Photography in World War I

JC Vogt

Over the years, photography has become one of the most popular art forms across the
world. Through the good and the bad, this medium is, and has been, one of the easiest and most
immediate way of documenting life as it happens. Starting in 1914, film photography played a
large role in the documentation of World War I. The ability to capture and develop a series of
images in a single day allowed for the sharing of the tragic activities seen in the war. Not only
did it show the rest of the world what was happening, but aerial photography helped expose the
locations of the enemy, and was strategically used to help plan attacks. Over time, aerial
zphotography advanced and allowed for more detailed images of the wars going on below.
Photography has been around since 1816, and aerial photography was utilized only 42
years later. Photographer Gaspard-Flix Tournachon, also known as Nadar, was a French
photographer, caricaturist, journalist, and balloonist in the early 19
th
. He began his photography
career in 1853, and captured the first aerial
photograph in 1858. This feat was accomplished by
putting a darkroom and all its gear into a basket of a
balloon, and then flew over the city of Petit-Becetre
to produce the first aerial photography.
Unfortunately, Nadar lost his aerial print, but later in
1860, James Wallace Black, and American
photographer, tried the feat again was successful. His print was entitled Boston, as the Eagle
and Wild Goose see it, and was the first clear aerial images of a city anywhere. Around 40 years
after this image was produced, the first aerial photograph from an airplane was taken. Wilber
Wright, one of the famed Wright Brothers, was in Italy during 1909 marketing planes to Italy
when he carried a passenger who took motion pictures of the military field in Centocelli. From
then on, photography played a major role in scoping out enemy bases and defenses. By the end
of the war, both sides were recording the entire front of the war at least twice a day.
In the beginning of World War I, balloons similar to blimps were used to photography the
areas. These balloons could, after being tethered
down, travel upward of
a mile into the air. This
ability to fly high in the
air gave photographers
a great view of the
landscape below. Though handheld cameras were sometimes used on balloons, the images
produced from the cameras were very disappointing; usually turning out blurry or out of focus.
To be a photographer in a balloon, you not only had to be skilled at operating a balloon, but also
know the ins and out of the camera, and be able to put both of these skills together to work in
unison. This method was soon abandoned, though, for not only were these balloons highly
unstable in the wind, but also were easily shot down my enemy weapons. Instead, airplanes soon
took to the air. At the time, France was the leader of aerial photography, seeing as their army had
built cameras into their planes from the very beginning. One such plane was the Blriot
observation plane, which allowed for a vertical camera to be attached to the side. These cameras
were extremely large and heavy, but after a while, the French were able to quickly photograph
and print images, which allowed them to get them to field officers in record time. Meanwhile,
Britain was far less advanced when it came to aviation. Eventually, a Farman airplane was fitted
with a Watson camera, and this creation allowed for Britain to join the world of aerial
photography. Germany also played a role in the realm of aerial photography, and, like France,
was quite advanced with its technology. In 1913, the first aerial camera, a Gorz, was
manufactured to mount to German planes. These cameras were foldable, and because of its quick
aperture, able to take relatively clear images of the enemys bases below. As the war roared on,
German technology began to improve. The German optics company, Carl Zeiss, greatly
advanced Germanys ability to photograph the war by producing extremely high quality lenses.
This took the rest of the allies by surprise, and they had to quickly learn how to make lenses as
efficiently as Carl Zeiss did. From this point on, cameras were generally very complex, and
could weigh up to 35 pounds. The United States also played an important role in the
development and advancement of aerial photography by using French planes and modified
cameras.
One man that was responsible for devising many techniques and equipment that furthered
aerial photography was the American topographer and aerial
photographer James W. Bagley. Bagley was born in
Fayetteville, Tennessee in the fall of 1881. At an early age,
he took an interest in math and engineering, and eventually
attended Washington and Lee University, from which he
graduated in the early 20
th
century. After his graduation,
Bagley became an employee of the US Geological Survey
from the early 1900s to 1917, upon which he was called
into the war. There, Bagley went on to produce a tri-camera lens, which allowed for three
overlaying images to be taken, which could be combined into a single panorama. The images
produced from this invention were used to find enemy trenches and gun lines, and compare them
to existing maps to allow for great accuracy. After his service in the war, Bagley retired as a
Lieutenant Colonel in 1936, and was soon put in charge of an Engineer unit at Wright Field,
Ohio, where he furthered aerial photography even more. Later, Fairchild Aerial Camera
Corporation furthered Bagleys creation to build the T-2 and the T-2A, a four-lens camera. The
T-2A camera was made up of one vertical lens and three oblique lenses, which were each set at
35 degrees. Combined, the images produced a 120 degree panorama, which gave an even
broader view as to what was below. After this camera was created, Bagley continued on to
produce a 5 lens camera, the T-3A, which was used primarily by topographers in World War II,
to help produce a two-dimensional or planimetric map.
During the entirety of World War I, aerial photography played an extremely important
role. Whether it was used to scope out terrain, to finding enemy bases, or even determining
distances between to places, the necessity for it was extremely high. Starting out with a camera
in a hot air balloon, going to the usage of cameras on blimps, and then continuing further on to
the ability to attach cameras to airplanes, the advancements that were made are nothing short of
incredible.




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https://photohistory.wikispaces.com/Aerial+Photography+During+WWI