Interesting photography from the 40's

[NDA]

http://extras.denverpost.com/archive/captured.asp

[Robbie B]

NDA said:

http://extras.denverpost.com/archive/captured.asp

How on earth are they such high quality? I had no idea that was possible in the 40s.

[Mr Beaumont]

Very odd to see such good quality photos and them be so old. You could confuse some of them for being sets/scenes in a modern film, set in the 1940s!

[Olf]

Notice the complete absence of fatties....

[Ben Magoo]

Wow thanks for that NDA, an incredibly interesting snapshot from a period dominated by pictures of the war in Europe.

It's interesting to see just how many kids clearly never wore shoes on a daily basis!

I think they were mostly shot on 620 roll film (Eastman Safety Kodak 62 - markings on some of the later frames) the quality is lovely.

[Simpo Two]

Robbie B said:

How on earth are they such high quality? I had no idea that was possible in the 40s.

Photography had been going for 100 years by the 1940s, even with like film and everything.


Now *this* is more astonishing: www.albertkahn.co.uk

[Bacardi]

The notches on the edge indicates a lot of them were 4x5 sheet film. The notch code is for Kodachrome, which explains the loverly rich colours.

Yes, Autochromes are loverly, all you need is some dyed potato starch and you can make your own. The exact process has been lost but there are some people trying to recreate it.

[LongQ]

Simpo Two said:

Robbie B said:

How on earth are they such high quality? I had no idea that was possible in the 40s.

Photography had been going for 100 years by the 1940s, even with like film and everything.


Now *this* is more astonishing: www.albertkahn.co.uk

Or this ....

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/empire/

Bear in mind that all of these, Albert-Kahn images and the pics in the original link will almost certainly have been posed for a purpose and most likely used large format cameras (certainly the earliest ones) for which high quality lenses were readily available at a price. The optics and film quality at that size do not present the same sort of if problems of physics that smaller film sizes do.

On the other hand the size and weight of the cameras, the slow speed of use and the awkwardness and challenges of the film of or glass slide processing certainly DO present some challenges. It's quite remarkable how many images survive.

[Robbie B]

Simpo Two said:

Robbie B said:

How on earth are they such high quality? I had no idea that was possible in the 40s.

Photography had been going for 100 years by the 1940s, even with like film and everything.


Now *this* is more astonishing: www.albertkahn.co.uk

Good lord.

I know a rough history of when photography came about etc., I just had no concept of how the quality improved. When I think 1930s - 1940s I think black and white

[S. Gonzales Esq.]

Try Shorpy.com for more historic large format stuff from the US.

Here's a sample: Flatiron

[Simpo Two]

Bacardi said:

all you need is some dyed potato starch and you can make your own. The exact process has been lost but there are some people trying to recreate it.

...says Bacardi as he disappears into the cupboard under the stairs with a packet of Walkers crips, a flask of mule's urine, a magnifying glass and a torch

Robbie B said:

When I think 1930s - 1940s I think black and white

True, colour was much more expensive and so the vast majority was b/w, notably Joe Public with their Box Brownies etc. American stuff is most likely to be in colour 'cos they had more money than us.

It is certainly a revelation to see WW2 etc in colour; suddenly the years collapse and you feel you can step in.

[Bacardi]

Simpo Two said:

...says Bacardi as he disappears into the cupboard under the stairs with a packet of Walkers crips, a flask of mule's urine, a magnifying glass and a torch

I tried it but it smelled and didn't work…. I'll stick to Tin Types.

S. Gonzales Esq. said:

Here's a sample: Flatiron

He wants colour, this is one of my favourites of the Flatiron from Stieglitz, not real colour but Gum bichromate over platinum, very ethereal from 1904…

[Robbie B]

Simpo Two said:

It is certainly a revelation to see WW2 etc in colour; suddenly the years collapse and you feel you can step in.

You know your stuff, sir, I'll give you that

Unless you're a 90 year old American, then I'm less impressed.

[NDA]

Bacardi said:

He wants colour, this is one of my favourites of the Flatiron from Stieglitz, not real colour but Gum bichromate over platinum, very ethereal from 1904…

Lovely.....

Would make a superb framed print.... almost like a watercolour. I like that a lot.