time, trade competition was fierce. In order to prevent the loss of customers, almost everyone defends their business secrets. With photography becoming a profitable industry, PAA began to provide photographers with services to manage and deal with financial problems. 1909, members set up their first management organization-photography conference. The congress consists of representatives from all over the country who handle the affairs of the association according to law. In the past, the affairs of the association were handled by people who occasionally attended the meeting, which caused the problem of organizational continuity. The congress lasted until 1929, until the National Committee became a formal management body, representing 37 associations and clubs across the country. By 19 13, the membership of the association had increased to 725. 2006 1965438+2272. When World War I broke out, many PAA members joined the photography department of the communications forces to serve their country. After the war, all photographers working in the photography department were awarded the title of honorary member of PAA through the War Department of the Association. Many events became major events in the history of the Association: 192 1 in, Indiana Daguerre Club donated a building on Lake Navinona to PAA to establish a photography school. In this way, a professional school was born, and later it became the international professional photography institute in Winona. Winona held classes for professional photographers every summer until 1984 school moved to Mount Rospe Kurt, University of Illinois. 1994, the school moved to Atlanta, Georgia. Tens of thousands of photographers from all over the world participated in Winona photography class to update their skills or improve their application ability in other fields of photography under the guidance of excellent video producers. The school was renamed PPA International Photography Academy. 1930PAA was hit by the American economic depression when it celebrated its 50th birthday. Although the Association has made a lot of efforts to encourage its members and put forward many new projects, during these years (193 1- 1934), the Association and the country have experienced many difficulties, with budget cuts, membership cancellation and congress suspension. By 1934, the leaders of the association were pioneers in establishing membership system and lowering prices in the economic recovery, which was written into law that year. They put forward the rules of fair competition in photography and development industry, requiring everyone or company to follow certain requirements in terms of salary, working hours, price and trade practices when selling photography products or engaging in photography services. The existence of rules is to make the association full of vitality, promote the development of the industry and contribute to the prosperity of the country. When the national revival was declared unconstitutional, these hopes were quickly dashed and all the rules under its jurisdiction were affected. The outbreak of World War II made the association suffer even greater setbacks. Although the association is in a difficult period, PAA still provides benefits for its members, including the Professional Photography Council (the first Council was established in 1938) and the degree system (the first master's degree in photography was awarded in 1939). Thirty years after the war, the association regained its strength. After the war, photographers opened new studios, inherited the old ones, looked for places to share their interests, and became well-educated people of their peers. The Association continues to develop and expand its projects, many of which still exist today. By 1953, the number of members reached 4000, and by 1968, the number of members exceeded 12000. From 65438 to 0958, PAA changed its name to American Professional Photographers Association (PPA) to distinguish it from those associations composed of amateur photography organizations. In the same year, PPA joined the Alabama-Mississippi Photographers Association (later renamed the Alabama-Mississippi Professional Photographers Association), and the University of Mississippi held the first professional photography congress, which was attended by local associations, national associations and junior colleges. Such rapid development has accelerated the implementation of the plan to set up a headquarters. Through the establishment of the Photographic Arts Science Foundation, PPA located its new headquarters building in Des prance, Illinois. Soon after, 1968 established PPA publishing affairs company, a subsidiary of PPA, to manage the publishing and education affairs of the association. 1980, PPA ushered in a milestone in history-100th birthday since it was founded in 880. The celebration was held during the association's international annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. 1993, PPA moved its headquarters from Chicago to Atlanta. Since 200 1, PPA, together with copyright bureau and government affairs departments, has played an increasingly active role in safeguarding photographers' rights and interests. PPA is very active on behalf of photographers in the US Congress. Since 1880, the first batch of photographers joined forces to promote the development of the industry, PPA members have witnessed the great pace of the development of the photography industry. Photography not only proves itself to be a valuable tool for recording history and preserving memories, but also has a wide range of applications in almost every industry. With more than 25,000 members, the American Professional Photographers Association is still regarded as an international forum for photography activities, education, information transmission and professional standards. Today, the association, like 1880, continues to prove that collective wisdom and Qi Xin's concerted efforts are not only beneficial to the members themselves, but also conducive to promoting the development of the whole industry.