Tynan+-+Photography

= Photography in the Civil War = Photography played a key role in documenting all aspects of the Civil War. A popular new technology, the camera was used to visually document the aftermath of most of the battles. Over time, many photographs were taken of battlefields and important figures in the war. After the Civil War, many photographs were forgotten to avoid memories of the bloodiest encounter in American history. Today, these photographs serve as some of the most important pieces of evidence from the greatest battle the United States has ever seen. toc

Lighting
For the Wet-Plate photographic process, chemicals are used to cover a plate of glass, making it light sensitive for the camera. More chemicals are then applied in a darkroom to coat the plate and protect it. Finally, the plate is placed into the camera and protected from contact with light that might damage an image. The right lighting is vital to getting a good image, so when taking a picture, a lens cap is removed to expose the plate for two to three seconds, then placed back on to protect //that//, and the camera is moved. Again, chemicals are applied in a darkroom to retain the light-imprinted image, and develop it.

Scenery
Throughout the Civil war, many different scenery ideas were used. Although many photographers were going for the realism of the Civil War, they would often move objects to a position with better scenery. More often then not, a cannon would backfire and it would not be salvageable, so the photographers would leave it where it stood. Later, a photographer with the help of another person could move the cannon to a location that would make it look better for photographic documentation. This was also the case with dead soldiers. After a battle, a photographer would move a dead soldier to a specified location, which would in turn make the picture look better. Although grotesque, it was often the case when photographers were dealing with a photograph of a dead soldier. This tactic of moving dead soldiers to different locations is shown in the photograph at right. media type="custom" key="9330228"

Mathew Brady
Mathew Brady was born in 1823 in upstate New York. Out of college he began to study with renowned portrait artist, William Page. Page later took Brady to study with a colleague, Samuel F. B. Morse. Morse took Brady to meet Louis Daguerre, where Brady had his first experience with “modern” photography. Inspired by “Daguerreotype” photography, Brady chose to learn the craft of modern portraiture. He opened his first studio in 1844, which allowed him to expand his photographs into different areas such as landscape and action. He experimented with lighting, costume, makeup and angle in his photographs, gaining him the title of one of the most renowned photographers in the United States at the time.

In 1845, Brady launched his “Illustrious Americans” project; a collection of photographs of twenty four of the most prominent figures at the time. He was soon awarded for his work, and these awards attracted many other photographers.

Among these was Alexander Gardener. Gardener introduced Brady to the “wet plate” process of development, allowing the production of an unlimited amount of prints from negatives. Brady used this technique to photograph Abraham Lincoln in 1860. He produced a “flattering” photograph that Lincoln claimed, “helped him win the election.”

A short time after the Civil War broke out Brady set out to document the war with his esteemed photographs. He went into the battlefield with all of his money invested in new and versatile equipment. Brady also came into the war expecting a contribution to history, and an even larger contribution to his wallet.

His first photographs of the Civil War were from the Battle of Bull Run, in which he commented; “A spirit in my feet said ‘go’ and I went.” This versatile style photography inspired the idea of a professional force of photographers being formed to record the war in all aspects.

Brady’s most famed work came from his chilling photographs from the Gettysburg Battlefield and town.

After his work died down, he earned harsh criticism from taking credit for others’ work. Brady slowly became broke, and sold his photographs to the government for a fraction of the original expense he owed. His debt led to alcoholism and blindness. Mathew Brady died alone in a New York hospital in 1896.

Development
Developing photographs on the battlefield was a very hard task for photographers, as the negatives had to be treated with extreme care.

Developing photographs is a process that is not used very much today as digital cameras are more prevalent in our society. If using film, a photographer would develop photos by first mixing chemicals and pouring them onto a glass plate. Very similarly, photographers in the Civil War would mix chemicals onto a glass plate and then wait for the chemicals to evaporate. This would indicate that the glass was “treated” and would develop when exposed to light.

After being treated, the glass was rushed into a water bath to further soak in the chemicals. This was done in darkness, of course, as light exposure would activate the chemicals in the glass for development. After soaking, the plate was inserted in the camera as it took a picture and transferred the negative onto the top of the plate. The plate was quickly rushed to a darkroom to develop when exposed to increments of light.

Then to Now
From the Civil War to modern day, many advancements in photography have occurred. A main advancement in the field of photography from the Civil War to now is the shutter speed. As explained before, the shutter speed controls how much light is let into the photograph. Back then, subjects of the photograph needed to remain still for the shutter to open and close. Nowadays, the shutter speed on cameras are set so that photographs are taken //and// developed in a matter of milliseconds. This allows for movement to be shown in photographs - one of the main reasons why Civil War photographers had to take photographs after battles.

Another main difference of the cameras of the Civil War and today is their versatility in all climates. The camera at the time of the Civil War had to be lugged around by two photographers because of its weight and lack of versatility. This made it extremely hard for photographers to document all that they wanted to, simple because their camera could not venture where they needed it to. Now, cameras are extremely versatile in their size, weight, shape, and any other comparative physical attribute. This is one of the main differences in the cameras of then and now.

Finally, the development process. As explained before, developing photographs in the Civil War was a timely process. Chemicals had to be mixed and then placed into the camera, then to be rushed to a darkroom for development, all without letting light into the negative. In modern day, photographs are simply taken by computers installed in cameras and developed by projecting them onto a small screen. In less than a second, we are able to see the proof of our image, allowing more images of higher quality to be taken in any location at any time.

Overall, major advancements in the technology of photography allow for better photographs in every aspect compared to those taken in the Civil War.

How Cameras Worked
Cameras in the Civil War very much simpler than the comprehensive models we own today.

They were comprised of a simple wooden box or rectangle with a circular glass lens that was hand - focused. Because they were not easily portable, they were held up in the landscape or portrait position by a wooden tripod or other stand.

Another main difference is that the cameras had a longer shutter speed than the ones we own today. A shutter is the part of the camera that opens and closes light off from the lens. The longer the shutter speed, the more light is let in, and as a result, the chance for error in movement or too much light is greater. Examples of light exposure are shown at right. When too much light was let in - white objects in the photo came out as white splotches. Because of this, people in pictures had to wear dark clothing so the pictures were developed without error.

Because the shutter speed was longer, the subjects in the picture had to remain still for a long time. This is why not many photographs were taken while battles of the Civil War were happening. Instead, photographers took pictures of the battlefield before and afte r the battle happened. For people in photographs, photographers used an “immobilizer”, or a clamp, to keep them in the same position throughout the shot.

The camera also was not able to produce very high quality pictures because of the lack of technology. To combat this - subjects in portraits were placed next to objects that made them look “dignified”.

Photographs




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