ABSTRACT
Hand-Altered Work The hand altering of photographic images began soon after the daguerreotype process was made public in 1839 to compensate for the latter’s inability to record color. By the beginning of the twentieth century hand-altered work was popular with the foremost Pictorialists such as Edward Steichen, Frank Eugene, and Gertrude Käsebier whose images often resembled drawings, lithographs, and paintings. They used it to show that photography was more than an automatic mechanical process, and could be controlled and manipulated with the same expressive intent as traditional art forms. Today hand-altered processes are not done for compensation or imitation but to expand the boundaries of the photographic medium. Hand alteration enables photographers to bring into existence concepts, dreams, and feelings that cannot be achieved through standard photographic practice, thereby providing a bridge that can meaningfully unite ideas, materials, practice, and vision.
