Roger Fenton ( 1819-1869 )

Photography, meaning “drawing with lights” in Greek, is an art as well as a science of capturing light and storing it on a medium with unprecedented accuracy. Yet, up until the late 18th century, history was mainly recorded through the techniques of painting and the press. These mediums unarguably contained a certain degree of a truth, though, it was not uncommon for events, such as war to be composed with glorified details, or an unfavorable bias from the artist at hand. Beginning in the 1830’s, cameras provided a revolutionary solution by combining the advancements in optics and chemistry. Consequently, the new medium of photography was established and forever changed how history would be visually captured. Unlike other methods, photography

During the pre-Civil War era, the technology of photography was rare or still in development. All renderings of war were either in paintings or in literature. Since artists were the only people capable of creating

The photos which require long exposure time to capture a photo as it is still relatively invented, the photos generally captured the soldiers going into a battle and then laying dead from the result of the aftermath. Photography was a relatively a new technology but it was not a welcomed one as the photography pioneers displayed such vividly real images to civilians and noncombatants. Matthew Bradley was one of those pioneers which was quoted "From the first, I regarded myself as under obligation to my country to preserve the face of its historic men and mothers."

Question: In what ways did Mathew Brady change people’s perception of the Civil War? This investigation evaluates the ways in which photographer Mathew Brady changed the American perception of the Civil War. The focus of the investigation is on the growth of photography during the Civil War, a small bit of background on Mathew Brady, and his involvement on the battlefield as a “battlefield photographer”. The technological advancements in photography during the Civil War are noted in this investigation. Also, connections between the advancements in early photography and how Mathew Brady used these advancements to change the public perception of the War are explored. Different

When examining American photography you must discuss the Farmer Security Administration-Office of War Information, also referred to as the FSA/OWI. This administration was the single and most significant documentary photography project in the history of United States. Photographs taken by members of the FSA/OWI all display and represent American society in different ways to help give a better understanding of major historic events occurring in the United States at this time. The members of the FSA use many formal elements to help illustrate society and its cultural that will enhance our understanding of the FSA/OWI project and United States. In addition, these formal elements such as lighting, framing, subject matter, and detail are used

In PHOT 501, I learned about the beginning of war photography and about famous war photographers, among all war photographers, there are Mathew Brady and Alexander Gardener. Two days after the war had started, Alexander Gardener who used to be working for Mathew Brady at the time,

Born in 1934, Jerry Uelsmann grew up an inner city kid of Detroit. In high school, Uelsmann worked as an assistant for a photography studio; he eventually photographed weddings. Uelsmann went to Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) where he met Minor White, who “introduced [him] to the concept that photography could be used for self-expression” (Berman). While at RIT, he studied with Bruce Davidson, Peter Turner and Car Chiaraenza, with whom he held frequent discussions on how photography could be different. After RIT, Uelsmann went to Indiana University where he changed his degree to a Master of Fine Arts degree. He graduated with an M.S. and an M.F.A at Indiana University in 1960, where he studied with Henry Holmes Smith, who had

During the Civil War, two main types of photography were used. One of these was called the Ambrotype. They called this the Ambrotype because it was based on a Greek word meaning “Immortal” (Ross, 15). Ambrotypes had a long “life”, so

One of the important early photographers was Timothy O’Sullivan who started his career under the study of Matthew Brady, the owner of the most well-known photographic portrait gallery in America (Davies 894). Brady was best known for his photographs and paintings of Abraham Lincoln. O’Sullivan left Brady and joined Alexander Gardner to photograph images of the Civil War. O’Sullivan built his reputation on “images that conveyed the destructive power of modern warfare” (Foresta). He captures the horrible devastation that occurred during the Civil War even though the equipment could not film action shots. Unlike most war photographers he did not move “objects and bodies” around in the picture.

Today, it is difficult to image a world without photography. Technology has made it easy to take an excellent quality photograph with just a cellphone. However, during the time of World War II through the Vietnam War, a lot of this technology was not nearly as advanced as it is today. The equipment that war photographers used was very primitive by today’s standards, yet there were many significant photographs that were taken, many of which are famous or infamous today. Many war photographers took their photographs in life-threatening situations. However, these photographs serve as a documentation of history and a source of influence. War photography from World War II to the Vietnam War influenced the world through its history, famous war photographers,

Some people refer to Alfred as the father of photojournalism because his photos were good. One could observe classical balances, sharp inequalities of light and shadow, and dominant vectors of confining and expansion, as in the active movement up the street into the space and light of Times Square. Those are the artistic illusions that the photojournalists emulate up to date and will continue into the future (Clpgh.org, 2015).

The photograph is a very powerful medium. The French painter Paul Delaroche exclaimed upon seeing an early photograph “from now on, painting is dead!” (Sayre, 2000). Many critics did not take photography seriously as a legitimate art form until the 20th century. With the

Photography was first used in the United States prior to the Civil War as a way of making portraits of people. Due to the limits of the technology, each photograph was a unique image that could not be reproduced. Over time as the technology improved, photographs could be reproduced and this art form was then used as a method of communicating and sharing images of places and themes. The use of photography during the Civil War to depict (show) battles is one example. While the effect of photography on people’s perceptions of the Civil War has been well-documented, the changes in technology gave photography a more extensive influence on public opinion, institutions and the way people lived after the Civil War.

Photographs are also manifestations of time and records of experience. Consequently, writings on photographic theory are filled with references to representations of the past. Roland Barthes (1981, 76), for instance,

Alexander Runciman (figure five) was born in Edinburgh, the elder brother of historical and biblical painter John Runciman. Originally a prominent and popular decorative painter at the Noire Firm in Edinburgh, he seemingly abandoned his role as senior partner and made is way to Italy in May 1767 to spend time as a student under the direction of Hamilton and learn from the great classical masters, as Hamilton had done before him. Unlike Hamilton Runciman returned to Scotland in 1771.