Photography and the Smithsonian were born within a decade of each other in the mid-19th century. Today the Smithsonian has more than 13 million images in some 700 collections throughout our 19 museums, 9 research centers, and the National Zoo.

THE BIGGER PICTURE, a blog produced by the Smithsonian Photography Initiative (SPI), a division of the Smithsonian Institution Archives, presents an inside look at the Smithsonian’s photography collections and invites audiences to engage in a discussion about photography’s powerful impact on our world.

Contributing Authors

The blog is produced by the Smithsonian Photography Initiative (SPI) in collaboration with guest contributors from throughout the Smithsonian.

Categories

Collections in Focus: A behind-the-scenes look at the Smithsonian’s photo collections from researchers, archivists, curators and other Smithsonian staff.

Inside click!: click! photography changes everything is an SPI program examining how photography shapes our culture and our lives. Here, we will update you on our ongoing research and discoveries as well as keep you informed of how to participate.

News in the Visual: A discussion around the latest ideas and issues in visual culture.

See Here: A daily look at a photograph selected from Smithsonian collections.  See Here launches with a series of images exploring the ways the Smithsonian uses photography to document and communicate its work and history.

Smithsonian in the Commons: The Smithsonian joined the Flickr Commons in June 2008. In this section, we will answer questions from Flickr members and share our observations as our photos reach larger audiences.

Contact Us

THE BIGGER PICTURE is intended to present multiple perspectives about the cultural impact of photography. We hope that you will participate in the dialogue by commenting on our posts.

To contact a member of the editorial team, please email us.

Commenting Guidelines

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Disclaimer

THE BIGGER PICTURE may contain the personal opinions of Smithsonian Institution staff and does not necessarily represent the official Smithsonian Institution (SI) position on these matters. Links to external Internet sites from SI Web pages do not constitute SI’s endorsement of the content of their Web sites or of their policies or products. The Smithsonian does not willingly collect personally identifiable information from children under the age of 13.

For more guidelines on the use of content in this blog, please review the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use.