Civil Wars Wet Plate Collodion Photography

Civil War's Wet Plate Collodion Photography The wet plate collodion process was a manner of taking photographs which used panes of glass, coated with a chemical solution, as the negative. It was the method of photography in use at the time of the Civil War, and it was a fairly complicated procedure. The wet plate method was invented by Frederick Scott Archer, an amateur photographer in Britain, in 1851. Frustrated by the difficult photography technology of the time, a method known as calotype, Scott Archer sought to develop a simplified process for preparing a photographic negative. His discovery was the wet plate method, which was generally known as the â€Å"collodion process.† The word collodion refers to the syrupy chemical mixture which was used to coat the glass plate. Numerous Steps Were Required The wet plate process required considerable skill. The required steps: A glass sheet was coated with chemicals, known as collodion.The coated plate was immersed in a bath of silver nitrate, which made it sensitive to light.The wet glass, which would be the negative used in the camera, was then placed in a light-proof box.The negative, in its special light-proof holder, would be placed inside the camera.A panel in the light-proof holder, known as the dark slide, along with the lens cap of the camera, would be removed for several seconds, thereby taking the photograph.The â€Å"dark slide† of the light-proof box was replaced, sealing the negative up in darkness again.The glass negative was then taken to the darkroom and developed in chemicals and â€Å"fixed,† making the negative image on it permanent. (For a photographer working in the field during the Civil War, the darkroom would be an improvised space in a horse-drawn wagon.)The negative could be coated with a varnish to ensure the permanence of the image.Prints would later be generated from the glass negative. The Wet Plate Collodion Process Had Serious Drawbacks The steps involved in the wet plate process, and the considerable skill required, imposed obvious limitations. Photographs taken with the wet plate process, from the 1850s through the late 1800s, were almost always taken by professional photographers in a studio setting. Even photographs taken in the field during the Civil War, or later during expeditions to the West, required the photographer to travel with a wagon full of equipment. Perhaps the first war photographer was a British artist, Roger Fenton, who managed to transport cumbersome photographic equipment to the battlefront of the Crimean War. Fenton had mastered the wet plate method of photography soon after it became available and put it into practice shooting landscapes of the British midlands. Fenton took a trip to Russia in 1852 and took photographs. His travels proved that the latest photographic method could be utilized outside of a studio. However, traveling with the equipment and the necessary chemicals to develop the images would present a formidable challenge. Traveling to the Crimean War with his photographic wagon was difficult, yet Fenton managed to shoot impressive photographs. His images, while praised by art critics upon his return to England, were a commercial failure. Roger Fentons photographic van used in the Crimean War, with his assistant posing on its bench. Library of Congress While Fenton had transported his ungainly equipment to the front, he purposely avoided photographing the ravages of war. He would have had many opportunities  to depict wounded or dead soldiers. But he probably assumed his intended  audience in Britain did not want to see such things. He sought to portray a more glorious side of the conflict, and tended to photograph officers in their dress uniforms. In fairness to Fenton, the wet plate process made it impossible to photograph action on the battlefield. The process allowed for a shorter exposure time than previous photographic methods, yet it still required the shutter to be open for several seconds. For that reason there could not be any action photography with wet plate photography, as any action would blur. There are no combat photographs from the Civil War, as people in the photographs had to hold a pose for the length of the exposure. And for photographers working in battlefield or camp conditions, there were great obstacles. It was difficult to travel with the chemicals required for preparing and developing the negatives. And the glass panes used as negatives were fragile and carrying them in horse-drawn wagons presented a whole set of difficulties. Generally speaking, a photographer working in the field, such as Alexander Gardner when he shot the carnage at Antietam, would have an assistant along who mixed the chemicals. While the assistant was in the wagon preparing the glass plate, the photographer could set up the camera on its heavy tripod and compose the shot. Even with an assistant helping, each photograph taken during the Civil War would have required about ten minutes of preparation and developing. And once a photograph was taken and the negative was fixed, there was always a problem of a negative cracking. A famous photograph of Abraham Lincoln by Alexander Gardner shows damage from a crack in the glass negative, and other photographs of the same period show similar flaws. By the 1880s a dry negative method began to be available to photographers. Those negatives could be purchased ready to be used, and did not require the complicated process of preparing the collodion as required in the wet plate process.

American Atrocities in Vietnam Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

American Atrocities in Vietnam - Research Paper Example According to Anderson, D (2002), atrocities such as the killing of noncombat civilians or the torture of prisoners occur in all wars but that it became a particular issue in the Vietnam War. Violence against the civilians of Vietnam by the American military was an intentional act of war and they acted with indifference to the destruction of noncombatants and to that of their property. Most of the military commanders of the United States were aware of the laws governing ground warfare that had been established by various international agreements but atrocities were still committed by some American soldiers and officers. Throughout the entire war, only two hundred and seventy eight soldiers and marines were convicted of murder, rape, and other violent crimes by the military justice system but many more incidents went unpunished or were not even reported. The policy of heavy bombing by in South Vietnam with high explosives and napalm by American forces to support ground operations in an d around villages and the widespread use of artillery for the same purpose generated many accidental civilian casualties. Martin, M F (2011) states that the United States military used herbicides and defoliants as part of its herbicidal warfare in Vietnam, and one of these, known as Agent Orange, was used extensively from 1961 to 1971 in South Vietnam and in portions of North Vietnam. At the time the herbicides were being used, there was little consideration within the American military about the potential long term effects of the widespread use of Agent Orange towards the Vietnamese population. It is further unclear exactly where in Vietnam the Agent Orange herbicides were sprayed and the amount sprayed at each location and this has ensured that virtually every aspect of the effects of this herbicide in Vietnam is infused with uncertainty. These herbicides were used on the crops of the Vietnamese civilians so that the crops could die causing mass starvation. The American army comma nders mistakenly believed that starvation would force the Vietnamese population to support the American backed South Vietnamese regime but this turned out to be counterproductive because instead the people lost all confidence in the southern government and secretly supported the North. Another major result of the use of these herbicides was the mass starvation that occurred after their use and a lot of the civilian population, which had nothing to do with the war, died in the resulting famine. Anderson, D L(2011) declares that it was the fear, anger, and incentive for promotion or commendation for a high body count (which was a requirement by the military at the time) that led the American soldiers to an over application of their weaponry which constituted atrocities against the civilian population. Individual Vietnamese and sometimes even entire villages could be killed because they were suspected of being the enemy or in certain incidents; they were simply killed just because they got in the way. Leahey, C R (2007) states that the Vietnam war, with its tactical use of high altitude bombing and artillery fire, and the search and destroy missions resulted in mass killings. These weapons were used indiscriminately by the American mili

Prospects of Utilization of Solar Energy For Thermal Desalination Dissertation

Prospects of Utilization of Solar Energy For Thermal Desalination Technologies in Saudi Arabia - Dissertation Example The paper describes about the current scenario about water resources in Saudi Arabia and how existing demand supply gaps can be filled with the use of thermal desalination technology in the years to come. Introduction The world population including the population in Saudi Arabia is growing at a rapid pace. The established and known reserves of fossil fuel is depleting fast. It has been imperative on the part of scientist and engineers to think of alternate sources of energy to meet the increasing demand. With the rising population demand of water is increasing too. Saudi Arabia has no natural sources of water supply except the water stored in aquifers. For these reasons, the Saudi Arabia has undertaken several projects for the development of renewable sources of energy. This study explores the possibility of harnessing solar energy for the purpose of desalination of water in Saudi Arabia. Radiation Measurement in Saudi Arabia According to one research report, the average solar radiat ion in Saudi Arabia is noticed as 5591 Watt hour on unit square meter area. The data collected are from 41 stations in the period of 10 years. (Mohandas et al, 1999) The solar radiation measurement in Saudi Arabia is now available for 10 major towns namely Tabuk, Al-Ula, Unayxah, Shaqra, Dawdami, Yabrin, Turabah, Heifa, Kwash, and Najran. Though all the locations offer promising solar radiation but the area of Najran is found to be the best. The method used is called radial basis function neural networks. (Mohandas et al, 1999) Solar energy and duration of sunshine is not the same throughout the year. As per the Solar Radiation Atlas the radiation is found to be in the range of 4.1 and 6.7 kilowatt-hour /sq. meter / day. (Alnaser et al., 2004) An Overview of Desalination Process in Saudi Arabia The current market share of the Saudi Arabia in the production of desalinated water is about 30 percent when viewed with respect to the global capacity installed. In last 80 years the Saudi A rabia has spent almost $25 billion on building and operating desalination plants. The kingdom now has 30 desalination units and the country has more than quadrupled its food production. It can be said that Saudi Arabia has turned into a modern nation in the last 25 years. A more than 50 percent water need of a resident in any city of the kingdom is met through Desalinated technology. (Water Demand, 2010) Supply and Demand Scenario of Water in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia is mostly desert area devoid of any lakes or rivers. Saudi has limited water resources. The groundwater, stored in several aquifers across the country, is the main source that satisfies more than 90% of its water demand. Available Water Resources in Saudi Arabia, 2010 Source of Water In Million Cubic Meters Surface water (Renewable) 5000 (2230 available for use) Groundwater resources 2,269,000 (84,000 renewable water in shallow aquifers) Groundwater recharge (Renewable) 3,958 (1,196 in shallow aquifers and 2,762 in dee p aquifers) Desalination 1050 Treated Wastewater 400 Source: http://www.miahona.com/upload/publications/2010_Walid_SWPF-2010_Jeddah.pdf (p 18) The government of Saudi Arabia has been making great efforts to secure the water supplies for all purposes; some of them include such as dams, distribution systems, wastewater collection and treatment facilities in most cities and towns of the kingdom along with large sea

History of jazz Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

History of jazz - Essay Example The next brass band was formed in 1884 and it consisted of a Creole cornet player called Manuel Perez who was an addition to the group. Different bands continued forming after that as well and they consisted of Creoles up until 1898. Jazz consisted of several different kinds of music such as blues music, ragtime and the brass band fanfares. Religious music was however not included in the mix of music during formation of jazz. White music which was popular was also missing at the beginning of the jazz music formation but was later on incorporated to add a commercial sense to the music and enable it to sell widely. In 1898 immediately after US defeated Spain and liberating Cuba, troops who had been in the war landed in New Orleans on their way to other locations. They brought brass instruments with them and they sold them on the black market which was adopted quickly. These brass instruments were unlike what was used before as they were European instruments and hence the music played from then incorporated European aspect into the Creole jazz blending the two up1. This new form of jazz with both African and European music and instruments in it was soon picked up across New Orleans and it formed the basis of the present jazz as it is known to date. New Orleans was a city which was filled with people of different races. There were Africans who were slaves, the Spanish from Cuba and who were at war with the US as well as other races such as the French, Germans and even Italians all whom were in South America but some also resided in New Orleans. Even though they had different cultures and languages, they shared a commonality which was the love for music. Each race had its own form of music which they sang in different places. It is these different genres of music that combined together to form jazz. The most renowned historian of jazz was

WALES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

WALES - Essay Example According to the BBC report dated 14 Nov 2012, Wales had an employment rate of 8.2% in November 2012 whereas the rate was 7.8% in the case of the whole UK for the same period. Deprivation index: - while analyzing the Wales’ deprivation index 2012, it seems that the country has satisfactory living conditions. Wales as a Tourist Destination According to BBC report dated Sep19, 2012, Wales is a rapidly emerging tourist destination in the United Kingdom with an annual industry turnover of ?3.5 billion. Statistical reports indicate that 8,078,900 people visited National Trust and Welsh Tourist Board destinations in 2002 (Wales Information, n.d.). Tourism industry plays a key role in boosting the economic growth of the Wales. To illustrate, in 2005 the tourism industry supported the economy of Wales by providing more than 100,000 service sector jobs which accounted for the country’s 8% of the workforce (ibid). The major tourist activities in Wales are mountain hiking; visitin g historic places, museums, and galleries; and shopping. Another report indicates that foreign tourists made over 1.1 million trips to Wales in 2006 (Countryside Council for Wales). Mainly, overseas tourists to Wales are from Republic of Ireland, Germany, and the United States. According to statistical information, tourism-related employment in Wales increased from 59,000 in 2000 to 78,000 in 2007 (Cultural tourism, 2012). Cardiff, the capital of the Wales, is the most popular tourist destination in the country. As Alford (2010) reports, the Cardiff tourism sector provides over 26,300 jobs and it had 14.6 million visitors in 2009. In 2004, the three cities, in term of tourists spent the most money, were Cardiff, Conwy, and Gwynedd. Wales offers improved accommodation and leisure amenities to visitors. Successes and Weaknesses While analyzing Wales’ tourism sector, it is clear that the country’s history and distinctive culture, natural environment, and attractive scener y and heritage significantly contribute to its success. The Museum of Welsh Life is the most popular tourist attraction in the country, attracting more than 600,000 tourists annually (Wales vacation packages). In addition, many castles like Caernarfon Castle and Caerphilly Castle attract visitors having historical interests. The varied landscape is another major tourist attraction in Wales. The country has three national parks including the Snowdonia National Park, the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, and the Brecon Beacons National Park. Wales is prominent for its extreme sports activities like downhill cycling, surfing, and hang gliding. The Wales Rally GB is organized in the country annually. It has been estimated that nearly 1.8 million US citizens have Welsh ancestral roots (webarchieve.com). Hence, genealogy is major reason why many US citizens visit Wales each year. Well developed infrastructure is another reason making Wales one of the world’s popular tourist destin ations. The country has also developed improved road, rail, and air travel facilities, which are crucial to the success of the tourism industry. Wales’ proximity to all other UK markets contributes to the success of the Wales tourism industry. The country can offer a wide range of leisure activities including walking, mountaineering, and fishing (Sports and leisure activities in Wales). Wales Tourist Board (WTB) is a well established and financially sound entity.

The Impact of U.S Mortgages Crisis on the Saudi Financial Market Dissertation

The Impact of U.S Mortgages Crisis on the Saudi Financial Market - Dissertation Example The investors in US withdrawn money from the market and the US economy entered into a financial recession. Most of the countries which are related with the US economy also got affected by the US mortgage crisis. Countries who were exposed to the mortgage securities were the first one to get adversely affected like European countries were badly affected by the financial crisis as they were also involved in the mortgage securities. Most of the financial institutions across the world suffered because of their purchase of bonds which were supported by the risky home loans and collateralised debt obligation commonly known as CDO. Once the subprime crisis offset in USA, the investors who invested in these instruments incurred loss. More the investors lost trust in the financial instruments and hence the financial markets got affected by the crisis (New York Times, 2007). The default of the subprime loans caused a ripple effect which first hit the mortgage companies and the lenders which in turn affected the real estate sector as they were not able to sell the more houses as they use to sell during the boom of the subprime loans. Loss of the real estate sector in turn affected the US financial markets and the US economy. With the era of globalisation almost all the countries’ economy are related to one another because of the financial and trade ties. Hence most of the countries around the world felt the heat of the credit crunch of the US economy. But, the extent of the affect of US mortgage crisis is different to different countries. As per the CEO and MD of Citi Group Asia Pacific (Markets and Banking) the effect of the US financial crisis has been limited. As per him the investors may concentrate more in emerging markets for long term growth (Rina Chandran, 2007). As per the chief economist of the World Bank for South Asia Shantayanan Devarajan, the countries in the South Asian region will not be adversely affected by the US mortgage crisis because the count ries in that region are not much exposed to the mortgage securities of the US. More over the countries have enough liquidity available in their domestic markets (World Bank, 2011). There are also reports that the equity markets of the Arab countries faced very less impact of the US financial crisis. The main reason behind the immunity of the Arab markets is cited as the major market players of the Arab financial markets have least expose to the global markets. More over it is also cited that the Arab banks have performed quite well in the past

Analysis of alka seltzer commercial from 1950 and alka seltzer Essay

Analysis of alka seltzer commercial from 1950 and alka seltzer commercial from 2010 - Essay Example Moreover, the world of men in action and women indulging in feminine parties depicted in the 1950s version gives way to that of a woman in the office – a clear change that took place in the post-War Western world, but took time to get depicted in cultural products. The 1950s version begins with Speedy introducing the tablet as a significant factor that keeps the energetic life of USA, especially Washington DC intact. He starts singing the jingle about how Alka- Seltzer gives comfort to congressmen who are distracted from their work by headaches, and those fairy-like women in a fancy party who have the morning hangover. Apart from the visuals related to these two major ideas, it’s mainly Speedy who walks along throughout the commercial, followed by boxes of Alka-Seltzer, awhile singing the jingle in the all-too familiar voice of Dick Beals. The 2010 version is much more brief and swift. Speedy is given voice in the new commercials by Debi Derryberry. The stop-motion pupp etry effect of older times is recreated in the commercial by CGI effects. There’s an office secretary who is summoned by someone who says â€Å"clients are here†, soon after she sneezes into a paper napkin. She makes a gesture of tiredness, but is enlivened by Speedy who appears in a clearer, colour version and sings the jingle about Alka-Seltzer. Soon afterwards, the secretary is all ready to meet the clients. Before she leaves her cabin, she just pretends to punch Speedy, and he walks back and keeps smiling. Alka-Seltzer commercials focus more on creating a cult-effect than talking about the properties of the product. The appearance of Speedy in all the commercials is an effort to tap on the immense popularity that the earlier versions of their commercials had on people from all walks of life. There is even a pseudo-effect of a child’s presence in them, since Speedy is a midget figure with the voice of a child. The painstaking efforts to create his amicable ap pearance, even with the Alka-Seltzer tablets that form both his torso and hat, pay off well. The colour version of 2010 shows clearly that the hat carries the name Speedy and the torso is inscribed Alka-Seltzer. Moreover, there is more scope in the new commercial to make the features of speedy clearer. He has brown hair and eyebrows, large grey eyes and vivid expressions, complete with a baby smile. In the black and white commercials, the details were not so clear, and it were the captivating visuals, the voice of speedy and the animation effects that held them together. The drastic reduction of time in the new commercials call for a demand to stick to one major idea and present it in the best way possible. The drastic change in man-woman relationships in the public sphere is made clear while analyzing the two commercials. While the earlier versions showed clearly that men belonged to the tough outer world and women had a fairy-tale existence indoors. The recent version makes it cle ar that the woman has much more responsibilities than the household chores or appearing and acting good in parties. In continuation of the concept of a ‘super-mom’, the woman in the 2010 commercial manages to meet her responsibilities with a captivating smile. Speedy cures her of the brief period of inertia, by the magic tablet. Her worries fizzle out as the ‘plop, plop, fizz, fizz’ of the tablet in water. The 1950s commercial focuses more on the manliness of men and the femininity of