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War of 1812
Britain invades the US in order to retake the colonies. Only paintings were made of this war. -
First Photograph taken
Joseph Nicophore Niecpe captures the first photograph "View from the Study Window at Maison du Gras". This image is made on a pewter plate and done sometime between 1826 and 1827 -
President Jackson- Portrait
Portraits of Presidents are still made by paintings, even after the invention of photography. -
Texas Independence
Texas Declares Independence from Mexico. Again only paintings are made of this war, photography has not expanded into wars. -
Invention of Daguerreotype
Louis-Jacques Mande Daguerre invents the Daguerreotype in 1838, capturing the first image of a human being. -
Invention of Calotype
Henry Fox Talbot invents the Calotype in 1835, which he captures the Lattice Window. Fox Talbot does not share his invention until 1839 -
President Harrison- First Photograph
President William Harry Harrison was the first sitting US President to be photographed. This was accomplished by a Daguerrotype. -
Cyanotype process
Sir John Herschell develops the cyanotype process or blueprint process, in which Anna Atkins used in her book (1843) to create scientific illustrations. -
Haystack Studies
Fox Talbot does a series of haystack photographs, in which he studied the effects created in images by light and shadow. This style kept emerging and changing throughout the 19th century. Strand and Stieglitz return to this style. -
Mexican American War
The US invades Mexico after Mexican troops cross the Rio Grande River into Texas. The first war photography involving the US are taken. -
Crimea War
Crimea war photographed by Roger Fenton, prior to this only paintings were made. Fenton took care not to photograph casualties. This changed in the US wars. -
Roger Fenton- War Photography
Fenton captures the aftermath of a battle in Crimea in the photography "valley of the shadow of death". Notice the valley is scattered with cannon balls and no casualties. It was too dangerous and difficult to take battlefield pictures during the actual conflict. -
Oscar Rejlander-Tableaux Vivant
Oscar Rejlander uses a combination of thirty negatives in "Two Ways of Life" -
Aerial Photography
Nadar pioneers aerial photography, taking a picture from a hot air balloon. Nadar had to have a dark room on the ballon due to his wet collodion process. -
Henry Peach Robinson- Tableaux Vivant
Henry Peach Robinson follows Rejlander's technique; however he shocks the public with a portrait of a young woman dying. While others found this offensive, the photograph came out to be fictitious. -
Matthew Brady- War Photography
Known as the best civil war photographer, Matthew Brady captures a picture of President Lincoln -
US Civil War Begins
The US Civil War begins at the battle of Fort Sumpter -
The Camerista
This invention allowed for four pictures to be taken at once. -
Alexander Gardner- War Photography
Alexander Gardner known for pictures of the aftermath of battlefields captures the bodies of both Union and Confederate soldiers. In this photograph of the battle of Antietam, Graham showcases the casualties of war. -
Timothy O'Sullivan- War Photography
Another prolific civil war photographer, Timothy O'Sullivan captures in "Harvest of Death" the casualties in the battle of Gettysburg -
Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation. -
Civil War ends
Last battle of the US Civil War was the battle of Palmito Ranch. -
US Reconstruction Era
Photographs become more prevalent throughout the US. Multiple styles are developed and a focus on the landscape. -
Julia Margaret Cameron-Tableaux Vivant
Recreation of Biblical and Arthurian texts led to a new artistic expression of photography. Julia Margaret Cameron captures Sir Lancelot and Queen Guenievre. -
Development of the Mugshot
Alphonse Bertillon developed and standardized the mugshot. Bertillon's contribution in the 1880s is still used today -
Pictorialists Emerge
Seeking to make the photograph look more like a painting, Pictorialists such as Peter Henry Emerson captures the image "Poling the Marsh Hay". The Pictorialist seeks to create a image that is not sharp or focused, instead seeking the blur and gradual tones of the scene. -
Peter Henry Emerson- Pictorialist
Emerson captures the soft images in "Gathering Water Lilies". -
Arthur Batut- Aerial Photograpy
Batut attaches a camera on a timer to a kite to capture the city of Labruguiere, France. -
San Juan Hill- War Photography
Photograph of soon to be President Theodore Roosevelt surrounded by his Rough Riders regiment. Photograph is not just an individual portrait but a unit portrait. -
F Holland Day- Pictorialist
Holland Day captures in his photography the soft angles and shadows of the human form. In this 1901 photo Day captures himself in an Algerian costume. -
Photo-Secession Movement
Alfred Stieglitz sought images that captured the essence of the photograph print by graphic expression with sharp angles and dramatic contrast between light and shadows, rejecting the Pictorialist movement. Stieglitz started this movement in his publication "CameraWork". -
L.P. Bonvillain- Aerial Photography
Bonvillian captures the first aerial photograph from an air plane of a French city piloted by Wilbur Wright. -
Paul Strand- CameraWork
Paul Strand captures the immense buildings of Wall Street contrasted the to small men walking amongst the towering structures. In this photograph Strand highlights the light and shadows. -
Alfred Stieglitz- CameraWork
1930 Stieglitz showcases the juxtaposition between light and shadows, along with the sharp image of the tree.
