During
our years as itinerant photographers at Civil War reenactments and living
history events we focused on selling our services costumed or uniformed
participants in the events. Occasionally
members of the general public attending the reenactments would inquire if we
had costumes so they could dress up and have their photographs made.
We
made the decision not to bring period costumes to events because of myriad
reasons including the inability to provide a wide range of sizes to accommodate
potential customers, the time involved in dressing the subjects, and the
tendency for non-re-enactors to be displeased with how they photographed in
collodion.
Every
once in a blue moon we would meet those rare souls who would embrace the chance
to use this historic process to memorialize their contemporary selves. The
first such instance involved a 10-year- old girl visiting her grandmother in
Maryland at a Jerusalem Mills event. The most recent instance involved a family
of 5 attending the 150th Bentonville commemoration. These were not
folks that I would have predicted would appreciate 19th Century
photography. But the family was facing great loss. The beloved father attended
the re-enactment in a wheelchair and was dependent on dialysis. The matriarch
was recovering from throat cancer. Their three adult children, particularly the
youngest daughter, were filled with emotion and fear about the impending loss
of her parents. The stalwart older sister said she would pay for whatever her
younger sister wanted. And she wanted to offer her father the gift of this
image – the family of five forever captured on tin, to last longer than any of
the subjects of the photograph.
The
father determinedly rose from his wheelchair and walked into our canvas studio,
taking a spot center stage, his wife of many years by his side, surrounded by
his adult children. He wore the cap of a military veteran. His wife, despite
her medical challenges, laughed and celebrated the experience. The youngest
daughter filled with tears when she saw the result.
These
are the experiences that bring me satisfaction and joy and remind me not to
judge people by appearances. When first approached by this family, it never
occurred to me they would actually want us to make an image. But I was wrong
and happy to be wrong. More than any other image we made that day, I wanted
this one to be good. And it was. And I feel gratitude that we would contribute
to providing even the smallest amount of solace to such a loving family.
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