66 http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukLegends
ofphotography
T
rue‘pioneers’in
photographyare
slippery.We’veseen
inthisverycolumn
manynamesvyingforthe
title.Thankfully,wecansay
withsomeconfidencethat
onenamestandsaboveall
otherswhendiscussingwar
photography:RogerFenton.
BorninEngland,Fentonwasa
bignameduringphotography’sRoger
Fenton
‘goldenage’ofthe1850s.A
well-travelledandeducated
individual,hefoundedthe
RoyalPhotographicSociety,
wasappointedtheofficial
photographeroftheBritish
Museumandexcelled
ata dizzyingnumberof
photographygenres.However,
it washisstrikingdocumentof
theCrimeanWarin 1855 that
assuredhislegacy.simplebutdevastatingimage,
potentinitssymbolism
(thoughit’sworthlookinginto
theaccusationthattheimage
wasstaged).
Fenton’s 360 imagestaken
duringtheCrimeanWarwere
soimpactfultheyhelpedto
birtha newgenreof
photography.Tothisday,our
newspapersandTVscreensare
awashwithever-shifting
montagesofwarandfamine.
Butwhydoweneedsuch
images?Intheintroductionto
herbookWar/photography:
ImagesofArmedConflictand
ItsAftermath, AnneWilkes
Tuckerproposesthatthe
imagescapturedby
photographershad,andstill
have,valueforcountless
reasons.Theseinclude
instruction,keepsake,
historicalmarker,publicity,
reconnaissance,criminal
evidenceand,crucially,acting
asa catalysttofurtherinquiry
andunderstandingofarmed
conflictsandtheiraftermaths.
Inthehistoryofwar
photography,noneofthese
rationalisationstakes
precedenceovertheother.All
areequallyviablereasonsfor
theexistenceofwar
photography.
Somesourcessuggest
Fenton’simageshelpedto
shapepublicopiniononthe
CrimeanWarandthathewas
specificallycommissioned
withthisinmind.Wecan’t
knowhowtruethatis buta
reportedtwomillionpeople
viewedFenton’simageswhen
theywereexhibitedbackin
England.Sadly,hemadelittle
moneyandthoughhe
continuedtophotographfor
afewmoreyears,heeventually
grewdisillusionedand
returnedtopractisinglaw,
hisvocation prior to
photography.Fenton’s images showed the vital
role of photography in documenting
conflict, says Oliver Atwell
Fenton’s images were the first
use of photography to record
conflict, though perhaps that
term is a little misleading. His
photographs are relatively
tranquil, almost romantic.
They are bloodless, too, due to
Fenton’s supposed
squeamishness about featuring
corpses in his photographs.
He worked with cumbersome
large-format glass plate
cameras so his exposure times
were often 20secs and upwards.
Additionally, he travelled
around in a wagon that doubled
as a darkroom (see the
photograph above). As a result
of this slow process, kinetic
shots of conflict were
impossible. Instead, the
majority of his images
illustrated the day-to-day lives
of the soldiers. His most famous
image, ‘Valley of the Shadow of
Death’ was instantly iconic. It
shows countless cannonballs
strewn across a road and is a© GETT YRoger Fenton’s
assistant Marcus
Sparling on Fenton’s
photographic van‘Fenton’s images
were the first use of
photography to
record conflict’
© LIBRARY OF CONGRESS