| Summary: |
This paper presents an outline of the development of photography in Burma from the early colonial period to the end of the 1980s. It explores the relationship between early studios and the training of Burma-born photographers, the expansion of the photographic economy in the 1950s, and the challenges created by nationalisation after 1963. Using extensive interviews with local photographers and archival materials, it explores innovations around photography in the longer term. In doing so, it argues that recent developments using digital media are part of a much longer tradition of local technical innovation than is usually considered the case. |
