Photography was invented in the 1830s and during wars around this time the photographic process had not been refined enough to create quick captures. The long exposure time needed meant that a lot of the conflict could not be documented, only the aftermath.
Roger Fenton was the first official war photographer with images such as "Shadow of the Valley of Death".
In this image some people think that there were actually soldiers fighting, but they never stayed still long enough to become part of the image. Another instance of this happening was in Louis Daguarre's "Boulevard Du Temple", believed to be the earliest photograph depicting a living person. On this occasion a busy street was photographed, but only 2 figures can be seen; a man having his shoes shined by a young boy. The reason these figures are there is because they stayed in that position long enough to make an imprint on the image.
Afterwards, in 1855, Fenton left and was replaced by James Robertson and Felice Beato. There was a contrast in images from then on, because Fenton portrayed dignified aspects of war, where the new team preferred showing the destructive side. They traveled to Calcutta to document the destruction after the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and took what is believed to be the first photograph depicting a human corpse outside the palace of Sikandar Bagh (seen below). It is also believed that the corpses were rearranged to heighten the photographs. Perhaps this is where the images transitioned from documentation of war to photographs for artistic purposes.
Roger Fenton was the first official war photographer with images such as "Shadow of the Valley of Death".
In this image some people think that there were actually soldiers fighting, but they never stayed still long enough to become part of the image. Another instance of this happening was in Louis Daguarre's "Boulevard Du Temple", believed to be the earliest photograph depicting a living person. On this occasion a busy street was photographed, but only 2 figures can be seen; a man having his shoes shined by a young boy. The reason these figures are there is because they stayed in that position long enough to make an imprint on the image.
Afterwards, in 1855, Fenton left and was replaced by James Robertson and Felice Beato. There was a contrast in images from then on, because Fenton portrayed dignified aspects of war, where the new team preferred showing the destructive side. They traveled to Calcutta to document the destruction after the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and took what is believed to be the first photograph depicting a human corpse outside the palace of Sikandar Bagh (seen below). It is also believed that the corpses were rearranged to heighten the photographs. Perhaps this is where the images transitioned from documentation of war to photographs for artistic purposes.
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