Interesting article

[colyn]

Found this today and though it interesting..

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/a...ading-blonde-hair-earliest-colour-photos.html

 

[dave lackey]

Beautiful motif and fantastic images! I would love to know what camera and lens was used....

Thanks for posting,🙂

 

[colyn]

Beautiful motif and fantastic images! I would love to know what camera and lens was used....

Thanks for posting,🙂

I'm sure based on the time the images were taken and the autochrome process used it was most likely a view camera.. Part of the story stated that the exposure was a long exposure..

 

[FrankS]

Thanks for sharing.

 

[johnnyrod]

Would explain the shallow DOF I guess, to keep the exposure time down

 

[JP Owens]

I've always been fascinated by the Autochrome images. These are faded, of course. I like to download them when I find them, and then color correct and adjust them in Photoshop to see what they actually looked like back in the day. Always amazing to see these old photos in color.

 

[nongfuspring]

Beautiful pictures, and I had never heard of that process before.

Here's another set of colour photographs from around the same time period but using a different process: http://uk.businessinsider.com/vintage-color-photos-of-the-russian-empire-2015-7?r=US and I think a full archive here: http://www.gridenko.com/pg/h26885b74#h1c479bc1

 

[x-ray]

Beautiful motif and fantastic images! I would love to know what camera and lens was used....

Thanks for posting,🙂

There were very few types of lenses in use at this time. Most likely it would have been a rapid rectilinear design. Petzval designs were also in use but they were much larger and faster having been around since Daguerre and wet plates which required fast lenses and long exposures even in direct sun. Rapid rectilinear a were very common on cameras of the time. Darlot, Dallmeyer, B&L, Voigtlander and Kodak are just of a few that made them.

My ex employer in the early 70's was in his 90's and had been a commercial photographer from the late 1800's. He shot autochrome in the early days and had quite a few 5x7 plates that I coppied on ektachrome. Unless you see them in person you really can't appreciate the true beauty of these images.

Autochrome is warm and has beautiful soft colors. The red, green and blue starch granules were large enough to see with the unaided eye. Unfortunately the technical information for the process has been lost in time. From my last research into the process it had not been successfully reproduced although a group of enthusiasts are working on it.

The camera would have been a view camera. There were dozens of makers if not more at that time. The lens probably was a rapid rectilinear and again there were dozens of makers.

 

[x-ray]

If you're interested in seeing what some of the 1800's glass renders like follow the link at the bottom. The wetplate images were shot mostly with an Ajax #2 Petzval, Darlot Petzval, Voigtlander series IV Rapid Rectilinear and Rochester Optical Rapid Rectilinear.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

I was reading about the same few weeks ago after I googled "Autochrome".
Same subject came without mystery.

http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2015/04/autochrome-portraits/

Well known person.

http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org....le_Photographers_detail.asp?PhotographersID=7

 

[giellaleafapmu]

From my last research into the process it had not been successfully reproduced although a group of enthusiasts are working on it.

No wonders, it seems like there are a billion things which can go wrong with the process, the images are great but if we think what was used to produce them they are actually incredible. Hat off to the guy who got them.

GLF

 

[charjohncarter]

Nothing like a mystery. Thanks for posting.