One of the earliest to photograph a war was Roger Fenton, one of the founders of the photographic society (This is now the Royal Photographic Society http://www.rps.org/history) who documented the Crimean War (1853 - 1946) which was mainly between Russia and the Turks, however had involved the English and the French. There was controversy and criticism about the English Governments handling of the War after a report was written by a journalist from 'The Times' therefore Fenton was commissioned by a Manchester print dealer in 1855 to photograph the conflict and of the moral of the British soldiers. http://www.rleggat.com/photohistory/history/fenton.htm
Fenton's images of war do not show the gruelling truth behind combat due to there being no action shots (this being due to the limitations of equipment and materials to capture this at this time) or show horrific shots of the dead. It has been suggested that his images are a very bias representation of the Crimean War compared to that of Mathew Brady's photographs of the American Cival War (1861-1865). http://www.rleggat.com/photohistory/history/brady.htm
John Reekie-1865-Burial
"Mathew Brady had a significant effect on the art of photography, demonstrating that war photographs need not necessarily be purely posed ones. His work represents the first instance of what one may call documentary photography." © Robert Leggat, 1999.
There was a great public demand to see images of events and the news of the world, it was at this time that the most popular newspaper, dedicated to showing images of the Civil War, was the 'Harper's Weekly' ("Journey of Civilization") http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/the-civil-war.htm
Page 28 of the Harper's Weekly on January 11th 1862
LANDING OF OHIO TROOPS AT LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.—[SKETCHED BY MR. H. MOSLER.]
The illustrations of events were produced from the interpretations of wood engravings and other lithographs.
The Harper's Weekly was first published between 1857 to 1967, it was later revived as a broadsheet newspaper in the 1970's however was more successfully relaunched in 2000 as a digital newsletter. The main delivery of photojournalism is the major difference from the 1850's to the present day, due to technological advancements - two of the main being television and most recently due to living through a digital revolution.
During the 1860's, a definite change was seen within people / portrait photography. It was due to Scotish born William Carrick photographing the working class peasants within Russia due to the sheer curiosity from the public. It was not known within paintings to document servants or workers, obviously due to the fact that only the rich could afford to pay for these artists. Carrick's photographs display and exhibit a passing of time, his works are considered to be a vivid historical documentary photography archive of his time.
Chimney Sweep and Fishmonger
An Abacus Seller, St Petersburgh
Another shocking realisation to the world was Wallace Hooper's photographs of the Madras Famine in India (1876-1878). Photographs were very powerful at this time to convince a visual truth, to allow the suffering of others into the lives of the distant spectators, and as the military officers archive expanded, famine photography ascended in journalistic importance and emerged within the illustrated periodical press.
Another renowned Scottish photographer of the 19th Century was John Thompson (1837-1921) who travelled to Eastern lands to document the foreign social conditions. He also photographed a British series documenting the street crawlers of Victorian London. It is within his photographs that Thompson dedicated his life to portraying someone else's experiences, thus providing a true and real sense into what life was like during his time.
Below are some photographs and written guidance from Thompson's collection of China in the mid-19th Century sourced from http://www.wellcomecollection.org/explore/time--place/topics/john-thomsons-china/john-thomsons-china.aspx
Chinese Labourers
In the mid-19th century, each year a large number of labourers from Shantou and nearby regions left their homes to work on plantations in Cochin China (Vietnam), Siam (Thailand) and the Straits of Malacca. Chinese labourers were much in demand in South-east Asia because of their willingness to undertake the hardest work. For these economic migrants, the main attraction of working abroad was the pay. At two or three dollars a month, their earnings were much higher than what they could receive back home. After having saved enough money, many would return home and buy a plot of land.
A Knife-Grinder
A travelling knife-grinder working at a one-wheeled handcart in the street, outside a brick house. He is dressed in ragged clothes and looking round towards the camera. The photograph reveals that his work-bench was also a cart, which he pushed around little hutongs, looking for customers. The street remained a place of fascination for John Thomson, and the 'street life' of both Asia and London occupied a central place in his work. As the capital of the Qing Empire, Beijing and its streets were described by Thomson as "highly picturesque and interesting". People formed an essential part of this picturesque charm, particularly the traders and artisans who plied their skills and wares along the streets.
A Travelling Chiropodist
In Late Qing China, the streets of major cities were full of 'quack doctors', many of whom practised as barbers and ear-cleaners. Here an itinerant chiropodist is operating on a painful corn and dressing the toe-nails of his patient; a second customer leaning out of a dilapidated window patiently waits his turn, while smoking the pipe of peace
Possibly one of the greatest ever journalist's / photojournalist's of the 19th Century was Denmark born Jacob A Riis who moved to New York in 1870. He was passionate through his investigative journalism to expose those responsible for the social desperate living conditions of the poor immigrants residing in New York. His exceptional written journalism as well as accompanied photographs portrayed a lack of opportunity in a land that was supposed to have been considered as America's 'land of opportunity'! Riis was among the first photographers to use flash powder which enabled him to photograph interiors as well as exteriors of the slums at night.
No comments:
Post a Comment