I would love to see some actual combat photography from the Civil War. Of course, the nature of photography in the 1860s was such that long exposures would render action shots nothing but big blurs. So nearly all images from the war are posed. From time to time, you might run across a "posed" action shot - like pretend sword fighting or something along those lines. And then there are the unusual shots of soldiers on the march - like this one of Confederates marching through Frederick, Maryland. It is a great image of soldiers on campaign - what they would carry and how they generally looked while on the move.
K
And of course the only reason this "action" shot works is because they are hardly moving. They appear to be paused for something--some guys sitting, some standing facing out of the ranks.
ReplyDeleteI love this one too, though, for the same reason you do.
Good point, Virginia - and thanks for the comment. It does appear that they are stopped or at least just getting started. I like the shot because it is not posed at all.
ReplyDeleteOf course, the opposite of what you're looking for is easily available - photographs of the dead spread out across the battlefields. Not posed, but certainly still.
ReplyDeleteYou know, Hannah - there is reason to believe that some (although not many) of those shots were posed as well. William Frassanito has done some interesting work on this. A very famous one in particular, from Gettysburg, was very likely posed for a more stirring effect. http://www.history.com/images/media/slideshow/civil-war-gettysburg/sharpshooter-gettysburg.jpg
ReplyDeleteYes, Keith. Many were posed. Alot were not. Just like a newspaper reporter wanting to sell papers, so did the photographers want "interesting" subjects. So...some "liberties" were taken as to the final image.
ReplyDeleteI am sure that most were not posed. They did not need to be to have such a powerful impact on the public, most of whom had never seen the realities of combat via photography or otherwise.
ReplyDeleteLike you said, Keith, the slow shutter speeds of the time couldn't capture much of the action--which is why children appear so blurry in Civil War period photographs--they move and fidget constantly!
ReplyDeleteI think the sketches done by artist correspondents for the newspapers are the closest we can come to action photos of the War. But a number of these could have been altered or embellished by the artists, too.
The photo you posted is one of my favorites--it shows a Confederate unit on the march, which is quite rare. It also illustrates how little soldiers carried with them on campaign in the way of personal gear. It's definitely evidence against the sea of A-frame tents we see in the Confederate camps in the movie "Gettysburg!"