Tartaria Decoded: Part 9 - Can We TRUST The Record? VANILLA Skies & Old-World Photo Manipulation

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The 19th century was an era of mystery and intrigue when it came to photography and photo editing. In the absence of digital technology, photographers of the time had to rely on more primitive techniques to manipulate images. By hand, they would crop, tint, and retouch negatives to achieve the desired results. But what else did they do? Did they alter the content of the photographs to suit their own agendas? Can we trust the images we have of historical events as a true representation of the past?
By the mid 1800’s, photo editing was shrouded in mystery and secrecy. Photographers of the time were able to manipulate photographs to suit their own agendas, often without leaving a trace. The tools of their trade were primitive and the effects they could achieve were limited.
But what kind of effects did they use? Were they able to add elements that were not present in the original frame? Did they airbrush out certain undesirable elements of a photograph? Were they able to make an image look older or more weathered than it really was? Or, were techniques of the time simply limited to adjusting the brightness and contrast of a photograph?
Through tinting, cropping, and retouching negatives, 19th century photographers could alter the content of a photograph to suit a specific purpose. They could add elements that were not present in the original frame, or airbrush out certain undesirable elements. In some cases, they even altered the color or texture of an image to make it look aged or weathered.
But how far did these manipulations go? Can we trust the images we have of historical events as a true representation of the past? Were they able to edit out entire skies and buildings, making it almost impossible to detect the changes?
Looking back, we can find examples of Colleges of Photography that pioneered the development of techniques for retouching photographs. These college's mission was to teach photographers how to manipulate images in various ways, such as tinting, cropping, and retouching negatives. This enabled photographers to create desired effects, such as adding elements to a photograph that weren't present or altering the color or texture of an image.
They also taught photographers how to airbrush out certain undesirable elements of a photograph. This was particularly useful for retouching images to remove any blemishes or imperfections.
Taught at these colleges, photographers used etching and modeling photo editing techniques to manipulate images in various ways. Through etching, photographers could create a high-contrast, low-relief effect in a photograph by darkening some areas and lightening others. This allowed photographers to emphasize certain details in a photograph, such as facial features and clothing.
Modeling, on the other hand, was used to create a three-dimensional effect in a photograph. Photographers would use this technique to create the illusion of depth by manipulating the light and shadows in an image. This allowed photographers to make an image look more realistic and life-like.
These photo editing techniques were popular among 19th century photographers as they enabled them to manipulate images to suit their own agendas. They could make a photograph look older or more weathered than it really was, or they could add elements that weren't present on the negative.
We can find countless examples of these kinds of images sifting through the historical record. On closer inspection, we can see a number of expertly executed photo manipulation techniques. It seems as if though anything was possible. Just like Photoshop today, these old-world photo shops were able to make someone smaller, change their facial structure, remove blemishes on faces, and even completely crop out objects from their hands, foregrounds or backgrounds. The unfortunate issue we have today is that some of these photos may be taken as a direct and factual historical record. If this is the case, how can we ever decipher between which photos were completely real and which were edited? How can we know how much photo manipulation really took place?