NEWS: Color Photos From the Late 19th Century

CULTURE: Color Photos From the Late 19th Century

When we examine photographs from the turn of the century, there’s an immediate realization that people in the photo are otherworldly, or almost from a different phylum as the rest of us. A person’s hairstyle, a subject's clothes (or lack thereof), and the condition of the photograph itself all tend to obscure the “truth” of the photo, or at least its reality. The photographs of Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii, in an exhibition at the Library of Congress, seem to supplant this notion of photography. Using a specially designed camera, Prokudin-Gorskii took three different exposures on a small glass plate with a red, green, and blue filter. When the pictures were combined, a high resolution and color representation would be produced.

Portrait of Prokudin-Gorskii

Church of the Resurrection

Factory Interior with Electrical Generators

[Hat tip: MetaFilter]

Very Very cool. Its amazing that those images are as old as they are.

so this is all really his photography and not partly due to the digitization process?

everything looks candylike, what a genius.

Damn! You got me all excited. I'm going to be in DC for the next week and really wanted to see this exhibit. But nnnoOOoooOOooooo!

This is a fantastic post. Thank you!

The portrait of Prokudin-Gorskii is amazing- the way the river looks with that time-lapse effect is mesmerizing. I'm surprised that color theory at the time was advanced enough for him to pick RGB for his filters.

lovely

No crap... they look unreal, yet so realistic.. it's weird.

those are amazing, the church is beautifull

Amazing!!!

Wow. That's really cool. I wish I had something better to say, but they are really cool.

I think this one of a man in colourful colourful clothes is great.

Thats my fave too. Its a glimpse of a culture that I expect doesnt really exist anymore over there.

These are just amazing, can't stop looking at them. Great find.

did he take any of cooters?

WOW! I always say that photography hit a zenith around 1984 and since then photo's all have similar dimensions, tone, and quality. So when you are looking at a print from 1984, it can usually be as glossy and vivid as a print just printed at home or professionally this year. Compare commercial prints from the mid to late 80's to today and then look at prints from the 70's and there's a huge difference.

These are remarkable... I've always felt that black and white photos were too distant for me to relate to. I don't want to see a wholesale colorization Turner style, but if this coloring can be adapted to strictly b&w plates, history might actually become fashionable again.
There are so many photos I've seen of Napoleonic War vets in there military dress that I would love to see in color. That and a lot of photos of old Earth pre WWI.

The photo of the Samarkand fabric merchant makes an excellent desktop...

[Edited on Dec 28, 2004 3:47PM]

WOW. These are amazing. It's weird to think they were taken so long ago. I can't stop looking at them. It's completely unreal.

this cd is an excellent soundtrack for looking through the "ethnic diversity" photos.

thanks for the post. awesome stuff.

those photos are incredible. i have always loved phots from the turn of the century in fact i collect them but these are stunning!

very interesting

Not to be redundant, but this blows my mind. thank you.

i know.. it totally blows my mind. its hard to wrap my head around it.. that first one of the guy.. my brain wants to think its a guy in a costume.. and the picture is recent.