Quake spurred birth of citizen photojournalism

SAN FRANCISCO — Being assigned to shoot TV segments for the centenary of one of the greatest U.S. disasters, the Great Quake and Fire of 1906, was a reminder that the event was one of the first major stories to be covered by both moving and still photography.

Perhaps more notable, it also saw the birth of the citizen photojournalist.

After the ground stopped shaking and people took account of themselves and their families that April morning, they did what many people would do today. They journeyed out into the streets of San Francisco and began taking photographs.

The "Brownie"
And like many innovations, it was made possible by a technical advance, in this case the Kodak Brownie camera.

"There were thousands of people who owned the little Kodaks — with the drop-in roll of film — and they grabbed their cameras and ran into the streets,” said James Dalessandro, a San Francisco filmmaker.

“So there are literally tens of thousands of photographs taken by amateurs," Dalessandro said, "and some of the most striking images were actually taken by amateurs." 

The Brownie cameras were first introduced in 1900. "It was the great Christmas and birthday gift, so there were thousands in San Francisco,” said Dalessandro. “It was the first major disaster that was ever photographed at that level."

Special report: Not ready for next big quake Slide show: San Francisco then and now   Special Webcast: '60 Seconds and a Fire' Can't predict the Big One? Bring on the pets! NBC: Forecasting quakes? A matter of seconds Interactive: When, where's the next Big One? What else happened in 1906? Take our quiz FULL COVERAGE

But not all of the disaster was covered with the same intensity. Although several hundred thousand photographs were taken, the shooting all but stopped after a few days. 

"You'll notice if you look at the thousands of photographs," Dalessandro said, "that there's a lot of the earthquake damage, and of the early fires and of people streaming down Market Street, and the [first two days of the] fire. There is very little of the last day, when the flames are incredibly high, and when the Navy was evacuating people, because they simply ran out of film. They also were fleeing for their lives."

Not all amateurs
Not all of the photographers were nameless amateurs. Famed writer Jack London ("The Call of the Wild," "White Fang"), also a talented lensman, was one.

On the morning of the quake, London and his wife, Charmian, were woken by the ground shaking at their home in Sonoma, about 50 miles north of the city. In the early dawn light they could see San Francisco burning. They grabbed their cameras, the made their way to the city by horse and train, and by nightfall were wandering through San Francisco taking pictures and interviewing survivors. Many of the photographs they took were published in the magazines of the time.

MORE FROM SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE 1906

San Francisco Earthquake 1906 Section Front

Interactive: When's the next Big One? Slide show: The Big One, then and now San Franciscans mark quake moment Special Report: Not ready for next one After 1906, wedding bells and basinets Special Webcast: '60 Seconds and a Fire' NBC: How much would 1906 quake cost now? NBC: Yes, they remember the 1906 quake NBC: Quake spurred citizen photojournalism NBC: Predicting quakes? Seconds count San Francisco Earthquake 1906 Section Front   Add San Francisco Earthquake 1906 headlines to your news reader: