Camera Aloft
Edward Steichen in the Great War

Camera Aloft argues that Edward Steichen played a major role in the birth of modern aerial photography as a tool for intelligence gathering.

Von Hardesty (Author)

9780521820554, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 2 December 2015

250 pages, 36 b/w illus. 20 colour illus. 1 map
23.6 x 15.9 x 1.8 cm, 0.46 kg

'You wouldn't think that there would still be untold stories of the first World War; but in Edward Steichen's pioneering of the dangerous art of wartime aerial photography, Von Hardesty has found one. No one is better suited to tell it than this veteran aviation historian. He superbly evokes the experience of being under fire when flying a fragile craft of wood, cloth and wire, while taking pictures at the same time.' Adam Hochschild, author of To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914–1918

Edward Steichen (1879–1973) played a key role in the development of photography in the twentieth century. He is well known for his varied career as an artist, a celebrated photographer and a museum curator. However, Steichen is less known for his pivotal role in shaping America's first experiments in aerial photography as a tool for intelligence gathering in what may be called his 'lost years'. In Camera Aloft, Von Hardesty tells how Steichen volunteered in 1917 to serve in the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF). He rose rapidly in the ranks of the Air Service, emerging as Chief of Air Photography during the dramatic final offensives of the war. His photo sections were responsible for the rapid processing of aerial images gained through the daily and hazardous sorties over the front and in the enemy rear areas. What emerged in the eighteen months of his active service was a new template for modern aerial reconnaissance. The aerial camera, as with new weapons such as the machine gun, the tank and the airplane, profoundly transformed modern warfare.

Foreword: taking the camera aloft
1. War and exile
2. A new life in the military
3. Over there
4. The world of air observation
5. Taking charge
6. Over the front
7. War and photography
Appendix: life at the cutting edge: the photo sections.

Subject Areas: 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], Photography & photographs [AJ]