History of Photography — Module 04: War, Imperialism, and Photography as a Social Force

In the mid-nineteenth century, photography rapidly evolved into a powerful tool for documenting and shaping the social world. Initially deployed during conflicts like the Crimean and American Civil Wars, photographers such as Roger Fenton and Alexander Gardner captured battlefields, fundamentally shifting the public's perception of war. Simultaneously, photography facilitated imperial expansion and topographical surveys, with figures like Timothy O'Sullivan and Francis Frith documenting the American West, Asia, and the Middle East. As the medium expanded into a lucrative mass-market industry, it commodified human experience, broadening global awareness while ultimately desensitizing audiences to the harsh realities of conflict and colonial domination.

19th Century Photography
and the Social World

War and Photography

  • The Crimean War: Roger Fenton’s sanitized, politically motivated photographs avoided the gruesome realities of conflict and supply shortages.

  • The American Civil War: Alexander Gardner and others captured unflinching, brutal realism, bringing the "earnestness of war" to the public.

  • Communication and Adaptation: Photographers established makeshift field darkrooms, and methods like photographically reduced text on carrier pigeons advanced wartime communication.

Business and Architecture of Early Photography

  • Division of Labor: Prominent figures like Mathew Brady often conceptualized and managed studios, while uncredited field operators pushed the camera button and publishers/engravers distributed the images.

  • Vernacular Photography: The market exploded with cheap, accessible portraits, such as the tintypes produced in military camps by the Bergstresser brothers.

  • The Mass Market: The desire to own images sparked one of the first mass-marketed media industries globally.

Imperialism and Global Expansion

  • "Small Wars" and Conquest: Photography followed Western economic interests and military campaigns, such as Felice Beato's documentation of the Second Opium War in China and the aftermath of the Indian Mutiny.

  • The Grand Tour: Photographers like Francis Frith and John Murray captured iconic monuments in the Middle East and India, satisfying a Western appetite for the exotic.

Topographical Surveys and the American West

  • Government and Railroad Expansion: Survey teams used photography to scout railroad routes, determine artillery ranges, and map undiscovered terrain.

  • The "Commercial Sublime": Carleton E. Watkins and Timothy O'Sullivan constructed images of the West as an untouched "primordial paradise," deliberately erasing traces of indigenous peoples and industrial mining.

  • Conservation: Photographic records of vast geological wonders played a crucial role in establishing national parks like Yellowstone.

The Paradox of the Lens

  • Rationalizing Domination: Photography often provided visual justifications for imperial and economic expansion by framing indigenous populations as obstacles to civilization.

  • Desensitization: While the sheer volume of mass-produced stereographs and cartes-de-visite brought the world to the consumer, it also taught the public how to "ignore or forget" images when confronted by an overwhelming excess of them.

That division between the person who conceptualizes an image and the person who executes it remains relevant in commercial photography today. Scott Parker Photo operates as photographer, producer, and creative director. scottparkerphoto.com/fashion.

Module 05:
Photography, Science, and the Myth of Objectivity