Australian War Memorial

I really enjoyed our visit to the AWM, not only is there so much to see and learn from but there's also some great photographic opportunities! The photographs displayed were awesome to look at, but i didn't really think much about the difficulties of war photography until Sylvia pointed them out. I never really thought much about how limited photographers would have been, for example only being able to shoot before and after any battles, there's no way they could have taken photos during. This is just one of the ways technological advances have changed all photography, but specifically war photography.
DISTANCE:
One major difference in war photography, due to advances in technology is the subject distance. in previous war times, photographer's would not have been able to carry all the equipment necessary, or to get close enough to shoot any action. In modern times however, we have equipment which enables photographer's to take photos from anywhere, even a reasonable (and safe) distance away from the action. This allows us to now get photos of what war is actually like, not simply before and after shots
EQUIPMENT:
As mentioned, equipment is also significantly advanced today. Old school wartime photographers would have had to rely on black and white film. We all know what extreme temperatures can do to our films and other equipment, so it's safe to say these photographers would have had a hard time protecting their films etc. to be able to produce anything at all! In contrast, nowadays we have digital cameras, laptops, wireless Internet etc. etc. etc. and thus are able to shoot copious amounts of photos without worry about losing or damaging them.
MEDIUM:
On that note, Old wartime photographer's would have relied solely on black and white film, whereas today we are able to shoot in colour. This doesn't really sound like a huge advance in technology but let's stop and think. One of the aspects many photographers play on with black and white is that it's slightly abstract. We don't see the world in black and white so it's slightly surreal when it's in shades of grey. In war photography, this would have come in handy, back when they were trying to glorify war. However, now that we have not only digital, but colour digital, we see everything as it really as, as you'd see it if you where there. This means bloody battles and dead bodies look a hell of a lot more shocking.

for examples see:
http://cas.awm.gov.au/PROD/cst.acct_master?surl=1597872302ZZDMLFGBXWLT72972&stype=6&simplesearch=&v_umo=&v_product_id=&screen_name=&screen_parms=&screen_type=RIGHT&bvers=5&bplatform=Netscape&bos=Win32

http://cas.awm.gov.au/PROD/cst.acct_master?surl=1597872302ZZDMLFGBXWLT72972&stype=6&simplesearch=&v_umo=&v_product_id=&screen_name=&screen_parms=&screen_type=RIGHT&bvers=5&bplatform=Netscape&bos=Win32