O. V. Hunt

Oscar V. Hunt (born 1881 in Bowdon, Georgia; died 1962 in Birmingham) was a prolific commercial photographer whose work, much of it archived at the Birmingham Public Library, serves as a major documentary source for Birmingham's history.

Hunt worked as a motorman on a Birmingham Railway, Light, & Power Company streetcar and served as a staff photographer for the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company before leaving to train as a photographer with Bert Covell and R. T. Boyett. He has been credited with making the first aerial photograph of the city in 1911 or 1912.

Hunt opened his own studio in the Clark Building in the 1920s, mainly working for business and industrial clients to document their plants, stores and business offices. He also worked on the staff of the Birmingham Ledger, covering major events in the city. Unlike those of his commercial competitors, many of Hunt's photographs feature the images of workers and residents.

Late in his career, Hunt's studio became a popular place for younger photographers to meet.

References

• Robb, Frances Osborn (2017) Shot in Alabama: A History of Photography, 1839–1941 Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press ISBN 081731878X