THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PHOTOGRAPHY
More than one-third of all known photographs of dead soldiers on Civil War battlefields were recorded at Gettysburg.
While photographs of earlier conflicts do exist, the American Civil War is considered the first major conflict to be extensively photographed.
Did you know that an estimated 70% of all Civil War documentary photographs were shot as "stereoviews" - the 19th Century equivalent of 3-D? Our new photography special, in conjunction with the Center for Civil War Photography, will let you see Civil War photos as the photographers intended - in three dimensions.
While photographs of earlier conflicts do exist, the American Civil War is considered the first major conflict to be extensively photographed.
Did you know that an estimated 70% of all Civil War documentary photographs were shot as "stereoviews" - the 19th Century equivalent of 3-D? Our new photography special, in conjunction with the Center for Civil War Photography, will let you see Civil War photos as the photographers intended - in three dimensions.
Camera Ready!
Photography during the Civil War, especially for those who ventured out to the battlefields with their cameras, was a difficult and time consuming process. Photographers had to carry all of their heavy equipment, including their darkroom, by wagon. They also had to be prepared to process cumbersome light-sensitive images in cramped wagons.
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The Impact of Civil War Photos
With these advancements in photographic technology, the Civil War became a true watershed moment in the history of photography. The iconic photos of the American Civil War would not only directly affect how the war was viewed from the home front, but it would also inspire future combat photographers who would take their cameras to the trenches of Flanders, the black sands of Iwo Jima, the steaming jungles of Vietnam, and the deserts of Afghanistan.
IWO JIMA
Photographer Joe Rosenthal provided the U.S. Marine Corps with one of its most enduring images with his picture (restaged for the purpose) of Americans raising the flag over Mount Suribachi at the southwest corner of Iwo, an image replicated on postage stamps as well as on the memorial statue at the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery.
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VIETNAM
LIFE magazine war photographer, Larry Burrows, covered the fighting on the front lines during the Vietnam War and is now being remembered for his extraordinary work as the 41 year anniversary of his death approaches. Mr Burrows captured the compelling images of Operation Prairie, the U.S. offensive against the North Vietnamese near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), that lasted from August 3 to October 27, 1966. His photographs of the bloody aftermath of the attack, juxtaposed against the lush and picturesque scenery of the Southeast Asian nation, are being revisited on LIFE.com as the London-born photojournalist is remembered. |