War Time Photographers (DB4)

War time photographers have been responsible for shaping the images of these past events in our minds with their photographs and portraits. Images of soldiers, civilians, death, heroism and brutality were captured. Below, four famous war time photographers are outlined and images of their work is shown to demonstrate both their technical photography skills, as well as articulate the artistry used to illustrate these events.

Mathew Brady: Known as one of the greatest war documentary photographers of all time, all though the majority of photos credited as his were actually photographed by others, including Roger Fenton and Alexander Gardner as the most prevalent. Although the subject of the photos is the same (war), different photographs were taken by completely different artists so the mood and context of the images are on two different ends of the spectrum. This is why the works credited to Mathew Brady are inconsistent in terms of portrayal of the war.

Roger Fenton: A well known Crimean War photographer who worked for Mathew Brady. His photographs are typically portraits of important individuals involved in the war, and are not so much portrayals of action, but of the personalities representing the war (i.e. soldiers standing around talking, generals at their post). The image to the right is one taken by Roger Fenton using his typical style of photography.

Alexander Gardner: A photographer of the American Civil War also hired by Mathew Brady, his photographs gave a much more realistic and graphic portrayal of the war. Many of his photographs included images of dead soldiers in trenches, as well as bones and human remains left behind because of the acts committed in the war. To the left is an photograph taken by Alexander Gardner of fallen soldiers in the Civil War.

Robert Capa: Another photographer of the war that had a different focus on what he portrayed in his images. He has many images of soldiers in action that give off a heroic feel, as well as images of civilians that were indirectly involved in the war. His images have a much more artistic and symbolic feel then that of the realistic photos taken by Fenton and Gardner. He also creates images that give the war a feeling of being an experience in time, surrounding culture, behavior, fashion and emotion.