Vote For the April Cover of the AC

[prestontoprail]

Re: Vote For the April Cover of the AC

#2 has the most going for it in detail and look, in my opinion. I just don't get into staged death photos, I've actually seen 4 or 5 over the years and they all miss the mark by looking like reenactors laying around in odd poses and never selling me on the fact that I could be looking at an unpublished photo of the era. It's an interesting attempt, but I would have preferred more detail. Is this after a battle? Shouldn't the bodies be lined up? There is a perfect, clean distance and no sign of battle, yet fresh bodies lie as they fell on fence posts? I know that musket props were used by the photographers back then and I suppose the ones in the pic had that intention, I just can't tell if that one plunged into the ground was to mimic a bayonet stab or thrust into the ground by the photographer (which I haven't seen before). Some more trash or activity in the close background would have fleshed out the setting a bit more perhaps.

#2 and #3 are a hard toss up and it may have to rely on your bias as a habitual cheerleader for rebs or yanks to make the ultimate decision. Both photos feature common situations for photo opportunity during the era and both feature living historians with a deep sense of detail on their person and pose. I'm sure there are good impressions in the death photo, it's just too hard to tell. I didn't mean to sound too negative about the #1, but this thread is for observations and critiques and I thought I would give my 2 cents.......which is worth about that much.

[Iceman]

Re: Vote For the April Cover of the AC

Hey everone, hold up on calling me and Don "Confederates." Just because we're wearing overshirts doesn't mean that we're Confederates. Even if we were fighting on the side of the Confederacy, doesn't mean that we are organized, provisional Confederate soldiers. Likewise, we could just as easily be pro-Union men. Either way, we are portraying those forgotten fighters, fighting the forgotten war in the Trans-Mississippi. You cannot say that we are Confederate or Union, but we are irregulars. Who do we fight for? Jeff Davis? Abe Lincoln? For ourselves against those neighbors who wronged us? Please consider the openendedness of our images and whom we are portraying, and don't just lable us "Confederates."

Thanks for voting.

[MarkTK36thIL]

Re: Vote For the April Cover of the AC

I wonder if anyone else would suggest #2 for May and Memorial Day instead of April? Maybe someone else could toss in a G.A.R. or S.C.V. for May's cover as well.

#2 just looks darn good for four federal soldiers wearing greatcoats. Reminds me of numerous images of opened up great coats and a casual image of a small group of Federal soldiers.

[lukegilly13]

Re: Vote For the April Cover of the AC

I have to go with 1...not just because i'm in it...but because of this:
Windell Decker took the photo over 100 yards from his tent. He literally posed us for quite some time. There is a great deal of detail in the photo. For instance, we went to the extent of putting mud (on Mr. Decker's recommendation) on our faces to look like blood in certain spots. We each held our breath to make our bodies look bloated and I know I even packed cornmeal in my mouth to get that swollen open mouth look. The picture took a great deal of time as Mr. Decker had to run with the plate to develop it and make sure it turned out before we moved. Some of the detail of the equipment was lost in the high weeds of the image but if you look close you will notice looking glasses a-strung to one of the rails. The inspiration was catching soldiers who defended their position to the last man and were struck by an artillery piece. I believe Mr. Decker had in his mind an image of soldiers before the battlefield cleanup details had reached them while Morgan's men were on the raid! I think it's a different image from the usual folks striking a sitting pose....and it captures several members of the forum doing what 1 in 3 of the original guys did....become casualties. The mystery body parts and men in the image makes it a great conversation piece!!!!!

[mattifatti]

Re: Vote For the April Cover of the AC

This has been the most difficult cover to vote for yet!! All great pics! However, we don't usually get to see a picture like #1 unless it is actually from the period. Very cool idea!! Thanks guys.

[Sgt Scotti]

Re: Vote For the April Cover of the AC

For me its a toss up between 1 and 3. 1 is a great image, I think the rifle prpped up against the fence on the right, made it for me, the props just give it that historical feel. #3 was outstanding I thought. Who doesnt like this image of a regular bunch of toughs. Unfortunatley the facial expression of the guy on the right is just making it feel a little fake; for me anyways. #1 definatley!!

[Brandon Ledvina]

Re: Vote For the April Cover of the AC

I would have to agree with Scott. Although #3 was a great picture it just didn’t do it for me so I voted on #1. You just don’t see that type of picture unless it was taken by a spectator with a modern camera during a reenactment.

[BrandonEnglish]

Re: Vote For the April Cover of the AC

I have to go with 1...not just because i'm in it...but because of this:
Windell Decker took the photo over 100 yards from his tent. He literally posed us for quite some time. There is a great deal of detail in the photo. For instance, we went to the extent of putting mud (on Mr. Decker's recommendation) on our faces to look like blood in certain spots. We each held our breath to make our bodies look bloated and I know I even packed cornmeal in my mouth to get that swollen open mouth look. The picture took a great deal of time as Mr. Decker had to run with the plate to develop it and make sure it turned out before we moved. Some of the detail of the equipment was lost in the high weeds of the image but if you look close you will notice looking glasses a-strung to one of the rails. The inspiration was catching soldiers who defended their position to the last man and were struck by an artillery piece. I believe Mr. Decker had in his mind an image of soldiers before the battlefield cleanup details had reached them while Morgan's men were on the raid! I think it's a different image from the usual folks striking a sitting pose....and it captures several members of the forum doing what 1 in 3 of the original guys did....become casualties. The mystery body parts and men in the image makes it a great conversation piece!!!!!

Definitely #1...for lack of a better word "props" for the amount of work, effort and breath holding to put on an image you never see taken accept by the original cast...great shot!

[DougCooper]

Re: Vote For the April Cover of the AC

However, we don't usually get to see a picture like #1 unless it is actually from the period. Very cool idea!! Thanks guys.

There is a good reason for that.

The fact that #1 is in the running I find alternately silly and disturbing. If you want to show the real sacrifice of this war, show the real men who made the ultimate sacrifice. Its fine to attempt to recreate the look of the boys of 61-65 in life (alive simulating alive), but using live people to simulate dead people is just, well...silly, and disturbing, in my opinion. I can make a clear distinction between a reenactment done for educational or entertainment benefit showing "casualties"...and the home page of a website dedicated to the authentic end of Civil War living history hobby.

That and the fact that the "dead" in #1 certainly bear little resemblance to the real deal.

Now if this is a recreation of the Gettysburg or Manassas sham dead photos, no problem, but that is obviously not the intent.

Both 2 and 3 are excellent, but as I could pick only one, I chose #2.

[Mcguire]

Re: Vote For the April Cover of the AC

There is a good reason for that.

The fact that #1 is in the running I find alternately silly and disturbing. If you want to show the real sacrifice of this war, show the real men who made the ultimate sacrifice. Its fine to attempt to recreate the look of the boys of 61-65 in life (alive simulating alive), but using live people to simulate dead people is just, well...silly, and disturbing, in my opinion. I can make a clear distinction between a reenactment done for educational or entertainment benefit showing "casualties"...and the home page of a website dedicated to the authentic end of Civil War living history hobby.

That and the fact that the "dead" in #1 certainly bear little resemblance to the real deal.

.

I couldn't agree more! I was tempted to express my repulsion for this image when I first saw it but everyone seemed to think this was a great image, so I decided not to piss in the proverbial weeds.

Yeah, we all know that our forefathers gave the ultimate sacrifice for their convictions. When we protray them we should honor this sacrifice by portraying their deeds not their passing. To take images of people portraying their falling is in my book just morbid. If the idea behind it is to remind people of the ravages of war then use a real period image.

Just my two cents.

[AZReenactor]

Re: Vote For the April Cover of the AC

I have to agree, aside from the photo format number one struck me as not being all that much different from mainstream photos of "casualties" in the weeds I'd seen.

Given the choice between 2 and 3, I had to go with number 3 just for the simple impact of the photo.

[Chad Wrinn]

Re: Vote For the April Cover of the AC

Mr. Cooper, Groves, and Parent, so translated from Chinese all of this means "I'm Jealous".

[johnf1862]

Re: Vote For the April Cover of the AC

I agree with the posts before me; image one is just plain silly for a few reasons. First, and foremost, being that we as living historians strive to provide the most accurate picture of the war that we possibly can, does this image honestly show that? The grass looks like not a soul has stepped on it until the photograph was taken, and the only "corpses" and debris happen to be on one side of the fence. The thing that stuck out like a sore thumb in that image was definately the grass, however. If x many men had defended that position to their last, then I would wager the grass wouldn't be so natural and fresh looking, coupled with the fact that there were hundreds of projectiles striking the ground all around them...just take a look at any period photos of the dead and check out the terrain. Plus, just the amount of plain trash and debris in period photos is astounding.

Just my observations.

That said, numbers two and three really capture the "look", however number two looks just like an image that sold on eBay a couple weeks or months ago, however in that image they weren't wearing greatcoats, just fatigue blouses. The painted backdrop is a nice touch as well.

[-Jesse-]

Re: Vote For the April Cover of the AC

Mr. Cooper, Groves, and Parent, so translated from Chinese all of this means "I'm Jealous".

Im gonna go ahead and second. Great image guys!;)

[lukegilly13]

Re: Vote For the April Cover of the AC

You guys are cerainly entitled to your opinions and I appreciate your feedback. We didnt mean to offend anyone...we saw our image as nothing more than as realistically as possible "taking a hit" during an event. There are a few other things i'd like to point out however for folks to consider....
1. We couldn't help the grass. If I remember correctly that is part of the original battlefield. Besides, i've seen images rejected on here before because the grass was "too previously cut and looked too neat" or the hedges were "too recently and neatly trimmed" in the background. This was a very nice hay field where the event took place and we really couldn't dial back the clock and unfertilize the field. NO, we weren't the first to walk there...but we were the first to man the fence.

2. The grass was not battered down because we were not in the main infantry unit. We were a small skirmish party that got to close to an artillery piece. In the event, we portrayed a small group of soldiers who were perfoming a demostration to mask the movement of the main body. It could very well be that in the death images we see that soldiers were placed in low grass to make sure they stand out in the image.

3. There is gear on both sides of the fence. There is one "real" person on the other side of the fence. In many images ive seen the gear of the dead is laying very near or even on them. Whether this was posed by the photographer or not....who knows. Sometimes it was, others maybe not.

4. No, they're not always laying in a line: LOC
5. The grass is not always mowed down, look just beyond these soldiers near the fence:

Don't get me wrong...i'm not pushing the argument...just trying to show everyone the background thinking of the photo...maybe Mr. Decker can shine some light on the images he had in mind when he set this one up for us.