War Photography: Visual Chronicles, Documenting Conflict Through the Lens

By Fouad Sabry

What is War Photography

The objective of war photography is to capture images of armed conflict and the effects it has on individuals and locations. As a result of their participation in this genre, photographers may find themselves in dangerous situations, and they may even lose their lives while attempting to remove their photographs from the battlefield.

How you will benefit

(I) Insights, and validations about the following topics:

Chapter 1: War photography

Chapter 2: Photojournalism

Chapter 3: Mathew Brady

Chapter 4: Photographers of the American Civil War

Chapter 5: Roger Fenton

Chapter 6: Tintype

Chapter 7: Alexander Gardner (photographer)

Chapter 8: Felice A. Beato

Chapter 9: History of photography

Chapter 10: James Robertson (photographer)

(II) Answering the public top questions about war photography.

Who this book is for

Professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, enthusiasts, hobbyists, and those who want to go beyond basic knowledge or information for any kind of War Photography.

• Language: English
• Publisher: One Billion Knowledgeable
• Release date: Jun 24, 2024

Book preview

Chapter 1: War photography

The objective of war photography is to capture images of armed conflict and the effects it has on individuals and locations. As a result of their participation in this genre, photographers may find themselves in dangerous situations, and they may even lose their lives while attempting to remove their photographs from the battlefield context.

In the 1830s, when photography was first invented, the prospect of documenting the events of battle in order to raise public awareness was investigated for the first time. Even while it would have been ideal for photographers to precisely document the rapid action of fighting, this was not possible due to the technical limitations of early photographic equipment in terms of recording movement. The daguerreotype was an early kind of photography that produced a single image by utilizing a copper plate that had been coated with silver. The process of developing the image took a very long time, and it could not be processed right away.

Due to the fact that early photographers were unable to capture photos of subjects that were moving, they focused their attention on more stationary features of war, such as fortifications, soldiers, and land before and after battles, as well as the recreation of action scenes. In the same way that battle photography was frequently produced, portraits of soldiers were also frequently staged. Because the subject needed to sit completely still for a few minutes in order to produce an image, they were arranged in such a way that they would be comfortable and ensure that they moved as little as possible.

An unidentified photographer took a number of daguerreotypes of the occupation of Saltillo in 1847, during the Mexican–American War. However, these photographs were not taken for the aim of journalism.

At the beginning of the Crimean War, the British government undertook the first official attempts at war photography. These attempts were done by the British government. Gilbert Elliott was given the task of photographing images of the Russian fortifications that were located along the shore of the Baltic Sea throughout the months of March and April of 1854. A publication called The Illustrated London News featured the photographs after they were transformed into woodblocks.

Fenton's ability to select motifs was restricted because of the size and weight of his photographic equipment, which made it difficult for him to work with. It was only possible for him to take photographs of stationary objects, the majority of which were posed, due to the fact that the photographic material available during his period required long exposures. He avoided taking photographs of soldiers who were either dead, maimed, or mutilated.

Moreover, Fenton took photographs of the terrain; the one that became his most well-known was of the region that was close to the location where the Charge of the Light Brigade took place. When Thomas Agnew displayed the photograph in September 1855 as part of a series of eleven paintings collectively titled Panorama of the Plateau of Sebastopol in Eleven Parts in a London exhibition, he took the soldiers' epithet, expanded it as The Valley of the Shadow of Death, and assigned it to the piece. The original valley had been referred to as The Valley of Death in letters that soldiers had written home.

In 1855, Fenton departed from the Crimea, and he was succeeded by the partnership of James Robertson and Felice Beato shortly thereafter. Beato and Robertson highlighted the devastation that occurred throughout the war, in contrast to Fenton's portrayal of the more honorable sides of the conflict. For at least one of the images that were taken at the palace of Sikandar Bagh in Lucknow, it is thought that the skeleton remains of Indian rebels were either disinterred or rearranged in order to increase the dramatic impact of the photograph.

When Beato left the partnership in 1860, he began documenting the development of the Anglo-French campaign that was taking place during the Second Opium War. In collaboration with Charles Wirgman, a correspondent for The Illustrated London News, he accompanied the assault army as it traveled to the Taku Forts in the north. The photographs taken by Beato during the Second Opium War were the first to capture a military campaign as it was taking place. They did this by utilizing a series of shots that were dated and tied to one another.

For the purpose of overcoming the limits of early photography with regard to the capture of moving objects, Haley Sims and Alexander Gardner began reconstructing battle scenes from the American Civil War. This was done in order to overcome the limitations of early photography. In spite of the fact that instantaneous photography is available for purchase, the majority of photographers still use older cameras in the field because they have components that are less fragile. As a result, they are unable to catch motion. The scenes that they rearranged were chosen with the intention of enhancing both the visual and emotional effects of the conflict. Haas and Peale, two northern photographers, worked together to create a photographic plate of the United States Ship New Ironsides engaged in combat on September 7, 1863.

Between the years 1865 and 1870, the Paraguayan War was the bloodiest conflict in the history of South America.

In addition to that, it was the first time that South American battle photography was used.

In the month of June in 1866, the Montevideo firm of Bate y Compañía commissioned the Uruguayan photographer Javier López to travel to the field of battle.

The firm did send a photographer to cover the Siege of Paysandú the year before, On the other hand, he arrived after the battle had been won.

Images of the destroyed town and dead bodies lying in the street were captured by him.

During the Second Anglo-Afghan War, which took place between 1878 and 1880, John Burke, who was traveling with the British army, took photographs. This endeavor was a business initiative with the objective of selling albums of images taken during the war.

During the retaking of the Sudan, British army photographer Francis Gregson was attached to the Anglo-Egyptian forces that were working under the command of Herbert Kitchener. An album of 232 images titled Khartoum 1898 is thought to have been compiled by Gregson. These photographs were taken during the Anglo-Egyptian military campaign in Sudan, which took place between the years 1896 and 1898. Documenting the advance of British troops and their victory over Mahdist forces, he published not only a large number of photographs of Anglo-Egyptian troops and their officers, but also photographs of Anglo-Egyptian troops looting dead enemies and defeated Sudanese, such as Emir Mahmoud, who was the commander of the British forces during the Battle of Atbara.

When cameras were initially introduced, World War I was one of the first conflicts in which they were tiny enough to be carried on one's person. Jack Turner, a Canadian soldier, was caught in the act of illicitly bringing a camera to the front lines of the conflict and taking photographs with it. Photographers continue to report on wars and conflicts all throughout the world, despite this condition.

Despite the fact that international laws on armed conflict provide protection for journalists and photographers, history demonstrates that they are frequently considered targets by fighting factions. This is done for a variety of reasons, including the desire to demonstrate hatred toward their adversaries and the need to conceal the truths that are depicted in images. Terrorism in armed conflict has made war photography more perilous because some terrorists target journalists and photographers. This is because some terrorists target journalists and photographers. Between the years 2003 and 2009, there were a total of 36 photographers and camera operators that were either kidnapped or killed during the Middle East conflict.

{End Chapter 1}

Chapter 2: Photojournalism

Photographic journalism is a form of journalism that tells a story via the use of photographs. However, it is also possible to refer to video that is utilized in broadcast journalism. Typically, it solely relates to still images. A rigid ethical framework that requires an honest but impartial approach that tells a story in strictly journalistic terms is what differentiates photojournalism from other close branches of photography, such as documentary photography, social documentary photography, war photography, street photography, and celebrity photography. Photojournalism is distinguished from these other branches of photography by having a rigid ethical framework. As well as making contributions to the news media, photojournalists also assist communities in connecting