19th Century Photography, 21st Century War

2013-07-17 Tintype

The Daily Mail has an article about U.S. Air Force aerial gunner Ed Drew’s tintype photography from Afghanistan. Tintype is a historical relic; a kind of photography dating to the middle of the 19th century that was invented just in time to document the Civil War. Drew is using this finicky, difficult technique to take stunning photos (like the one above) of his fellow servicemen and women in Afghanistan. He says that the painstaking process helps him handle the stress of deployment, and I hope that’s true. In any case, the results are arresting. See more of the photos here.