First Photos of the Grand Canyon

Jack Hillers, USGS First Photographer of the Grand Canyon

August 20, 1872. “Broke camp 8 a.m. Ran a buster of a rapid. All OK. Came to a portage, made it, then ran rapid after rapid. Camped for dinner at the head of a big rapid. Made pictures. Camped early. Made some pictures of a side cañon. Walls of cañon 200 feet. The Cañonita got full of water, and not having securely tied the bag in which our negatives were kept got wet and were spoiled threw them away. Made one portage and ran 12 rapids.” Cold and wet, Jack Hillers hastily scrawled the words by firelight into his simple leatherbound diary. The newly appointed photographer-in-chief of the second Powell expedition through the Grand Canyon had survived another day. German born, John K. (Jack) Hillers first met the famous one-armed explorer John Wesley Powell in Salt Lake City, in May of 1871. The two hit it off immediately, and Powell signed on the redheaded Hillers as a boatman for the expedition.

It was on the upper end of the Green River when Hillers first became intrigued with photography, while helping E.O. Beaman, the appointed expedition photographer and his assistant, Walter Clement (Clem) Powell (John Wesley's cousin) with the care of the photographic equipment: large format wooden cameras, portable darkrooms, thick glass plate negatives, and unstable chemicals needed for the collodian wetplate process. Later, the work of unpacking and portaging cameras and supplies, a necessary chore at each major rapid, became Hillers' task, along with his regular duties as boatman, cook, teamster, fisherman, fuel gatherer, and general handyman. In addition to the extra work, the job allowed Hillers to ask questions of the photographer and learn the intricacies of technique.

In late November, 1871, Powell discharged Beaman, and in March of 1872, while the crew repaired the boats and mended equipment, Powell enlisted a new chief photographer, James Fennemore of Salt Lake City. The selection started in motion events which would lead to a key turning point in Hillers' career and, eventually, his life.

Fredrick S. Dellenbaugh, artist for the expedition, later recalled these events for photography historian Robert Taft: “James Fennemore came. He was an excellent photographer and a genial fellow... he was good to Hillers and gave him much instruction with the result that Hillers became expert in the work.

In the summer of 1872, as we prepared to enter the Grand Canyon, Fennemore was taken sick . . . [and] could not proceed. And we could not find anyone else who desired to do the Grand Canyon with us . . . there was nothing for it but to make Jack Hillers photographer-in-chief. He was equal to the job. In spite of enormous difficulties, great fatigue, shortage of grub, etc., he made a number of first-class negatives.”for making large photographic trans-parencies on glass which were used at a number of national and international expositions and fairs at the turn of the century. But most importantly, Hillers had a good eye for composition and detail.

While overcoming incredible physical odds, and using one of the most exact-ing of photographic processes, Jack Hillers' work actually went far beyond that of merely recording the land and movements of the Powell expedition for the United States Geological Survey.

The subtle composition and his eye for the inner beauty of the Canyon combined with his technical expertise to place the images in the realm of fine art, critics agree.

Photo Historian Don D. Fowler wrote of Hillers: “Hillers' work ranks with other great 19th century photographers. He was the first to photograph the Grand Canyon. He developed a process

Many of his photographs are true masterpieces.”

Hillers was truly amazed at what he saw in the Grand Canyon and conveyed his wonderment, awe, and heartfelt respect through the photography he produced.

Hillers went on to become the chief photographer for the Bureau of Ethnology (which was under the direction of Powell) and in 1881, became the photographer-in-chief of the United States Geological Survey. He remained in that prestigious position until his retirement in 1900, but continued to work for the Survey on a per diem basis until 1919.

The close personal relationship between Powell and Hillers lasted for the rest of their lives, with Hillers acting as pall-bearer for Powell in September of 1902. In 1925, Hillers died in Washington, D. C. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, by the grave of Powell.

Since the latter part of the 19th century, others have visited and photographed the Canyon with the same wide-eyed wonderment and respect, but none have come close to conveying the startling beauty captured by Jack Hillers, the first man to photograph the Grand Canyon.