For this assignment, I chose to cover war photography up to the Vietnam War in Depth. Attached to this blog is the word document that I wrote up. Most of this information will be on the slides so there isn’t really much reason to read this unless you want something a little more in depth.
Patrick Adair
Photo 201
Professor Rubin
April 27, 2020
Photographs of War:
Evolution over the years up to Vietnam.
War photography has been historically one of the most pervasive types or genres of photography. From the Crimean war all the way to the Vietnam War, war photography is a medium that persists to this day and has lasted for two centuries. The definition of war photography is summarized as the taking of photographs in war or conflict scenarios. Photography in war scenarios were important when they were first introduced because it gave a less glorified perspective on the wars that were documented via photograph War photography was especially prominent during world war I and II and has been evolving since, but came into prominence during the Mexican-American War. Many photographers who cover war, war torn areas and those who were affected by the war that has been ravaging their land tend to paint the picture not in a glorious way, but in a war that allows the us, a viewer to get a clear vision on the horrors of war that would not have been shown under any circumstances. Compared to television, there is much more that we can get away with in photography. For example, War photography during the Vietnam War, along with television, gave people a much clearer visual representation of the previous wars. It is interesting to see how war photography has managed to develop as a subset of photography of the years. In this paper, I intend to delve into the history of war photography as a genre, why it came into fruition to begin with, how it changed people’s perceptions of contemporary history throughout the years.
When it comes to warfare, so much unpleasant subject is depicted through photographs, such as death, mass graves, explosions, dead or dying soldiers/civilians. There is a lot to process and take in when we see these photographs. The aftermaths of these scenes are not pretty either with soldiers carrying their dead, destroyed landscapes. We, the viewers are visually accustomed to coverage that has brought familiarity with the horrific realities of war. War photography has evolved gradually over the decades into an art form with the sole purpose of documenting these realities that some people may not want to look at. The earliest examples that I could find are photographs taken during the Mexican-American War, the Crimean War, and the American Civil war. Photographs taken during this time illustrate the harsh realities of these wars and demonstrate and show the gradual changes in photographic techniques and coverage that would gradually evolve as decades passed. According to ArtStor: The earliest accounts of war photographs were by an unknown photographer who produced 50 daguerreotypes that depicted scenes from the Mexican-American war in Saltillo, Mexico. According to the Library of Congress: “a daguerreotype photograph is a direct-positive process that creates a highly detailed image on a sheet of copper plated with a thin coat of silver without the use of a negative.” The exposure times for the earliest daguerreotypes ranged from three to fifteen minutes, making the process impractical for portraiture. The daguerreotypes taken during the Mexican-American war depict the daily life and covered a variety of subjects ranging from portraits of generals and infantrymen, but no scenes of active battles nor any wounded or dead bodies. But, these photographs did not have the idealization and glory associated with war. When the Crimean war began in 1853, the usefulness of photography as a way to document historical events in a factual way was acknowledged. During the war, the British government wanted document the Crimean war for propaganda purposes. The British government intended to document the war to unite the public behind their war efforts which were becoming progressively unpopular. Four official photographers were sent to different points in the conflict with losses. Some of the photos not even making it to public distribution. The success rate of documenting the Crimean war was really low until a man named William Agnew hired Roger Fenton to document the war. Roger Fenton created 360 negatives of war-torn areas, group portraits of British, French and Turkish soldiers and generals mounted on horseback. There is an absence of death and suffering that is usually accompanied in these types of images. The most famous work from Roger Fenton, the valley of the shadow of death shows an indirect portrayal of the horrors of war in contrast to modern war photography which tends to capture the gruesomeness of the war Despite this, the photographs did not sell, possibly due to negative reactions towards the photographs by the viewing public, allegedly. War photography would further evolve during the American Civil War.
During the American Civil War, photography covering war would further evolve and become one of the most widely photographed wars until World War I. The Civil War was the first attempt to document a war on a larger scale (Artstor). Photographers such as Matthew Brady were key figures and among the most known of Photographers during the Civil War period. According to an article on Battlefields.org, Author Unknown, Matthew Brady was considered the “father of journalism” and his most well known works were his works of the civil war. His photographs had a strong impact on contemporary society. During the American Civil War, Matthew Brady organized groups of photographers and staff to follow troops deployed as the earliest battlefield photographers. Photographers under his super vision included Timothy H. Sullivan, Alexander Gardner, and James F. Gibson. Brady’s group photographed many images of the Civil War including the Battle of Gettysburg, the Battle of Antietam, and the Fist Battle of Bull Run. As the expected reaction, viewers of his photographs of the horrors of the war in an exhibit called “The Dead of Antietam.” The images were taken by Alexander Gardner and James F. Gibson. However, prints of photographs were more widely distributed compared to photographs taken during the Crimean War and the Mexican-American War. According to Artstor, prints were distributed on a larger scale compared to photographs depicting the Crimean War. Photographs taken during The American Civil War, in contrast to the Mexican-American war, showed images of dead soldiers, and images of active combat zones, albiet taken at a distance. These changes might be attributed to the advances in the technology associated with photography. Stereographs were also popular during the civil war. Stereographs are essentially a method of panoramic photography. Images were taken from different angles to produce a 3 dimensional effect when viewed through a stereoscopic viewer. However, limitations in technology meant that photographs taken during conflict were still limited in scale until World War I.
While the American Civil War only placed its feet in the water when it comes to war photographs depicting atrocities, starting with the 20th century, photographs that take directly in place either in the action or near the action. This is partially due to the advancements of weaponry and tactics during World War I in contrast to the American Civil War. Advancements in Photographic technology also played a part in photographers emphasizing the blood and carnage during world war I. According to Sarah Johnson of Remembering World War I, the use of personal cameras started to become more popular during this time period. This lead to soldiers across the many different battlefields using these cameras to record their daily lives. Johnson states that: “A picture is able to recall exactly what the photographer wanted to remember.” What is also interesting during this period that this is the first time that soldiers are creating their own photographs as opposed to just professional photographers. Photographs from the perspective of the soldier are an interesting because it shows the war from an inside perspective. Soldiers took photos of their experiences of the war to retain memories of their experiences there despite disapproval from their superiors to the point there was an official ban placed on troop-made photography in 1915. Photography acceptance into newspapers was still a mixed bag and the British Government and press companies were reluctant at first, preferring to retain the contemporary literary tradition. According to Caitlin Patrick of UCD Clinton Institute for American Studies, new publications such as The War Illustrated were created to provide a visual representation of the conflict. Also the British government created a propaganda office in 1914 to regulate the distribution of photographs taken during the war. Caitlin Patrick states that the army and the governments started to invite a “limited number of professional to be a part of a special elite, official reporters, and then to exclude all others as far as possible from the most important areas.” March 1916 was when the first official war photographer was commissioned however. Ernest Brooks, who worked for the Daily Mirror was selected with the responsibility of covering the British soldiers in active duty. Afterwards, dozens of photographers were sent over to shoot on the Western Front. Other allied groups also ensured that their own troops were documented as well (Patrick.) This is the first documented instance of military censorship of war coverage and played a key factor in the way that photographs during subsequent wars were covered. Photos taken during world war I tended to be much more bleak compared to photographs taken during previous wars while also at the same time were heavily regulated and used for military propaganda. World War II is when photography became more widely utilized. World War II photographs and photos taken during World War II and warzones emerged from a variety of different sources and were published in many different areas. World War II was a conflict of a larger scale compared to the previous wars, meaning that there There are also a lot of photographs during World War II that were used for propaganda purposes. Dictators such as Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin used photographs as propaganda against enemies or to effectively unperson political enemies or allies that they didn’t like. A famous example is the photograph of Adolf Hitler, among a group of people. Joseph Goebbels was omitted. World War II was a period for extensive propaganda with a strong positive outlook on the war effort as shown in a good amount of photographs while at the same time, also showing the horrors of the war. Photographs depicting the Vietnam war, in contrast tend to be more on the cynical side compared to some of the idealism in world war II, going back to a similar level of bleakness as the photographs taken during World War I. The Vietnam War raged on for almost two decades and led to the creation of many profound and impactful images made their way out of the combat zones and into galleries, television screens and magazine pages around the world. According to Lily Rothman and Alice Garbriner of Time Magazine, photographs told a story of a fight that only got more confusing and devastating as it went on. Even decades after Vietnam, these photographs have still retained their impact and power. The Vietnam war was a horrific war and the photographs that depict the war are still very distinct. Few people have a grasp on the role of photography than the photographers who were present during the Vietnam war. In contrast to photographs taken during previous wars, photographs taken during Vietnam tend to portray war in more of a bleak light not unlike the way that Vietnam was gradually depicted on television. Initially, the Vietnam War public opinion was positive and due to the red scare, the American public was all for it. In contrast, as the years raged on from the beginning of the United States’ involvement in the early 1960’s, public opinion towards the war began to gradually wane unlike World War I and World War II. There were protests all across America questioning why we were involved in the war to begin with. While, the many photographs taken during the war tended to lean on the cynical end of the spectrum in contrast to the idealism of many world war II era photographs, photos during the conflict showed the horrors of war in a light that was never before scene.
War photography is a genre that is still important today. Without it, we would not have seen the true horrors of war with our very eyes, but rather get a watered-down text description. War photography breaks the notion that history is written by the victors by showing the perspectives from many different angles. War photography is a medium that still persists to this day even after the Vietnam War and has helped to expose the atrocities on and off the battlefield in areas of conflict. Photography gives us a much clearer picture of what is actually going on along the frontlines and off. Overall, photography is a great tool for countries that want to increase the war effort or journalists that want to find out what is truly going on in armed conflict. It shows the horrors of war and the enemy.
Works Cited
Broomall, James. “Photography during the Civil War.” Www.Encyclopediavirginia.Org, http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/photography_during_the_civil_war#its2. Accessed 29 Apr. 2020.
“Capturing Memories: Photography in WWI – Remembering World War I.” Remembering World War I, Remembering World War I, rememberingwwi.villanova.edu/photography/. Accessed 29 Apr. 2020.
Horne, Madison. “The Pictures That Defined World War II.” HISTORY, The HISTORY Channel, 14 Mar. 2019, http://www.history.com/news/world-war-ii-iconic-photos.
“Mathew Brady.” American Battlefield Trust, 31 May 2018, http://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/mathew-brady.
Patrick, Caitlin. ..:: “..:: UCD Clinton Institute for American Studies :: Photography and International Conflict ::..” Www.Ucd.Ie, http://www.ucd.ie/photoconflict/histories/wwiphotography/. Accessed 29 Apr. 2020.
Rothman, Lily, and Alice Garbriner. “The Vietnam War Pictures That Moved Them Most.” TIME.Com, TIME, 2017, time.com/vietnam-photos/.
“Seeing Is Believing: Early War Photography – Artstor.” Artstor, 11 Nov. 2016, http://www.artstor.org/2016/11/11/seeing-is-believing-early-war-photography/.
“The Daguerreotype Medium | Articles and Essays | Daguerreotypes | Digital Collections | Library of Congress.” The Library of Congress, 2015, http://www.loc.gov/collections/daguerreotypes/articles-and-essays/the-daguerreotype-medium/.
PhotoChronologies 