Photographer Ellen Susan uses wet plate collodion photography to create captivating portraits of soldiers of the United States Army.  This 150-year-old technique is the same process that was used to document much of the Civil War era.  Susan has produced portraits of Fort Benning soldiers during a residency at the Columbus Museum; these, along with images of servicemen and women from Hunter Army Airfield and Fort Stewart near Savannah, will be on display. 

Wet plate collodion processes (ambrotypes on glass plates and tintypes on metal plates) produce photographs that show minute details in facial features and dress.  Thus, Susan is able to explore the individuality of each soldier.  "The anonymous visual presentation of multitudes of soldiers on television, newspapers and the internet became disconcerting, and I wanted to make pictures that focused on each soldier as a unique person who happened to be wearing a uniform," says Susan.

Soldier Portraits will be on display in conjunction with another Third Floor Galleries exhibition, Likenesses in the Latest Style: Historical Portrait Photography.

Soldier Portraits: Contemporary Wet Plate Photographs by Ellen Susan, July 9 – October 30, 2011.

For more information, please visit www.columbusmuseum.com