Living Pictures — by Mole and Thomas

Living Pictures — by Mole and Thomas: "

'Englishman Arthur S. Mole and his American colleague John D. Thomas took these
incredible pictures of thousands of soldiers forming icons of American
history. Arthurs great nephew Joseph Mole, 70, says: In the picture of the
Statue of Liberty [above] there are 18,000 men: 12,000 of them in the torch alone,
but just 17 at the base. The men at the top of the picture are actually half
a mile away from the men at the bottom.'

Back story here.

Below,

'The Living Uncle Sam: 19,000 officers and men at Camp Lee, Virginia, January 13, 1919.'

Below,

'The Living Emblem of the United States Marines, formed by
100 officers and 9,000 enlisted men at the Marine Barracks, Parris Island,
South Carolina.'

'It would take a week to get all the outlines right, but just 30 minutes to
move all the men into position to take the shot. It must have been amazing
to watch.'

Below,

'A portrait of President Woodrow Wilson, formed of 21,000 officers and men at Camp Sherman, Chillicothe, Ohio, 1918.'

'When it came to the day of the photograph Arthur would then be able to
put all the pieces together, he could say to 157 men move there and you can
be Woodrow Wilsons ear.'

Below,

'The Human Liberty Bell, formed by 25,000 officers and men at Camp Dix, New Jersey, 1918.'

Below,

'The Human U.S. Shield: 30,000 officers and men at Camp Custer, Battle Creek, Michigan, 1918.'

'Mole and Thomas work was the first to use a unique technique to beat the
problem of perspective after they devised a clever way of getting so many
soldiers in the pictures. Arthurs great nephew Joseph explains: Arthur was
able to get the image by actually drawing an outline on the lens, he then
had the troops place flags in certain positions while he looked through the
camera.'

Below,

'The Human American Eagle: 12,500 officers, nurses and men at Camp Gordon, Atlanta, Georgia, 1918.

[via The Telegraph and Milena]

"

(Via bookofjoe.)