John Thomson (14 juin 1837 – 29 septembre 1921) était un photographe, géographe et voyageur écossais pionnier. Il a été l'un des premiers photographes à se rendre À L'Extrême-Orient, en documentant les gens, les paysages et les artefacts des cultures orientales. Lors de son retour à la maison, son travail parmi les habitants de la rue de Londres a cimenté sa réputation et est considéré comme une instance classique de documentaire social qui a posé les bases du photojournalisme. Il est ensuite devenu photographe de portrait de la High Society à Mayfair, gagnant l'Adjudant royal en 1881. Thomson a beaucoup voyagé dans Chin
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John Thomson (14 June 1837 – 29 September 1921) was a pioneering Scottish photographer, geographer and traveller. He was one of the first photographers to travel to the Far East, documenting the people, landscapes and artifacts of eastern cultures. Upon returning home, his work among the street people of London cemented his reputation, and is regarded as a classic instance of social documentary which laid the foundations for photojournalism. He went on to become a portrait photographer of High Society in Mayfair, gaining the Royal Warrant in 1881. Thomson travelled extensively throughout China, from the southern trading ports of Hong Kong and Canton to the cities of Peking and Shanghai, to the Great Wall in the north, and deep into central China. From 1870 to 1871 he visited the Fukien region, travelling up the Min River by boat with the American Protestant missionary Reverend Justus Doolittle, and then visited Amoy and Swatow. He went on to visit the island of Formosa (Taiwan) with the missionary Dr. James Laidlaw Maxwell, landing first in Takao in early April 1871. The pair visited the capital, Taiwanfu, before travelling on to the aboriginal villages on the west plains of the island. After leaving Formosa, Thomson spent the next three months travelling 3, 000 miles up the Yangtze River, reaching Hupeh and Szechuan. Thomson's travels in China were often perilous, as he visited remote, almost unpopulated regions far inland. Most of the people he encountered had never seen a Westerner or camera before. His expeditions were also especially challenging because he had to transport his bulky wooden camera, many large, fragile glass plates, and potentially explosive chemicals. He photographed in a wide variety of conditions and often had to improvise because chemicals were difficult to acquire. His subject matter varied enormously: from humble beggars and street people to Mandarins, Princes and senior government officials; from remote mo