Donald Horne uses a hepful metaphor to open The Great Museum.

He describes the

normal behaviour of the devotees of a particular cult. These devotees are in fact tourists

who as he says “are trying to imagine the past.”1Photography is related to tourism

inasmuch it makes the tourist’s experience real, according to Horne: “...;by

photographing a monument, we make it real. It also offers us the joys of possession,...”2.

His theory is based on the idea that the tourist’s camera defines the tourist’s experience,

establishes the definitions of reality according to this experience and gives the tourist

the chance to own the space and time where and when the tourist is tourist, as no other

mean has been able to do before. As Susan Sontag says “To collect photographs is to

collect the world”3 and “To photograph is to appropiate the thing photographed.”4 The

tourist becomes a tourist as much as he/she is able to possess the photographed, which

becomes the landscape, historical site or cultural icon once is photographed.

This experience the tourist seeks to possess through photography is directly affected by

nostalgia. In addition to Horne’s idea of past5, John Frow studies the relationship

between tourism and nostalgia in his Tourism and the Semiotics of Nostalgia6. Tourism

has developed at the same time than mass culture has made the experience available to

all through cameras: “from the observing traveler to the possessive tourist, and from the

world as being to the world as simulacrum.”7 To find out how this change has come

about it is necessary to consider the main developments within the photographic world

since it became available for the tourists’ use.

1
Donald Horne, The Great Museum: The Re-presentation of History (London: Pluto Press Limited,
1984), p. 1.
2
Donald Horne, The Great Museum: The Re-presentation of History (London: Pluto Press Limited,
1984), p. 12.
3
Susan Sontag, On Photography (London: Penguin Books, 1979), p. 3.
4
Susan Sontag, On Photography (London: Penguin Books, 1979), p. 4.
5
Donald Horne, The Great Museum: The Re-presentation of History (London: Pluto Press Limited,
1984), p. 26.
6
John Frow, ‘Tourism and the Semiotics of Nostalgia’, October, 57 (1991), 123-151.
7
John Frow, ‘Tourism and the Semiotics of Nostalgia’, October, 57 (1991), 123-151 (p. 142).
John Taylor refers to “the illusion of ownership” that country guides offered the lower

and middle classes in England from the 1920’s to the 1940’s8 . As this particular period

of history enabled the creation of a lower to middle class in England who sought after

the stability and security that the Great War had taken away, Taylor explains that

tourism in the countryside grew dramatically, at the same time that Kodak cameras were

made available to the majority of the population. As the industrial era came about, mass

consumption increased. The period in-between wars saw the phenomenon of tourism

reach through class divisions, and camera in hand, English people learned a new idea of

picturesque countryside which gave the nation a notion of identity. It was the un-spoilt

non-urban spaces that captivated the imagination of the masses appealing through once

again nostalgia to recover the shaken English values after the First World War: “ The

guides focused upon history, topography, and antiquarian interest, demonstrated the

virtue of self-improvement, and advocated the beauty, heritage, or legacy of England.”9

As the urban centres were growing unstopably, the appeal of the rural, the yet

undiscovered and unvisited, the roots of England, increased side by side. In a world

where changes were too quick to understand, the people sought refuge in the past, and

took along their Kodak cameras so that they could own that piece of the past and take it

home.

Brochures and travel books depicting this ideal of countryside found their place in the

market of commodities, as one of the best examples is In Search of England by H.V.

Morton:

8
John Taylor, ‘Kodak and the ‘English’ Market between the Wars’, Journal of Design History, 7, No. 1
(1994), 29-42 (p. 31).
9
John Taylor, ‘Kodak and the ‘English’ Market between the Wars’, Journal of Design History, 7, No. 1
(1994), 29-42 (p. 31).
The idea of English countryside, unspoilt green spaces and serenity is expressed through

the use of the typical village elements.

In the following early Kodak advert 10 the idea of owning photographs as a way of

owning an experience and making it real it is clear. The illustration depicts a moment of

leisure, leisure time that had been commodified inasmuch society had become

industrial. Kodak persuades the masses that the fun it is not to be had for the sake of it,

but it is to be photographed, as the fun part of it is to show the photographs, to make the

moment theirs, therefore making it timeless. In a society where materialism becomes

the main ideology, owning a moment in time becomes essential:

10
http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/eaa/kodak/K04/K0422-72dpi.jpeg
In the following example of Kodak advertisement the ownership of time is being

referred to again. The idea that the tourist moment can be revisited time and time again

without the same expense of travel and money whenever we please is illustrated11. The

photographs used on the advertisement to show the travellers’ experience depict every

action they are expected to take on a given trip: they are seen loading the vehicle with

lugagge, setting up their tents, canooing through a river... every photo shows an idea

that the social imagination produces, towards which everyone can aspire to. The viewers

are shown what they should do once in the countryside, the photographs spell it out for

them. The language of the image, the copy of the reality of a moment is more powerful

than the text. The idea of nature and wilderness as opposed to the life in the city is

depicted through photographs of exotic animals. The iconic idea of leisure that is

11
http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/eaa/kodak/K03/K0364-72dpi.jpeg
printed in the common social mind is only real because it can be seen through

photographs, it can be owned therefore it is.

In the following photogaph taken by Bill Brandt in 1947 Stonehenge is depicted under

snow12. As a photographer he contributed to several illustrated magazines during the

period between the World Wars. The viewer can immediately relate to the photo, even

though they might have never visited the site, it is understood it stands for English

culture and past, heritage and identity. Once exposed to this representation of England

unlimitedly it is safely assumed that these are not just stones put together hundreds of

years ago, but the nation has inherited the space therefore when visiting it becomes

necessary to photograph it to prove its existance. It is really just like its depiction as

there is a photograph to prove it.

12
Hill Brandt Stonehenge Under Show 1947
http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/photography/photographer.php?photographerid=ph011&row=1
As the cultural space called Stonehenge becomes its photograph, its representation gets

mass produced:

Originally the silhoutte of stones could represent only the expression of an ancient

culture. It then gets photographed to become an icon and develop a meaning without the
spatial factor. Then it makes its way onto the brochures and postcards to advertise its

non existent self. The postcard is a vital show of the experience as a tourist visiting

Stonehenge. Stongehenge as a circle of stones has long ago lost its original meaning, to

become the time we have spent there.

Steven Hoelscher approaches the history of the relationship between tourism and

photography from the American point of view. In his article about photographer H.H.

Bennett he says: “Acquiring photographs gives shape to travel as it informs what the

viewer should see, how it should be seen, and when it should be seen- all in a matter-of-

fact and seemingly “unmediated” way.”13 He is referring to the role of photography as

an essential aid to the widespread of tourism as a mass-culture activity. Using the same

example already used, when visiting Stonehenge the viewer is told what it is to be seen,

to be photographed, to be purchased and to revisit once back home.

By exposure and acquired cultural education it is understood that the tourist needs to

photograph the visited space as otherwise its existence in the tourist reality is

jeopardized. The two images above show the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. The left image is

a postcard from the beginning of the XX century14. The right image belongs to a

personal experience as a visitor in Istanbul. Not only the photograph needs to be taken

13
Steven Hoelscher, ‘The Photographic Construction of Tourist Space in Victorian America’,
Geographical Review, 88, No. 4, J.B. Jackson and Geography (1998), pp. 548-570 (p. 549).
14
http://www.old-istanbul.com/Page5/sahmet2.jpg
as the tourist has been taught that their memory is not enough to guarantee and preserve

its existance. If the tourist can be framed in the photograph the experience is

personalized. The tourist was there as the photograph can proof. The qualities of the

camera makes it very difficult to dispute the reality of the tourist. A painting used to be

the means to protrait a scene. Photography is trustworthy. There is no doubt that these

tourists were in Istanbul. They might not know much about the Blue Mosque. What they

do know is that to be able to experience the tourist visit it is required that they

photograph it and if feasable, they appear in the frame to make Istanbul truly theirs.

In a world where globalizing tendencies have shrunk distances between peoples,

whereby means like the internet an individual is able to “be” in several places at the

same time (new concepts like “working from home” or “business travellers” have

changed the face of interpersonal communications) the phtographic image becomes

invaluable. Text and language belong to the multicultural society, they are varied and

they are not accessible to all. Images can be understood by all. The tourist experience

through a lense has become a new type of discourse in contemporary times. A new

language that can be talked by all, shared by all and understood by all.

Through photos tourists are shown the experience to be had:

These three examples of tourist photography found on a website functioning as a travel

guide15 show what Benidorm should be for the visitors. For the English tourist market

15
http://www.benidorm.world-guides.com/benidorm_attractions.html
Benidorm is transformed to a cheap holiday with sea and Sun. Benidorm is no longer a

Spanish coastal town. Benidorm is an experience available for all at affordable prices.

British visitors are exposed to this image of the holiday: the Sun shines, the beaches are

bursting with life, the swimming pools are safely crowded with kids. It has become a

week of cheap food and drinks, of Sun and sand. Even the idea of an urban centre

behind Benidorm has been shed a while ago. As a mimic reaction, the tourist will

imitate and copy this meaning time and time again. With cameras they will be able to

reproduce the experience and make it everlasting, communicating through them the

meaning they have given to “Benidorm”.

But nowadays this kind of tourist experience is only one of many. As mass-culture

reaches its peak, the offer for so-called alternative tourists diversifies and grows. We can

be certain that even the most anti-tourist traveller will be catered for.

As these photographs show16 there is also another type of tourist. One more interested in

an individual personalized experience, which hopefully enriches him/her and fills them

16
http://www.travelwithachallenge.com/Consulting.htm
with knowledge. Still, the photographic language is a very familiar one. The photograph

shows the activity to be had, the monument to pose next to. The website photograph

shows the photograph that needs to be taken. They still educate the viewer in the

experience to be had thanks to the camera.

Tourist photography also serves as a means of comunication for the anti-tourist

message. Tourism en masse is commonly asociated with exploitation of local resources

and capitalism in general:

In this first example of anti-tourism photograph it can be safely assumed that the

photograph was actually taken by a tourist17. Does his or her tourist experience differ to

others as they are not trying to appropiate the local cultural heritage with their cameras?

They are still making a memento of their experience to take with them, whether they are

in agreement with such a statement or not. It still shows and proofs that they were there,

not only that, they can assume that their experience was even more real as they dared to

expose the local antagonism against their own visit.

17
http://www.flickr.com/photos/weeche/216591856/
The tourist identity has been determined by the camera and the experience it provides

them with:

Both these examples of photography18 depict the iconic idea of the meaning of tourist.

Tourists do not have eyes anymore. They have cameras and through them they are able

to see the world. Without them the world is not their reality. On group holidays taking

the photograph has become more important than admiring the sight. Tourists are told

they will have time to take the necessary photograph so that their visit is worthwhile.

Otherwise it becomes valueless.

Photography enables the tourist to exist. Both as a subject of the photograph or as the

viewer the tourist can’t escape its power. The tourist is bound to feel a certain degree of

18
http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/3225881.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=27D044C0A019FA6C310
FCDDE3EA62152A55A1E4F32AD3138 and http://www.flickr.com/photos/erin_nicole/2142473499/
frustration precisely because of this. Frow cites Levi-Strauss when dealing with the

Irresoluble Paradox: “the less one culture communicates with another, the less likely

they are to be corrupted, one by the other; but, on the other hand, the less likely it is, in

such conditions, that the respective emissaries of these cultures will be able to seize the

richness and significance of their diversity. The alternative is inescapable: either I am a

traveler in ancient times, and faced with a prodigious spectacle which would be almost

entirely unintelligible to me and might,indeed, provoke me to mockery or disgust; or I

am a traveler of our own day, hastening in search of a vanished reality.”19Tourist go in

search of the symbols exposed by photography, symbols they are familiar with and are

able to comprehend, hence the need to make the icon ours. Comfronted with symbols

and signs not able to understand, tourists lose their quality of tourist, become not

interested at its best, possibly apathetic and intolerant once challenged by a reality that it

is not theirs, and it will never be theirs as they cannot relate to it nor own it. There is a

certain degree of anxiety when visiting a well known cultural enclave and tourists are

not able to confirm and fulfill their expectations by visiting the symbol of such place. It

is only when the tourists look back at the photographs of themselves on the Empire

State Building that they can safely say and assume they were indeed in New York City.

They could have been anywhere else in the world, up until that moment when they are

able to make the city theirs, as the city is the Empire State Building:

19
John Frow, ‘Tourism and the Semiotics of Nostalgia’, October, 57 (1991), 123-151 (p. 132).
It is only once the Empire State Building is seen20 the tourist can rest assured they are in

New York.

Using the common language of photography, nostalgia gives the tourist experience an

insolvable paradox: “This is the paradox of the impossible appropiation of the Other

repeated with an economic vengeance; and it is a paradox that rebounds, since any place

at all can become the cultural Other of tourism”.21The search of a utopian reality throws

the tourists into the world, makes them shoot the cultural reference they are familiar

with, lets them think it becomes theirs and enables them to go back happily thinking

they own a portion of the world and its past. It is only when the moment of realization

of this paradox becomes real that the tourist experience becomes frustrated. Still, the

mass-culture and capitalist mechanisms to protect their experience are many and

powerful, photography being the most important of all.

20
http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/40/013_MR749~Empire-State-Building-Posters.jpg
21
John Frow, ‘Tourism and the Semiotics of Nostalgia’, October, 57 (1991), 123-151 (p. 151)..
Horne, Donald, The Great Museum: The Re-presentation of History (London: Pluto

Press Limited, 1984).

Taylor, John , ‘Kodak and the ‘English’ Market between the Wars’, Journal of Design

History, 7, No. 1 (1994), 29-42.

Sontag, Susan, On Photography (London: Penguin Books, 1979).

Frow, John, ‘Tourism and the Semiotics of Nostalgia’, October, 57 (1991), 123-151.

Hoelscher, Steven, ‘The Photographic Construction of Tourist Space in Victorian

America’, Geographical Review, 88, No. 4, J.B. Jackson and Geography (1998), pp.

548-570.