Doctored The Medicine Of Photography In Nineteenth Century America
Photography has become an inseparable part of our lives, and we cannot imagine a life without it. However, it was not always like this. Photography has come a long way, and the history of photography can be traced back to the early 19th century. In the 1800s, photography was a new and exciting technology, and people were fascinated by it. However, the early days of photography were not as simple as they are today. Photography was a complicated and time-consuming process that required a lot of skill and patience. Moreover, the photographs produced in those days were not always accurate and truthful. In the 19th century, photography was doctored to create images that were not always true to life.
Early Photography in America
The history of photography in America can be traced back to 1839, when the daguerreotype process was introduced. The daguerreotype was a photographic process invented by Louis Daguerre, and it was the first commercially successful photographic process. The daguerreotype produced a one-of-a-kind image on a polished silver plate. The image produced by the daguerreotype was a mirror image, and it had to be viewed at a certain angle to be seen properly.
The daguerreotype was a complicated process that required a lot of skill and patience. The process involved exposing a silver-plated copper sheet to iodine vapor to produce a light-sensitive surface. The sheet was then exposed to light in a camera, and the image was developed using mercury vapor. The final image was then fixed with a solution of sodium thiosulfate, and it was protected with a layer of varnish.
Doctored Photography
Photography in the 19th century was not always truthful. Photographs were doctored to create images that were not always accurate. Photographers used various techniques to manipulate photographs, such as double exposure, retouching, and composite photography. These techniques were used to create images that were not always true to life.
Double exposure was a technique in which two or more images were superimposed on each other to create a single image. This technique was used to create images that were not possible to capture in a single exposure. For example, a photographer could create an image of a person standing next to their own ghost by taking two exposures on the same plate.
Retouching was a technique in which the negative or the print was modified to remove blemishes or unwanted elements from the image. This technique was used to create images that were more pleasing to the eye. For example, a photographer could remove a pimple from a person's face or a telephone pole from a landscape.
Composite photography was a technique in which two or more images were combined to create a single image. This technique was used to create images that were not possible to capture in a single exposure. For example, a photographer could create an image of a person standing on a cloud by combining an image of a person with an image of a cloud.
The Impact of Doctored Photography
The impact of doctored photography in the 19th century was significant. Doctored photographs were used to promote various agendas, such as political, social, and personal. For example, doctored photographs were used to promote the idea of Manifest Destiny, which was the belief that it was the destiny of the United States to expand its territory from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Doctored photographs were also used to promote the idea of racial superiority. For example, doctored photographs were used to promote the idea that African Americans were inferior to white Americans. Photographs of African Americans were often doctored to make them look more caricatured and less human.
Doctored photographs were also used for personal reasons. For example, doctored photographs were used to create images that were more flattering to the subject. Photographers would often retouch the negative or the print to remove blemishes or unwanted elements from the image.
The Evolution of Photography
The 19th century was a time of great change and innovation in photography. The daguerreotype process was just the beginning of a long journey that would lead to the development of new and more advanced photographic processes. The evolution of photography would lead to the development of new techniques, such as the wet plate collodion process, which was introduced in the 1850s. The wet plate collodion process was a photographic process that involved using a glass plate coated with a light-sensitive solution of collodion, which was then exposed in a camera and developed using various chemical solutions.
The evolution of photography would also lead to the development of new cameras and lenses. The early cameras were large and cumbersome, and they were often difficult to use. However, as the technology improved, cameras became smaller and more portable, making them easier to use and more accessible to the general public.
Conclusion
In conclusion, photography in the 19th century was a complicated and time-consuming process that required a lot of skill and patience. Moreover, the photographs produced in those days were not always accurate and truthful. Photographs were doctored to create images that were not always true to life. However, the evolution of photography would lead to the development of new and more advanced photographic processes, making photography more accessible and more accurate than ever before.