Landi Kotal Camp
1879
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1879
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
You see a black-and-white photograph of a British military camp in a rocky valley. Tents stretch across the hills, and soldiers stand in small groups. This was taken during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Burke was one of the first photographers to document conflict, but cameras then were too slow for battle scenes. So he focused on camps, landscapes, and portraits—quiet moments that still tell the story of war. To see more early war photography, look up John Burke (Irish, 1845–1915).
