The Positive Effects Of Photography During The Civil War

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

    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.

Mathew Brady and Alexander Gardner were two of the most famous photographers during the Civil War. Mathew Brady also owned a gallery in Washington DC where he displayed the photographs of others like Alexander Gardner for the public to see (Civil War Trust – Mathew Brady). Although these photographs had a major impact on the public’s perception of war, the technology was not too far advanced. Photographers had to use dangerous chemicals to create pictures (Civil War Trust, 2). The ability to distribute the photographs to the public was

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.

Many people during the Civil War did not have an accurate representation of the war. Paintings and drawings provided some certainty as to what events took place, but these genres of art only glorified the battles with lots of color, as well as exaggerated representations of the losing and winning sides. Photography, compared to painting and drawing, had no room for contradictory statements, as it depicted what happened at that moment of time. In late September 1862, Mathew Brady opened an exhibition entitled “The dead of Antietam” at his gallery in New York. A reporter from New York Times described the photographs as a “funeral next door… It attracts your attention, but it does not enlist your sympathy… It is very different when the hearse

Each war presented famous photographs taken by experienced photographers. Due to the content and impact, these photographs reached iconic status. Iconic photographs fit into four categories: (1) Recognized by everyone within a public culture, (2) Understood to be representations of historically significant events, (3) Objects of strong emotional identification or response, (4) Regularly reproduced or copied across a range of media, genres, and topics, (5) Capturing a memory. This paper will discuss the effects of iconic war photography, specifically the

Photojournalism is the visual means of telling a story, through one or a series of shots. Mainly reporting on the events of war and conflict, this form of communication documents news affairs to be published in magazines or the media. The concept of modern photojournalism was recognised as a form of photography in the late 1920s and early 1930s, following the invention of hand-held cameras, such as the ‘Ermanox’ and the ‘Leica’. This enabled photographs to be taken with professional quality, using adequate equipment to record ‘fast-moving events’. Meanwhile, political upheaval and ‘the rise of mass circulation news’ brought about high demands for illustrated magazines.

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.

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.

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