In the mid-1800s, New Zealand mothers had to find creative ways to be in photographs with their babies due to the long exposure times of early cameras. According to book editor Shaun Higgins, these women became known as the ‘hidden mother’. They would hide behind chairs or under fabric, supporting their children while the photo was taken, which could take up to 45 seconds.
Higgins’ latest book, A Different Light: First Photographs of Aotearoa, features an example of a ‘hidden mother’ on the cover. The book, co-edited with Catherine Hammond, includes photos from three major research libraries: Auckland Museum, Hocken Collections, and the Alexander Turnbull Library. It offers a glimpse into New Zealand’s colonial era through a variety of portraits and landscapes.
Photography arrived in Aotearoa in 1848, about a hundred years after it was invented in France. The earliest surviving photo taken in Aotearoa is a portrait of a man named Edward Catchpool, taken in 1852. Higgins noted that people often appear serious in early photographs because they had to sit still for a long time, and because dental care was not very good back then.
Early photographers had to carry a large kit, including a camera, tripod, and a portable darkroom. This was because negatives had to be processed immediately. One photo in the book, of the Pink and White Terraces, was taken on a 50cm plate.
Portraits of Māori were popular, but many photographers exploited them for profit. They would take photos of anonymous sitters and mass produce them as trading cards. The sitters were not paid for their time. This is in contrast to Kīngi Tāwhiao, who actively sought out photographers to spread his image around the world.
