How one magazine transformed British photography
Ship Of Life Films have announced the release of their new documentary, Picture Stories, about the life and legacy of Picture Post, the revolutionary magazine which shaped perceptions of British life during and after the Second World War.
Ahead of its UK theatrical release on the 24th September, the documentary will also have special screenings at the Royal Photographic Society in Bristol on 15th September, and the Photography Show (NEC Birmingham) on 18th September. Following the UK theatrical release, Picture Stories will be released on digital download on 30th September.
Britain's best-selling magazine during the Second World War, and hugely influential for years after, Picture Post revolutionised the picture magazine, showing Britain to the British in a fundamentally new way.
Using the freedom of new camera technology, Picture Post's photographers portrayed the lives of ordinary people, at home, on the street, unposed - in a way they had never been seen before.
Through its powerful, socially committed picture stories, Picture Post helped to transform post-war Britain, and change the face of British photography.
The story of this iconic magazine is told by its photographers, writers and editors. Leading contemporary photographers reflect on Picture Post's extraordinary images and influence.
Commenting on the release, film director Rob West stated; "Picture Post is arguably the most important magazine in British social history. It was born under the threat of War, and survived and flourished under the intense bombardment of the Blitz. Extraordinarily, during the height of World War II, Picture Post was looking ahead to post-War life and to the possibility of fundamental social reform.
Picture Post had a huge impact on national awareness of social conditions in Britain and of the need for a comprehensive welfare state and a national health service. It brought cutting-edge photography, and the picture story, to a mass audience. It changed people's understanding of their own country by showing, vividly, what British life was really like.
I wanted to bring the extraordinary story of Picture Post and its photographers to modern audiences. Many of things we take for granted in photography, and our understanding of photographs and picture layout, started with Picture Post. Many of our ideas about British society were forged by Picture Post and its unique group of creators."
