The list of archive holdings was compiled in 1987 when I cataloged the film elements that my father, Harvey Richards, turned over to me. This archive film list is arranged according to the major subjects he photographed, as is the web site listings of photo images. Shot lists of the outs and film images not included in any finished film are listed for each category. Please direct any questions to me through the Contact link on the menu bar of the web site.
The two sections of the film archive that have not been fully digitized are the outs from the California farm worker filming and the film not used in a finished film from the forestry and logging archives. Each of these subjects were major focuses in Harvey’s film work. Why these film subjects never the found their way into a finished film is an interesting question. For the farm worker film, Harvey’s filming of farm worker subjects ended abruptly in 1966. When he made a film, his filming trips into the field were usually focused with very minimal outs. It may be that circumstances forced his attentions to turn to the anti-war movement as the war in Vietnam heated up and peace marches and protests escalated rapidly in the late 1960′s. Another factor was that he was red baited by the FBI and growers representatives (police, etc.) which made his appearances in the fields very controversial, reducing his opportunities to obtain useful footage.
List of Archive Holdings
In the case of the forestry materials, his photography took place at a time when there was minimal public outcry against the deforestation of northern California and Oregon. This reduced demand for organizing or informational films from activists left him with a lot of extra footage as the list of archive holdings shows. Today, when global warming has made the cost of deforestation plain to an ever growing number of people, the forestry film archives are more valuable than every. It has been my experience over the years that the messages in his four films on forestry are very difficult for most people, even conservationists, to come to terms with. For Harvey, who grew up in Oregon and was familiar with the forests of the area, it was clear that the practices of corporate logging were devastating the land and that once they were finished, “after us, the deluge and the desert” would be left, to quote his script in Wasted Woods. He documented the process as few have, from forest to mill to devastated aftermath.
Harvey Richards Media Archive Home is the gateway to video and photo images of the 1960s in twenty-two documentary films and 44 photo image galleries shot during the years from 1958 to 1978. The Harvey Richards Media Archive contains over a thousand photo images shot during the years from 1958 to 1980. His photographic career began in 1958 with a Leica 35 mm camera and then expanded with his acquisition of two Hasselblad 120 mm cameras. In more than 20 years of photographing, Harvey Richards created a rich portrait of the world he witnessed and the values he espoused.
During the 1960’s, movement organizations that used his documentaries as fundraisers, organizing films and outreach vehicles included the United Farm Workers, The United Packinghouse Workers Union, the Sierra Club, Women for Peace, and the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. All his films are available on DVD and can be streamed and downloaded. Over 1000 of his photo images are available for viewing in galleries on this web site. All films and photos are available for purchase and licensing.
Click on List of Archive Holdings to see the list
MEDIA – For photos & interviews: Paul Richards (510) 967 5577; paulrichards@estuarypress.com
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