Sunny Snaps: Beach and Street Photography in Britain celebrates the work of the commercial portrait photographer active in the heyday of the British seaside.Exhibition curator, Colin Harding, who has spent years researching and compiling the photographs said: "The itinerant photographer or 'smudger' was as much a part of the British seaside as fish and chips, yet they have been all but erased from the history of photography. The photographic establishment looked down on them and the photographic historian has ignored them.

"There are some fantastic images taken by these photographers which play an important role in documenting Britons at leisure. It was big business from the 1930s to the '50s and I felt it should be celebrated not ignored. It's also a great opportunity to bring back those summer holiday memories. "

Mr Harding has borrowed many of the photographs that make up the exhibitions from fellow enthusiasts, who trawl car boot sales, postcard fairs and eBay.

The story of commercial beach photography mirrors the rise and decline of the British seaside resort. During the 19th century, the genteel resorts for the rich became holiday playgrounds for the masses and photographers produced cheap "while you wait" portraits for day-trippers. As technology moved on and competition increased beach photographers adopted a number of gimmicks, from the "head-through-hole'" backdrops which could portray holiday makers as anything from Tarzan and Jane to crying babies, to a variety of props such as stuffed animals. But the demise of the beach photographer was inevitable.

"A number of factors contributed to the decline of the British seaside, and therefore the beach and street photography industry, including the increase in popularity and affordability of package holidays abroad, and almost universal camera ownership," says Mr Harding.

Mr Harding adds: "The days of the 'smudger' were numbered, but they left behind a valuable record of Britons having fun on holiday during that period."


Sunny Snaps: Beach and Street Photography in Britain will be at the The National Media Museum's Gallery Two summer exhibition until August 31. The museum would like people to upload their own seaside snaps pre-1985. Visit www.nationalmedia museum.org.uk/sunnysnaps/YourSnaps.asp