color photography from early 20th century :O

Started by japanesebaby, March 31, 2009, 18:36:55

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japanesebaby

i spotted a link to these on a local forum today and found this pretty amazing.

a russian chemist/photographer sergei prokudin-gorsky developed a special method of taking color photograph as early as in 1901(!). some methods are even older but prokudin-gorsky's method was superior in certain respects. the method consisted of taking separate images in red, blue and green through colored glass sheets, then combining them into one multi-colored image. the color prints of these photos were really difficult to produce at that time and remained blurry/unfocused. the digital age has opened a possibility to see these images in their full glory (the method explained: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/empire/making.html).
have a look, they are marvellous!

info + some images at the bottom: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey_Prokudin-Gorsky

more info + photos: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/empire/

this website is in russian but there are 18 pages of photos!:

http://www.museum.ru/museum/1812/Memorial/PG/colorpg_1.html
(you can view the pics is very large detailed size in this site, they are pretty amazing)


i find these totally breathtaking: the colors, the clarity, the details... it looks like they were taken yesterday, like those people were still alive...
and yet you are looking at the world a hundred years ago....!
:shock:
i've been totally stunned by these images.

a photo of a woman, taken sometimes between 1905-1915:



Ay, in the very temple of Delight
Veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shrine

Descent

:shock: Fantastic. Thanks very much for the links, the pics are amazing.
I knew about Albert Kahn museum which displays early color pictures.
But I had no idea of the whole process. Very interesting. Some of them
almost have 3d effects also.

japanesebaby

you're welcome  :)
Quote from: Descent on April 02, 2009, 11:14:31
Some of them almost have 3d effects also.

yes that's true! there's amazing depth in some of the pics, that somehow sucks you into the picture...  (one needs to view the pics in large size, to experience this).

i've been totally addicted to these photos since i found them. it is like being on a time machine.
Ay, in the very temple of Delight
Veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shrine