My
husband and I commemorated the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of
Bentonville this previous weekend, the last major battle of the Civil War in
which the Confederate Army was able to launch an offensive. It was also the
largest battle of the Civil War fought in North Carolina.
For
us, it was our last hurrah as period photographers making wet plate
photographic images at Civil War re-enactments on Sutler Row. We have enjoyed
our years commemorating the battles of 150th cycle. We’ve made many
friends and had the pleasure of taking photographs of some delightful
re-enactors and members of the general public who exhibited fascination with 19th
Century photography. We’ve particularly loved the chance to recreate vignettes
for people that have arrived prepared with props, period photographs to reprise
or ideas for unique artistic expression.
Despite
our love of history, the pleasure derived from making images that delighted our
customers, and the exhilaration of being part of the 150th
commemorations, one facet of our experience has been confounding. The most
frustrating part of our participation on Sutler Row involves the lack of
respect by spectators for the property of others – be it our traveling studio
tent or the photographs that re-enactors have paid us to create. In particular
we encountered many parents of the general public that seemed to think it is
perfectly alright for their offspring to pick up the photographs, wander into
our studio and run around as if they are at home, disregard the fact that we
are conducting a business, dash into the roped off area, act as if the studio
is a pass-through, blindly walk into the cameras, and then respond with offense
if warned that it is not appropriate to poke one’s fingers on a glass plate.
One parent actually said we should have posted a sign cautioning one not to
bang the glass plates. Really?
What
ever happened to parents teaching their children to have respect for other
people’s property, to have boundaries, to behave in public?
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