The so-called “golden age” of Antioqueño photography (1880-1920) came about primarily thanks to the unwavering vocation of pioneers such as Fermín Isaza, Rafael Sanín, Vicente and Pastor Restrepo, Ricardo Wills, and Miguel Gutiérrez, but also as a consequence of the region’s economic modernization. This phenomenon contributed enormously to the dissemination of the craft’s own techniques, but above all, to a considerable reduction in the costs associated with production. This unleashed what we might define as a sort of democratization of access to photography, and one of the figures who would be faithful proof of this is Benjamín de la Calle (1869-1934). This photographer, a native of Yarumal, managed to contribute to the expansion of the Antioqueño visual repertoire, due, among other things, to the central location of his photographic studio, between the market and the train station, and to the modest prices he offered by word of mouth and in the first General Directory of Medellín (1906). His competitiveness in the quality-price ratio was attractive to those groups of musicians, students, union workers, teachers, soldiers, etc., who needed to leave a mostly commemorative record of their activity or formation. These group photographs not only reflect the society and influences in which they are framed, but also reveal certain traits of compositional freedom that give dynamism to the images, leaving evidence not only of that institutional or promotional collectivity crafted for the lens, but also of that more spontaneous and everyday social life.
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