Living History

The Civil War encampment provided a treasure trove of raw material for my ongoing study of photographic time regression. The process involves digital processing to convert new photos into representations of historic tintypes. The results are often eerily reminiscent of mid-19th century photos. The process tends to work better on some images than others. Much depends on the subject matter, the pose, and the surroundings. I find the most dramatic results are with people who really appear to be from the past. This involves more than just donning a costume. It’s a look or vibe that either is or it isn’t. Not sure how to quantify this or even explain it. For me it’s more intuitive and impulsive. I can spot the look immediately, even from a distance. In this post I’ll present some of the standout image conversions. Thank you one and all for posing for these portraits! Very much appreciated.

Written & Photography by Dave Dreimiller

Came across this fellow in the Rebel camp on Sunday morning. The look was perfect!

Noticed these ladies walking away from one of the buildings in Century Village. I coaxed them back to pose in front of the building.

The Rebel Commander appeared as if straight off of a Civil War battlefield. His facial expression was one of grim determination.

This woman portrayed Mary Todd Lincoln and bears a remarkable physical resemblance. I left some color in this photo to show some variation in the process. I was not uncommon for early BW photos to be tinted and hand colored.

The Commodore

I nearly fell over myself when I spotted this guy. Someone told me he was portraying General Burnside. This is exactly the look I was going for and he kindly agreed to pose.

I love working with couples. These people posed without hesitation and required no direction whatsoever.

This Union Army reenactor exuded the weather-beaten look and emotionless gaze so often seen in Civil War era portraits.

This gentleman effectively portrayed General Grant.

I was immediately attracted by this woman’s clothing, particularly the hat.

Another great couple photo. The rifle adds a perfect historic touch.

I was captivated by this woman’s bonnet. It framed her face perfectly.

There’s a real sense of sadness with younger soldiers in the old Civil War photos. This guy expresses it clearly.

The couple that portrayed the Lincolns kindly allowed me to tag along with them for two separate sessions. Very enjoyable to watch people’s reactions to the very eerie physical resemblance. People would typically stand some distance away and simply gaze at Mr. Lincoln, as if afraid to approach. I was able to take a great many photos from various angles. I found the traditional face-on portrait wasn’t working for me. In the end I selected this semi profile view. I wanted this to look like an actual undiscovered photo of Lincoln. The pose here is perfect and I love the facial expression, one of Lincolnesque concern.