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More great stuff the Boston Globe's Big Picture---Here are some amazing photos taken in Russia between 1909 and 1912 using a specialized camera to capture three black and white images in fairly quick succession, using red, green and blue filters, allowing them to later be recombined and projected with filtered lanterns to show near true color images. The high quality of the images, combined with the bright colors, make it difficult for viewers to believe that they are looking 100 years back in time - when these photographs were taken, neither the Russian Revolution nor World War I had yet begun.
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These are fantastic. The color is five times better than what you see in National Geographic today.
-------------------- dennis kiernan independent artist san francisco, calif, usa Posts: 907 | From: san francisco, ca usa | Registered: Feb 2010
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It's my understanding the process is known as Dye Transfer made from three black and white negatives. The skills necessary for this kind of photography are extreme however I believe the prints last a long, long time.
Good to see them.
-------------------- Joe Crumley Norman Sign Company 2200 Research Park Blvd. Norman, OK 73069 Posts: 1428 | From: 2200 Research Park Blvd. | Registered: Sep 2001
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Today, digital cameras actually work much the same way. There are red, blue and green filters on the digital image sensor, which produces 3 different photos shot at the same exact time, then the software and processor inside the camera combine them into one image! When using the RAW shooting mode most cameras have, the three images are maintained independent of each other, which is why RAW image processing software is required to open them. The resulting image allows for the highest fidelity/quality to be carried through the editing process.
-------------------- "If I share all my wisdom I won't have any left for myself."
Mike Pipes stickerpimp.com Lake Havasu, AZ mike@stickerpimp.com Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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It's amazing to me what color can do for bringing an old photo alive to the extent that the subjects, backgrounds, etc don't seem 'old'.... but seem like they were taken just recently.
Seems to bring a fresh perspective which seems so much easier to relate to.
Question for you Photogs: How come people never smiled back in the old time photos? It occurred to me that perhaps people had bad teeth back then due to poor dental hygiene and didn't want to show decayed teeth/smiles? Just a theory.... or was it the trend of the time to just look 'serious?'
-------------------- Todd Gill Outside The Lines Potterville, MI Posts: 7792 | From: Potterville, MI | Registered: Dec 2001
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Todd- I think that it was partly because life was HARD and very serious- not a lot of time for much foolishness or lightheartedness. Or it could be the subjects were puzzled about what a "camera" was.
I love old photos- one of my favorite sites that is updated daily is www.shorpy.com (warning: you can spend days at a time looking at this site)
-------------------- Michael Clanton Clanton Graphics/ Blackberry 19 Studio 1933 Blackberry Conway AR 72034 501-505-6794 clantongraphics@yahoo.com Posts: 1736 | From: Conway Arkansas | Registered: Oct 2001
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I've posted this link before but I'll ad it again because it's such a great thread. It's on a car site but the signage is just wonderfull. It gets added to each day and I've spent a couple of months checking it out.
Is it just my imagination . . . or has smiling evolved over the last 100 years? My guess is that exposure times were much longer so 'somber' isn't as tough to hold as a fake 10 second smile . . .
But jeez, the people look miserable . . .
-------------------- Jay Allen ShawCraft Sign Co. Machesney Park, IL jallen222@aol.com http://www.shawcraft.com/
"The object of the superior man is truth." -Confucius Posts: 1285 | From: Machesney Park, IL, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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I grew up in New Jersey. Sixty years ago many of my friends had Grandparents from the "old country". These would have been the younger people in these photos. I've seen that "look" hundreds of times.
-------------------- George Perkins Millington,TN. goatwell@bigriver.net
"I started out with nothing and still have most of it left"
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I think the not-smiling has to do mostly with the rarity of photography there and also the sense of it being a formal occasion. The pictures that the GIs took of the Koreans during the war usually showed them unsmiling, unless the subject was someone very familiar with the GIs, like the houseboys or girl friends. Same with the American Indians. Never a smile and it wasnt because of bad teeth. I think most the Indians had perfect teeth because of not eating a lot of sweets. Same as lots of African tribes.
-------------------- dennis kiernan independent artist san francisco, calif, usa Posts: 907 | From: san francisco, ca usa | Registered: Feb 2010
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