Photography

= = =Photography in the Civil War =

 Introductiontoc
At the beginning of Civil War, teams of photographers set out to capture the images of soldiers, battles, and anything caught in the clash of armies, by the end these men had created the largest collection of war photos at the time. Photography, in the 1860s, required heavy equipment and dangerous chemicals. On the road photographers had to use their wagons as a darkroom, yet they followed the armies to battle after battle. The laboring teams of photographers understood that the pictures they took would one day show the history of our nation.

History of photography
 In 1839 the first method of photography was introduced to the public. It was called the ‘Daguerreotype process’ after Louis-Jaques-Mande Daguerre, who had worked with Joseph-Nicephore Niepce to develop the method. The process produced an image on a metal plate but the exposure time was long and the chemicals that made the image could easily be damaged and the image would be lost. A new process called, wet plate collodion method, gained popularity in the 1860s because of the shorter exposure time and more resistant chemicals. This was the process used by the Civil War photographers as they traveled with the soldiers. It was not until the 1900s that people were able to take pictures and develop them at a much later time without losing the image.

**Wet plate collodion method **
**In the 1860s photographs were made using a process called, wet plate collodion. This method was developed after the initial Daguerreotype method. It was less expensive and required less sitting time so more photo studios opened to the public. **
 * 1) Coat a clean sheet of glass with collodion.
 * 2) In a darkroom, place the plate in silver nitrate- making it sensitive to light.
 * 3) Place plate in light-tight holder in camera.
 * 4) Insert ‘dark slide’ in holder, then remove entire holder from camera.
 * 5) Return to darkroom, remove glass plate from holder, and let it develop.
 * 6) Wash in water, fix image to last, then rewash.
 * 7) Varnish negatives to last (optional).
 * 8) Print photo on paper then mount and frame.

<span style="color: #3dae3d; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Video of Wet Plate Collodion Process
media type="youtube" key="Gyf8fQOdvDs" height="385" width="480" <span style="color: #3f3737; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This is a video showing the process of taking a picture using the wet plate collodion method.

===<span style="color: #54b450; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;">**Photography in North** <span style="color: #54b450; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">vs. South === <span style="color: #3f3737; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">The Civil War was fought mainly in the South but was recorded in photos mostly by men from the North. Before the war, photography studios were common in the North, especially in the big cities. In the South it was speculated that each major city had at least one studio. Both sides contributed big names to the business like Brady, Gardner, and O’Sullivan for the North, and Edwards, Osborn, and Durbec for the South. Each side started the war taking photos of new soldiers and marching regiments, but when the Union blockaded the Southern ports the unusual chemicals used in producing an image became rare and expensive. It seemed that every photo studio in the South was shut down and the documentation was left to the North. After the war, when photographers published books of war photos, many were biased in their portrayal of the South, due to them being from the North.

<span style="color: #3dae3d; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The Beginning of Photojournalism
<span style="color: #3f3737; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing: 0px;"> The Civil War was only the third war photographed in history, and it was much more extensively photographed than any other event before. The social rules and commercial uses for these photographs were still being developed, leaving photographers in charge of the subjects. Many photo <span style="color: #3f3737; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing: 0px;">graphers sent their pictures to newspapers as a way to make a profit, these pictures were printed in the papers, in magazines, or accompanying other articles. Before the pictures, writers often did not have first-hand reports about actions in far off battles. The photographs provided concrete images to help people understand the happenings on the battle field. The pictures from the Civil War that found their way into published articles are considered by some to have been the beginning of photojournalism.

<span style="color: #3f3737; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing: 0px;"> [|Mathew Brady] played one of the biggest parts in Civli War photography and thousand of his photographs rest in national collections. He came to America at age sixteen, and found work as a department store clerk. He learned the daguerreotype method for producing photos and by 1844 had his own studio in New York. In 1858 he opened //<span style="color: #3f3737; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">Brady’s National Photographic Art Gallery // <span style="color: #3f3737; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing: 0px;"> in Washington D.C. where he photographed President Lincoln. When the Civil War started he felt it was his duty to chronicle the U.S. history, and formed a group of photographers to photograph the war. Many of the photos were not taken by him as he managed the teams but they are attributed to him anyways. He lost most of his money in the project and it was not until 1875that Congress payed $25,000 for his entire collection of Civil War photos. He died penniless in 1896 but he never regretted his decision, and through his selflessness he has contributed to the preservation of the history of America.

<span style="color: #3dae3d; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Timeline:


<span style="color: #3f3737; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This link brings you to the timeline of Photography During the Civil War.

<span style="color: #3dae3d; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Fun Links:
<span style="color: #3f3737; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/cwp/mystery.html This links to an interesting article about fake photos of the Civil war.

**<span style="color: #3dae3d; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-weight: 800;"> Bibliography **
<span style="color: #080808; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">
 * Armstrong, Jennifer.** __**Photo By Brady**__**. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2005.

Broomall, James J. Photography During the Civil War.17 Jun. 2009. Encyclopedia** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 121%; letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 70%;"> Virginia.<http://www.EncyclopediaVirginia.org/Photography_During_the_ Civil_War>. ** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 70%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 133.1%; letter-spacing: 0px;">**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 70%;">Mathew Brady - Biographical Note.Library of Congress. 8 April. 2010.<http: ** //<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 133.1%; letter-spacing: 0px;">**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 70%;"> www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/cwp/bradynote.html> **

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 121%; letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 70%;">Photography and the Civil War. 2010. The American Civil War Photo Gallery. 12 May. 2010. <http://www.civilwar- pictures.com/articles/photography/photography-and- the-civil-war/> ** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 70%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 133.1%; letter-spacing: 0px;">**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 70%;">Taking Photos During the Civil War. Library of Congress. 7 April. 2010.<http: ** // <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 133.1%; letter-spacing: 0px;">**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 70%;"> www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/cwp/civilwarphotos.html> ** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 70%;">**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h0T6dovaapo/S7J8PjwropI/AAAAAAAAArY/G0FqUXH-ppU/s1600/civil-war-005.jpg ** ** http://www.old-picture.com/civil-war/pictures/Civil-War-Gunboat.jpg **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 70%;">Pictures: **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 70%;">http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Mathew_Brady_1875_cropped.jpg **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 70%;">http://www.old-picture.com/civil-war/pictures/Photographers-Civil-War-001.jpg **
 * http://storage.canoe.ca/v1/blogs-prod-static/mediam/antietam_dead_bury.jpg **

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gyf8fQOdvDs **
 * Video: