Reading Photographs: A Brief History of American Indians and Photography
The techniques for permanently rendering a scene by means of light sensitive chemicals were introduced to the European and American publics in 1839. At first, studio portraits of family members were the primary subject matter, but soon views of exotic people and places were in demand. In 1844, just five years after the introduction of photography, American Indians were being photographed.However, the early technology was cumbersome and time consuming, and allowed for only single images; there was no easy way to reproduce the images for wide distribution. By the early 1850s, developments in photographic technology not only allowed photographers to escape from the confines of the studio and move into the field, but also to make reproducable images. To begin, the photographer composed the scene, placed the subjects, and focused the tripod mounted camera. He then went into a darkened room--or tent if he was outside--where he covered a clean sheet of glass with light-sensitive liquid chemicals. While the plate was still wet (the process is called "wet plate photography") the photographer placed it into his camera and removed a lens cap to expose the plate. After several seconds, he replaced the lens cover, removed the plate, and retired to his tent where other chemicals made the negative image permanent. Multiple positive prints could be produced from these glass plate negatives.
With this new technology, professional photographers began to market prints to a widening public. Most of the photographs of American Indians taken in the 1850s and early 1860s were made to document the diplomatic tribal delegations to Washington, D.C. After the Civil War, photographers began to follow the westward expansion and to record--sometimes accurately, sometimes not--the encounters between the native peoples and the Euro-Americans.
It may be noted that although many Indian people were initially fearful of the photographic technology--as were many non-Indian people--there is little direct contemporary evidence that Indian people viewed cameras as 'shadow catchers', or believed that souls could be somehow captured. Indeed, the term 'shadow catcher' seems to have been an invention of the photographers themselves. By the 1870s, many Indian people had been photographed multiple times--there are at least six formal portraits of the Chawi Pawnee chief Petalesharo taken between 1858 and 1871. However, some communities as well as individuals still prohibit intrusive photography, or the inappropriate use of photographic images.
In 1889, George Eastman developed the process of treating a
flexible nitro-celluose film with light sensitive chemicals. This
had several long-term effects upon photography. On the one hand,
the new films were not as sensitive to light as were the glass
plates so glass continued to be used for much professional
photography. At the same time, the first "Kodak" cameras were
inexpensive and easy to use. This brought photography out of the
hands of the professional photographer or dedicated amateur, and
into hands of the family snapshot photographer. In response, many
professional photographers turned from straightforward
documentary photography to the styles and techniques called
"Pictorialism," the use of Impressionist photographic technique:
novel angles, dramatic close-ups, and soft focus to create an
image rather than a scene.
Next Section