Claude Constant Laval I (November 8, 1882 – February 20, 1966), commonly known as Pop Laval, was an American

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

during the early 1900s who specialized in documenting

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; Spanish language in California, Spanish: ''Valle de San Joaquín'') is the southern half of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. Famed as a major breadbasket, the San Joaquin Valley is an importa ...

and Sierra Nevada mountains, particularly featuring

Fresno Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

. As a prolific photographer producing approximately one hundred thousand negatives, his 55-year legacy features people, and not just scenic photography. Pop Laval Foundation, run by Laval's great-granddaughter, Elizabeth Laval, is seeking to preserve and reintroduce Laval's work to students, history buffs and researchers. In pursuit of a career in photography, he invested in new equipment and began documenting various incidents with his camera. His photography also encompassed a wide variety of nature scenes.

Biography

He was born on November 8, 1882, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In the early 1900s, he moved to Pennsylvania and from there to

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

. He died on February 20, 1966, in

Legacy

Much of his career was spent with

Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his Monochrome photography, black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association ...

, as they captured the essence of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Working with Adams taught him how to be meticulous in keeping ledgers and records of all of his photographs. These ledgers have proven to be a source of great insight into the development of California's Central Valley. Laval's photographs portray various aspects of life in the Central Valley, including but not limited to, agricultural practices, city-wide events, family gatherings, and even infrastructural change. As his career progressed, he became a pioneer in movie cameras, which thrust him into a media career. He worked with various news stations to broadcast events in the Central Valley to people throughout the world. Today, his negatives are in the process of being digitized in order to preserve the rich and diverse history of the Central Valley.Pop Laval Foundation

"About Us" An exhibit of his work is housed at the fairgrounds of

The Big Fresno Fair The Big Fresno Fair, founded in 1884, is an annual fair held at the Fresno County Fairgrounds. The Big Fresno Fair is managed by the 21st District Agricultural Association, an entity of the California Department of Food and Agriculture The Cal ...

External links

American Heritage Article

References

20th-century American photographers People from Fresno, California Photographers from New York City 1882 births 1966 deaths {{US-photographer-stub