Chancellorsville, 150 Years Later

I spent the weekend covering the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Chancellorsville, held at Spotsylvania Courthouse, Va. While I was primarily working with my professional DSLR cameras, I also thought I'd play around with my iPhone and Hipstamatic, a photo app that applies a variety of digital effects. Given the era being reenacted, I used Hipstamatic's Tinto 1884 "lens" and D-Type Plate "film" to get the black-and-white, tintype effect. The normal daily work of a news photographer does not usually allow for digitally-manipulated photos but events like these offer up an opportunity to play around. I think the effect helps to create a certain mood and a sense of a place in time which is in line with what the participants were trying to do. It was a fun exercise though being that I had modern gear and clothing, I had to keep some distance. Maybe next time I'll go all-in and participate as a photographer of the era, complete with period-appropriate equipment and clothes.