Left - This soldier wears the Australian designed tunic of WW1 but this one was British made.
Right - The uniform and equipment of a pre-WW1 Militia soldier.
http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-uniforms/australian-19.htm
Firstly advances in clothing and materials have made life a lot easier and also much more comfortable. In earlier times uniform materials were generally heavy and were wool or cotton based. These uniforms offered very little breathing capabilities and therefore make for a very uncomfortable outfit; another major draw back with older style clothing is it was not always designed for flexibility or really even comfort. In a lot of cases it was form over function. Camouflage was not very effective because it mainly consisted of a single block colour, usually being khaki. Waterproofing was non existent, resulting in uniforms wearing quicker due to dampness and were quite heavy on the body. In our days a lot of high tech materials are used in everyday clothing. These materials mainly consist of blends using nylon, cotton and polyester. These sorts of materials offer easier ventilation of body heat, are light weight, waterproof and with modern technology are longer lasting. Some modern materials allow for absorption when perspiring. Camouflage is now specially designed using many earth tones and different shapes, making it harder to define a soldier from the foliage. Also storage and practicality in today’s uniforms make for easier usage and comfort.
Secondly advances in Photographic equipment, the introduction of digital photography and the continuing progression of computer technology have seen today’s generation almost completely disregard film as a medium. Some of the worlds most memorable images have been and still are captured on film, but digital makes it more accessible to the average person.
WWI - Australian troops in the Turkish Lone Pine trenches
http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/index/ww1.asp
North Africa, 6 January 1941: Australian troops advance into Bardia.
http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/ww2.asp
Oldschool Technology
-black and white
-photographers weren’t able to get in amongst action
-film at risk of damage
-elements make film emulsion deteriorate
-limited to certain amount of photographs per roll
thetension.blogspot.com/2007_07_01_archive.html
thetension.blogspot.com/2007_07_01_archive.html
www.talkingproud.us/International022705.html
Modern Technology
-colour (can be turned into black & white)
-action can be captured due to photographer having access to get in amongst the action
-better lenses
-faster shutter speeds & apertures
-memory cards are able to store thousands of photos
- faster continuous shooting
- better detail
The major benefits of these technological advantages can be seen in some of the images that have been captured in both the recent Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Using digital photography in such a typically hot climate you eliminate the need to worry about keeping film cool. The amount of images a single memory card can hold is hundreds or even thousands more then a roll of film, but at a fraction of the cost. Digital photography allows a photographer to work a lot faster, enabling them to capture many more images in one go then anyone could have ever imagined back in world war 1 for example images that in the past may have been missed by the slightest of seconds can now be much more easily captured and distributed at the click of a button instead of waiting to find the nearest post box or courier.
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