"How Early Photographers Captured History’s First ..." Topic

…Images of War.

"Mathew Brady, the celebrated 19th century photographer, captured more than 10,000 images the American Civil War. Similarly, Roger Fenton, a British photographer, took hundreds of photos of the Crimean War in the 1850s. While many consider these men to be two of the earliest wartime photographers, they were actually not the first to capture conflict on film. A handful of pioneers had attempted it years before either man had set foot on a battlefield.

The very first war photographer was an American. While the particular artist's name has been lost to history, we do know that he was attached to the U.S. forces fighting in the Mexican War in 1846 and 1847. These first wartime images were captured using a technology known as daguerreotype.

This early photography method was first developed in 1839 by a French inventor named Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre. It involved a rudimentary camera-like device that could project a scene onto a glass-encased polished metal plate that was treated with light-sensitive chemicals. The process, which could take up to ten minutes or longer to complete, required subjects to stand motionless for the duration of the exposure. Images were captured like mirror reflections on the glass plates, with the chemicals preserving the scene. Despite the limitations of daguerreotypes, they quickly became popular throughout Europe and the United States, with early photographers recording images of cityscapes, public events and even prominent people…"
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Amicalement
Armand

The reality Armand is that Matthew Brady probably took zero photographs of the American Civil War. His eyesight by then was quite poor and he probably could not see to focus. Besides, as a Studio Owner he probably saw being a "camera operator" beneath him, especially in the field. However he had all his photos marked with the phrase "Photographed by Brady". This led to a major break between him and Alexander Gardner.

Alexander Gardner took the ground breaking series of photographs of the aftermath of the battle of Antietam. Gardner took the images but Brady took the credit. This photo series was a sensation, showing the carnage of war in its rawest form to the homefront for the first time. So Gardner left and formed his own studio, becoming Lincoln's favorite photographer. Gardner would get his revenge after the Battle of Gettysburg, his studio produced another moving series of the dead, including the iconic image known variously as "A Sharpshooter's last post" and "A Sharpshooter's sleep". Gardner BTW would photograph Lincoln seven times and his studio was chosen to photograph the execution of those involved in the Lincoln assassination.

Brady BTW often appears in "his" battlefield photographs, an act completely impossible if he were taking the image himself.

Thanks for the info my friend.

Amicalement
Armand