Albert Lomer (Active Period c.1865-c.1895)

Albert Lomer was a professional photographer and colourist of Brisbane, Sydney and Queensland who worked throughout the mid to late 19th century. He worked in Melbourne before 1865 when he opened a studio at Sydney in partnership with Andrew Chandler. They advertised as being from W. Davies & Co. of Melbourne, where both had presumably trained. Their studio, The London Photographic Company, was at 419 George Street, next door to Lassetter’s ironmongery store. By February 1867 Lomer was continuing alone but promising that 'the business will be conducted in the same efficient manner and under the same liberal principles as hitherto’. He had reduced the old price for cartes-de-visite to two for 5s or 15s a dozen and sold cabinet and other portrait photographs 'beautifully coloured (on the premises) in oil or water’. Lomer appears to have been his own colourist, regularly advertising as both 'artist and photographer’ (which this normally signified).

In 1872-73 Lomer was working at 57 Bourke Street, Melbourne. He then established a very successful Brisbane studio at 158 Queen Street which lasted from 1874 until 1905, although he apparently no longer ran it after 1880. Branch studios were opened in various parts of the colony: the Lomer studio at Mackay in 1887 (managed by J.P. Kemp), a studio at Toowoomba (1893-96) and one at Ipswich (1898-99). Numerous photographs from Lomer’s Brisbane studio also survive, mainly family portraits in carte-de-visite format.

Few large format landscape photographs have survived and the above image (and detail) of the Rocks at Noosa is considered rare.  A photograph of the same location but from a more distant vantage point is held in the State Library of Queensland.

The below image depicts Norman Creek.