The Positive Effects Of Photography During The Civil War

The Civil War happened in 1861 and lasted until 1865. During that time period, artists depicted the war itself, the Native Americans, the landscape of America, and the people of the nation. The artists sought to show that America was a great country, and that the people themselves were hardworking, committed, and determined.

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

The Civil War, a destructive and calamitous event in United States' history, which can never be forgotten. This was a complex conflict that took this nation through its darkest period. It cut to the very core of the political, economic, and social elements of American life. The civil war greatly impacted American history because it ended slavery, it led to military inventions, and it brought the north and south together.

The role of the news-making photographer in Gardner’s era was to document the history that was in the making, documenting the battlefield and anyone that would be considered a pioneer of the news. They also had a role to make large photographic prints. Today, photojournalist’s play the role of being a visual story teller. They have to photograph, edit and present the images they shot to tell a story that no one else can tell. They have to be knowledgeable about the trade and have to be able to use all the tools provided really well. The time from Gardner’s era and today technology has changed and the equipment has advanced so far that more advancement is continued to be used to the fullest. The only thing that I have really seen be

Mathew Brady the father of photography decided to capture the historical civil war, sending his employees out with the Union armies. At the time of the civil war Brady had begun to go blind so his twenty employees photographed most of the events themselves, still they stamped in the corner of every photograph “photo by Brady.” Brady’s employees mostly took photographs after the events had taken place due to the need of the subject and its surroundings to be still for 15 to 20 seconds. Brady put the photographs on exhibit in New York City a New York Times writer wrote “If he has not brought bodies and laid them in our door-yards and along the streets, he has done something very like it.” During the time of the Civil War Newspapers and magazines

    With the advances of photography so came about new ways of showing people things during war time! The people finally had a way of truly experiencing what the soldiers had to go through. The old way was to look at painting’s that could be biased to one fighting force or the other. With photos there was no hiding the truth, it was there for the people to see. The first war to truly be photographed was The Mexican American war. There were four innovations for pictures before the Civil war.

Photography opened the world’s view. “Until 1839 the world was blind. Vision was limited to the immediate spectator or the art of the artist, but the rest of the world and history could not see” (Horan 3). People imagine things and do not believe it until they see it. Unless someone has really seen it they believe what they want. Mathew Brady showed people what war was really like. Before Mathew Brady’s pictures people thought that war was an adventure and fighting was honorable but they never knew what it was like. War was extremely violent and people did not realize this except the ones who had experienced it. When they saw the pictures of the war most people were appalled. “Mr. Brady has done something to bring home

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.

Because of this many consider the Civil War to be a modern war because of the use of telegraph, photojournalism, aerial observation, submarines, iron-clad warships, railroads and new rifles. First telecommunications, the telegraph allowed two things one for Union and confederate leaders to communicate with military officers on the battlefield it also allowed war correspondents to report on battles. In 1860 there was approximately 50,000 miles of telegraph in the United States a majority of that was located in the northern states. The telegraph also allowed war correspondents to report on the war. The American Civil War garnered more media attention than the Crimean War did. Approximately 600 correspondents covered the war and the “New York Herald spends an unprecedented $1 million on its war coverage.” This reporting also demonstrated another factor of a modern war, the growing influence of public opinion on the conduct of war. Reporters reported on battle results and political issues however their reporting was often editorialized. The desire for truth was not an important factor for editors and this allowed newspapers to be turned into propaganda machines for both the Union and Confederacy. Also during the Civil War war photography became a main part of the documentation of war. However due to the shutter speeds of the time the proverbial staged war photo began. The telegraph

For the past century, the use of photography has provided us with a plethora of images documenting history and cementing memories. It became a medium through which to provide news, sum up all of the words within an article into a single image and further evoke the reader’s emotions through visual stimuli. Although the first known photograph taken for journalism was to capture the events of the Crimean War during 1855, perhaps the most impressive utilization of the camera for news was during WW2 (Struet, Thomas). Never before had photos exposed such catastrophic and inhumane conditions imposed onto a massive group of people. The use of photography during WW2 to illustrate the horrific events taken place in Europe brought on such compassion through the masses; essentially making photojournalism a critical practice through which to provide information.

As early as mid-nineteenth century, astute observers were anticipating the consequences of the Graphic Revolution. Before the Civil War, a young Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote in The Atlantic Monthly that the advent of photography would separate form from reality. He said the “image would become more important than the object itself, and would in fact make the object disposable.”3

They were used to grant assurance to soldiers, friends, and family members, as the photographs told the current condition of the individual. Many of the photographs were quite straightforward, with a portrait of the individual. Sometimes, backgrounds depicted army camps, or beautiful gardens. The Victorian-era frames surrounding the individual were also quite elaborate. Carte de Visite photographs also illustrated people in bad health. The photographs of maimed men with horrific conditions such as disfigured arms, faces, and rotting flesh, were used to provide both a record of the men's treatment and instructional aids to young surgeons. Medicine during the Civil War was quite archaic. Doctors and surgeons had no understanding of infection, as well as how to prevent infection. Most of the surgeries that were performed were amputations. As drastic as it sounds, amputation was often quite necessary to prevent diseases, such as gangrene, which is the death of tissue resulted from insufficient blood supply. The photographs demonstrate the horrific effects of war, documenting the “ghosts of the great departed” as well as the human condition and the necessity of assurance between family members and loved

Documentary photography was used to construct narratives and to travel to document the others. The use of text and image in documentary photography became a key to create meaning in the photographs which would engage the audience in social and political issues. In the United States, photographers like Timothy O’Sullivan traveled on western expeditions surveying America’s landscape and natural resources for future settlement and economic exploitation, fulfilling the mission of manifest destiny. O’Sullivan had gotten his start photographing the Civil War. His photographs of the Civil War, such as A Harvest of Death, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 1863 (Fig. 22-52), carry with them predominant cultural values.

The best photography award is given to Mathew Brady for several reasons.For instance, he took pictures of the civil war which gave people a chance to see the war ¨behind the scenes¨.This made a great impact on society at the time of the war. He and his photographers took many pictures of the war including camp life,battlefields, and famous people like Abraham Lincoln.

Photography was invented at a time when western cultures were exploring new lands. It was used as a medium for documenting the grandeur of the natural environment and usually included small details.