Harold “Joe” Ballantine joined The Hamilton Spectator as the first staff photographer in 1935; he marked the beginning of a transition away from daguerreotype, lithograph and drawings as the dominant means of visual storytelling for the paper. Ballantine carried the industry’s hallmark large Speed Graphic camera and flash gun and wore the pressman’s fedora of the era. He covered everything from royal visits, to Grey Cups, accidents, fires and famous celebrities as well as the infamous Evelyn Dick trial. His talent helped fill the pages of the Spectator for 42 years before he retired as chief photographer in 1977. Framing History: Photojournalism and The Hamilton Spectator will give viewers insight into the photographers who came after Joe Ballantine, and will showcase over eight decades of images, including top news events and pop culture moments that defined our community, and the human moments large and small that reflect our ever-changing city. The Hamilton Spectator was founded on July 15, 1846.
Framing History: Photojournalism and The Hamilton Spectator is one of many initiatives planned for the community as part of a year-long celebration of the 170 years of committed written and visual storytelling.
Organized by the Hamilton Spectator and the Art Gallery of Hamilton in both the Jean and Ross Fischer Gallery and at the AGH Annex
Header image: Barry Gray, Plastimet (detail), 1997, The Hamilton Spectator
