Equipment

As you browse the photo gallery section of this website it’s important to realize that photography in this era was not of the point-and-shoot variety we see today. The equipment was extremely heavy and often required several skilled operators to work efficiently – while there were no batteries to worry about, feeding the donkey that carried this heavy load was a more primary concern.

This is also an interesting time period in the history of photography in that Americans were able for the first time to purchase mass produced photographs derived from the new wet collodion process depicted in the following clip:

Unlike earlier photo development processes, which were 1:1, the creation of a negative image made the dissemination of this information much easier because a negative can be re-used multiple times. To put it another way, imagine the impact of the invention of the printing press in relation to previous methods. One could easily argue this leap in technology had a significant impact in propelling the underlying political goals of the USGS surveys.

Also new on the scene were massive, “mammoth glass” plates, which enabled photographers like Watkins to capture landscape images on a grand scale. It’s also worth noting that frequently on expeditions there were multiple cameras in use, and in some cases you’ll notice “two image” or “Stereoviews” photographs (check out our FAQ section for more information about how those images work!).

Learn more

The PBS “American Experience” website has a very good explanation of how cameras functioned in the 19th century, most of which relied on the same principles of capturing light on a photosensitive medium. The basic mechanics of these devices were also similar although they often varied in size and shape.

In addition to the links noted above we highly recommend checking out the George Eastman House for all things related to photography and photography equipment. Eastman House also has a large online video collection on Youtube that is worth a visit and a fantastic book that offers a visual history of cameras.