:00:09. > :00:21.The great. You head. Rankin is one of the world's most exceptional
:00:22. > :00:26.portrait photographers. This work is stylish and contemporary. But studio
:00:27. > :00:32.photography is not new. Back in the early lead a handful of woman took
:00:33. > :00:37.to the cameras and against the expectations of the genders became
:00:38. > :00:46.accomplished photographers. One room with good at it, that while and high
:00:47. > :00:55.society courted her. Olive Edis. Was one of a very small group of... And
:00:56. > :01:03.she had a special skill and empathy. The face is an index of the
:01:04. > :01:07.character and the photograph, if you like to peruse it that way, is the
:01:08. > :01:13.x-ray of the soul. She would have had to learn to deal with people who
:01:14. > :01:17.perhaps were less inclined to accept her as a photographer or
:01:18. > :01:21.professional as a woman. The range of people that she photographed were
:01:22. > :01:26.politicians, four prime ministers of England, Kings. There is a
:01:27. > :01:34.similarity with what Rankin does today and what Olive Edis did over a
:01:35. > :01:37.century ago. This is his quest to discover the comparisons. And to
:01:38. > :01:43.discover why such a loss to genius of photography has not had the
:01:44. > :01:47.recognition she deserves. He will meet the people who work hard to
:01:48. > :01:50.keep her name alive and to understand how skilful she was he
:01:51. > :01:51.will get to grips with the camera that has not been used for over 50
:01:52. > :02:20.years. The work of the great photographers
:02:21. > :02:23.in recent history is exhibited here at London's National Portrait
:02:24. > :02:32.Gallery. It's the first place for Rankin to visit in his search for
:02:33. > :02:38.Olive Edis's pictures. He's meeting associate creator of photography. To
:02:39. > :02:42.find out if her contribution to the medium is acknowledged in the
:02:43. > :02:47.collection. This gallery is photography gallery at the moment
:02:48. > :02:55.called a century photography and it's from 1840-1940 and all the many
:02:56. > :02:59.key works from that period. Olive Edis is offered here. She is
:03:00. > :03:06.represented by this copy of one of her wonderful autochromes, early
:03:07. > :03:14.colour photography. Gorgeous. This is a project offers sister. -- this
:03:15. > :03:21.is a portrait of her sister. Her work is exceptional. Really
:03:22. > :03:29.beautiful, this example. Do you have more? Yes, many hundreds. Are they?
:03:30. > :03:36.In the basement archive, the Galilee technician has laid out examples of
:03:37. > :03:41.Olive's work that they look after. The thing that I am struck by is how
:03:42. > :03:46.for that period is seen to be very relaxed pictures, they are not as
:03:47. > :03:52.formal as other pictures from the period. Was that her style? She
:03:53. > :03:59.always used natural light and she photographed people either in their
:04:00. > :04:02.homes or in the studio. And it is, this fascination with faces. Who
:04:03. > :04:10.they are as people and that is very, very unusual. You forget society was
:04:11. > :04:13.broken down into classes at this point and actually communication
:04:14. > :04:22.between classes with formal. She seems to have taken a massive
:04:23. > :04:26.leveller, camera, everybody is placed at the same level.
:04:27. > :04:33.Absolutely. A photographer's interest comes from anything and
:04:34. > :04:36.anybody regardless of status. And their face. Greenbank and a civil
:04:37. > :04:43.democratising thing that the camera has. -- and it's a democratising
:04:44. > :04:48.thing. It would have been for the first time a democratising thing and
:04:49. > :04:54.she embraces that. The first woman doctor, the first woman MP and the
:04:55. > :04:57.future king. In a way, you wouldn't do because shisha announces everyone
:04:58. > :05:02.and fits them in such a way that you get something off the personality
:05:03. > :05:08.rather than profession. -- because shisha on ices everyone. That's
:05:09. > :05:14.brilliant, look at that. He is the future king and look at him, he
:05:15. > :05:20.looks like a really likeable bloke. Merely a few years after running
:05:21. > :05:23.black and white photography, Olive is experimenting with autochromes.
:05:24. > :05:30.This is the first commercially available cover process. The way
:05:31. > :05:37.they achieve the cover is by dyeing potato starch. This is how colour
:05:38. > :05:44.negative works. Actually, digital as well. I don't understand the starch
:05:45. > :05:51.thing. Can you explain that? The particles that make up the starch,
:05:52. > :05:57.act as a transparent, colour separation filter. It's like a
:05:58. > :06:04.chemical reaction from the light? Yes. How do you view them? Do this
:06:05. > :06:13.thing that she made herself. That is mental. That is magic. If you are to
:06:14. > :06:19.really look like magic. -- it literally looks like magic. They are
:06:20. > :06:28.incredibly three-dimensional. You almost feel like you can and touch.
:06:29. > :06:33.She was an inspiration in a time for woman. Reporters of influential
:06:34. > :06:40.people do little to shed light on who she was. -- her portraits of
:06:41. > :06:44.influential people. We are not sure who this person is but it was
:06:45. > :06:49.bequeathed to us as the unknown woman. Almost like love. Nobody
:06:50. > :06:58.knows the story behind Olive as much as they probably should. One is not
:06:59. > :07:06.truly a photographer and this one's work shows what is inside the sister
:07:07. > :07:13.as well as what is outside. All of those born in 1876 in London. Her
:07:14. > :07:19.father was an eminent gynaecologist and her mother 's side has evidence
:07:20. > :07:26.that the are connections with significant members of society.
:07:27. > :07:30.Family holidays bring Olive to Norfolk resort. She is inspired by
:07:31. > :07:41.her private's friends at a young age. -- her parents' friends. During
:07:42. > :07:46.our family holidays in Sheringham, she stayed with her great-uncle. She
:07:47. > :07:52.would have seen with the photographs that he made. Photography for Olive
:07:53. > :07:57.is to become more than just a passing fascination when a family
:07:58. > :08:02.events take a tragic turn. Her father died unexpectedly and it's
:08:03. > :08:11.true the family into trauma. It shows something of Olive's character
:08:12. > :08:15.that they foraged on as a unit. I listening that she chose after the
:08:16. > :08:23.death of her father was photography. -- only thing that she chose. My
:08:24. > :08:34.very first attempt at a portrait, which turned my fate in 1900. Olive
:08:35. > :08:38.and her sister joined forces to set up a photographic studio in
:08:39. > :08:44.Sheringham. They worked together for several years until her sister
:08:45. > :08:48.married. They photographed together and of each other. There are
:08:49. > :08:55.photographs of many relatives. I've a member my aunt Olive as a
:08:56. > :09:02.photographer. She was working with my mother. I used to go to
:09:03. > :09:09.Sheringham as a holiday when I was about eight or nine. And Olive
:09:10. > :09:17.always wanted to take my photograph. Rankin meets Sheringham residents.
:09:18. > :09:23.She is a writer who has researched Olive's Slingsby become. This is the
:09:24. > :09:31.site of all of's first studio. This is achieved. It didn't always look
:09:32. > :09:37.like this. It was a wooden shed to begin with. It would comply with the
:09:38. > :09:45.bylaws so they took it down. It must have caused a furore eyebrows. To
:09:46. > :09:51.woman. Despite his initial setback, Olive endured herself to the locals
:09:52. > :09:56.quickly. I certainly got the impression that everybody in
:09:57. > :09:59.Sheringham new my aunt. She seemed to talk to everybody and know
:10:00. > :10:07.everything. She was always on the go. She was a dynamo. She was a very
:10:08. > :10:12.accomplished businesswoman and you see that in the branding that she
:10:13. > :10:19.created for her business, the Key Largo. You get the sense of the
:10:20. > :10:26.businesswoman who knows how to further her career. Olive becomes
:10:27. > :10:32.talk of the term, earning sufficient money running a student in London.
:10:33. > :10:37.-- of running a studio in London. She doesn't forgot her ties in
:10:38. > :10:46.Norfolk. Most are from money came in from the more well off clients. That
:10:47. > :10:50.enabled her to photograph local subjects like the local fishermen.
:10:51. > :10:57.She invited them into the studio and would give them free prints. For one
:10:58. > :11:03.Sheringham man her photographs hold a special place in his family's
:11:04. > :11:10.history. This was my great grandfather. He ran a small fish
:11:11. > :11:16.shop and he was a character. When people came to his fish shop and
:11:17. > :11:27.said, Mr Johnson, I believe there is a part of the crab we should eat,
:11:28. > :11:33.and he said yes, deadly poison, deadly poison. He popped it in his
:11:34. > :11:40.mouth and ate at two thereof. Olive showed a different side of them. She
:11:41. > :11:44.took them into the studio and got intimate portraits. One of the great
:11:45. > :11:52.strengths was to be able to get such candid pictures. It was a complex
:11:53. > :11:58.diet that they wanted to do this. -- it was a compliment to her. She
:11:59. > :12:03.could have remained a top society photographer but she chose to
:12:04. > :12:08.photograph fishermen as well. Olive's portraits of the fishermen
:12:09. > :12:11.shows that she is able to express herself more artistically for the
:12:12. > :12:19.first time. She portrays people as they are rabid than what they do. --
:12:20. > :12:21.rather than what they do. Suffragettes sit for her but she
:12:22. > :12:30.does not commit to their political cause. For her, photography is
:12:31. > :12:35.paramount. She receives the highest accolade ever given to a woman at
:12:36. > :12:40.the time. Even as the world is plunged into war, her potential is
:12:41. > :12:48.not doomed. Her star rises in prices during the war. -- prices and
:12:49. > :12:53.prices. She gets a commission to photograph the interior of Downing
:12:54. > :12:56.Street. It culminates with her being approached by the National War
:12:57. > :13:07.Museum, which would later be the imperial war Museum. Originally, the
:13:08. > :13:11.brief was to photograph woman from Britain and other nationalities
:13:12. > :13:16.moving the war but the war was over before she was able to work there.
:13:17. > :13:27.What she was able to photograph was the aftermath of war.
:13:28. > :13:35.We have a copy of the diary that Olive kept while she was travelling
:13:36. > :13:40.around Europe in 1919. Several passages detailed meeting gruff
:13:41. > :13:49.military commanders that make it clear that she -- that they think a
:13:50. > :13:55.woman's place is not on the battle ground photographing people. The
:13:56. > :14:01.driving force is Lady Florence Mono. -- Florence Bormann. The holder of
:14:02. > :14:07.this pass is expressly warned that under no circumstances is the camera
:14:08. > :14:11.or any other photographic apparat is to be brought into the zone of the
:14:12. > :14:21.armies. I signed it forever and took the risk. -- signed it however. She
:14:22. > :14:28.was given good access to women in senior and ordinarily position. Also
:14:29. > :14:34.behind the scenes, says it would and -- it wouldn't occur to a meal
:14:35. > :14:37.photographer to photograph. For example, the hairdressers that the
:14:38. > :14:38.woman used on the Western front, the only one of its kind, Olive
:14:39. > :14:52.photographed it. Sometimes her... Some of the
:14:53. > :14:57.photographs are not precisely sharp and some are blurred. She was a
:14:58. > :15:05.studio portrait photographer. This was not her natural environment to
:15:06. > :15:11.work in. I propose, said Lady Norman, that we photographed the
:15:12. > :15:15.canteen first and then have tea afterwards. To this superhuman
:15:16. > :15:20.suggestion I did my best to rise but I did not enjoy it. I think it
:15:21. > :15:25.tested her dutiful and considering all of those circumstances I think
:15:26. > :15:33.she did a superb job. -- it tested her to the full. She journeys across
:15:34. > :15:38.Canada next, taking shots of the Pacific Railroad for advertising.
:15:39. > :15:43.Reputation is sealed and back on the royal appointments keep coming.
:15:44. > :15:47.Despite the unrivalled position she has reached, personal fulfilment has
:15:48. > :15:57.eluded her. Things are set to change in 1928. Oliver was 52 when she
:15:58. > :16:04.married her husband Edwin Galsworthy. She was later marrying.
:16:05. > :16:09.Was a few years older than her. We were clearly devoted to. There is
:16:10. > :16:14.some suggestion that he represents the father figure that she lost when
:16:15. > :16:15.she was very young. Perhaps after she met him she did less
:16:16. > :16:29.professional work. With photographic work declaiming,
:16:30. > :16:37.she is happy to heal people less fortunate than ourselves. She very
:16:38. > :16:46.kindly allowed others to stay with her during the summer. I was
:16:47. > :16:51.absolutely fascinated. She had these wonderful cameras and explain to me
:16:52. > :16:57.how they worked. I watched her developing photographs. I had no
:16:58. > :17:06.idea of our importance source significance. After 20 years of
:17:07. > :17:16.marriage, Edwin died at the age of 86 in 1947. They mainly of this
:17:17. > :17:22.perfect manager keeps minicity, even happy. Her portrait stable is
:17:23. > :17:31.becoming dated, getting left behind by new techniques. She upon her
:17:32. > :17:34.entrepreneurial exports -- resources. Rankin is about to find
:17:35. > :17:45.out that she phoned each surprisingly new way of working.
:17:46. > :17:51.This is examples of later work. She revisited some of her previous work,
:17:52. > :18:01.going back 20 years with the local fishermen. She decided that by
:18:02. > :18:13.capturing the original image, she could turn them into oil paintings.
:18:14. > :18:21.This is quite a unique reinvention. For me, the photographs beneath a
:18:22. > :18:25.report out the most interesting. Definitely, this women had their
:18:26. > :18:32.real gift for challenging what people thought of her and her work.
:18:33. > :18:47.To be doing this into her 70s. That is fascinating. One day, and
:18:48. > :18:52.aspiring photographer called Cyril Nunn visited her. She was too busy
:18:53. > :18:59.and turned him away, but he started working later as the general
:19:00. > :19:08.handyman. I am sure he was claiming the techniques that Olive had used.
:19:09. > :19:13.He was a tremendous benefit to all in later years. They became very
:19:14. > :19:21.close. As for health field, she became more and more dependent on
:19:22. > :19:31.several. I am going to ask you to act as an executor to Ray will. You
:19:32. > :19:36.will be a beneficiary. I have had to submit to the examination of
:19:37. > :19:43.specialists. The heart man discovered something else wrong
:19:44. > :19:54.yesterday. In 1955, and the age of 17, Olive died. She is buried
:19:55. > :20:06.alongside Edwin and her mother in a grave in sharing certain symmetry.
:20:07. > :20:14.-- sharing. But would it be possible that her immense contribution to
:20:15. > :20:17.photography date with her? The visit the house that all the moves to
:20:18. > :20:28.after her marriage. He is a booted the famed a final twist in her
:20:29. > :20:41.story. She left Cyril Nunn all for equipment. He bought the house. It
:20:42. > :20:51.has been left just as it was when it was last used. So, by this point,
:20:52. > :21:03.several had become a photographer? Yes, it was difficult rain. He was
:21:04. > :21:13.the photographer in the area. So, basically, she taught him everything
:21:14. > :21:18.she knew? Absolutely. Evidence that Olive 's legacy was not forgotten
:21:19. > :21:24.came courtesy of a local historian. I was talking to a person who had
:21:25. > :21:35.the collection of photographs taken by all. I was not allowed to see it.
:21:36. > :21:43.That was a strong feature about Cyril Nunn. Nobody was allowed to
:21:44. > :21:50.see the collection. He said he had it stored. He said he had some in
:21:51. > :21:58.the studio, some in the attic. I became very concerned that a big
:21:59. > :22:02.collection would get damaged by the likes of temperature only years.
:22:03. > :22:08.However, the came a time when I got a call and he said to me, I think it
:22:09. > :22:15.is about time the collection was sold. Could you do that? I said they
:22:16. > :22:22.would be deleted. It took several carloads. I took everything back
:22:23. > :22:32.even to this very room. I catalogued every single thing. The model did
:22:33. > :22:38.not know about Olive. -- what you want.
:22:39. > :22:49.The biggest recipient of the collection was the museum. We get a
:22:50. > :23:03.phone: 2007 are offering this part of her collection. The really
:23:04. > :23:14.directly to what they do. They are exceptional. Absolutely exceptional.
:23:15. > :23:24.Is that one of the cameras? That is one of the cameras that she used.
:23:25. > :23:34.Could they have a go with it? If I wear my gloves? Yes. I was laughing
:23:35. > :23:42.because I had the overwhelming temptation to see normal! You should
:23:43. > :23:50.probably see that. It is a bit praise position. I promise you I
:23:51. > :24:00.will handle it as carefully as possible. Having been given a chance
:24:01. > :24:07.to use the camera, that is one problem he had not accounted for. I
:24:08. > :24:11.have been asked to try and make some commerce plates to replicate what
:24:12. > :24:16.all those dead. That is a bit of an issue with the materials that she
:24:17. > :24:23.used. I have been making some plates from scratch. Whether we will work
:24:24. > :24:36.or not is a bit of an unknown. Fingers crossed. We have only got
:24:37. > :24:45.four to play with. Take the lens cap. We have got a stop watch. We
:24:46. > :25:02.are probably looking at an exposure time of between 10-15 seconds. No
:25:03. > :25:08.pressure! See, two, one. One elephant, to elephant, see elephant.
:25:09. > :25:19.I got up to eight elephants. That is a lot of elephants. With the former
:25:20. > :25:20.studio prepared for use once more, Lord of the Rings Stargardt Hill has
:25:21. > :25:46.arrived. -- they Hill. You have to do remain fairly stable.
:25:47. > :26:03.This makes my job seem very easy. It was the moment of truth. Wish me
:26:04. > :26:07.luck. Ready? We will do some more elephants. One elephant, to
:26:08. > :26:13.elephants, three elephants, for elephants. I did not even look at
:26:14. > :26:34.you! I am really nervous. The four
:26:35. > :26:40.negatives have been processed and much to his relief, there is an
:26:41. > :26:47.image on each one. At least they came out. I am very happy about
:26:48. > :27:03.that. It was no time to make a print. Let me hold it. While! That
:27:04. > :27:14.is literally like going back in time. That is incredible. My
:27:15. > :27:24.reputation was on the wane. Apart from a stress, I enjoy being able to
:27:25. > :27:30.handle a camera of that age and quality and to see how she worked.
:27:31. > :27:38.To experience that first hand was really exciting. I am very excited
:27:39. > :27:48.to see the pictures. It was a really. Very fascinating. I think
:27:49. > :27:55.the extraordinary thing about all of was that no photographer photographs
:27:56. > :28:12.such a range of society in the Rishi did. Men dominated society. The work
:28:13. > :28:17.that Olive did was fairly sophisticated and very much at the
:28:18. > :28:26.cutting edge of what photography was at that time. To see something so
:28:27. > :28:32.magical draw me in remains me just why I love photography. -- remains
:28:33. > :29:05.me. Hello, I'm Riz Lateef
:29:06. > :29:07.with your 90 second update. Ten people have been
:29:08. > :29:09.killed in an explosion It happened in the city
:29:10. > :29:12.of St Petersburg. It's been treated
:29:13. > :29:15.as a terror attack. Seven people have been charged
:29:16. > :29:18.with violent disorder.