amateriat
We're all light!
Article here:
http://tinyurl.com/2hwros
I find it intresting that Steichen, whose Autochromes were among the most famous of the medium, ultimately seemed a bit underwhelmed by color...at least one might assume this by the fact that the ratio of black-and-white to color output by the man remained quite high up to his death in 1973 (he appears to have had the good sense to stick to Kodachrome for much of his later color output).
As far as why the Autochrome process was short-lived, Steichen explains it this way, in his book Steichen, A Life in Photography:
"When I joined Steigltiz later in Europe and showed him these photographs in color, he wanted them reproduced for Camera Work. They were turned over to the Munich firm of Bruckmanns, and that house made marvelous four-color reprouctions for Camera Work. (As the original plates were lost, the reproductions in this book have been made from those half-tone reproductions. The fidelity of the reproductions amply testifies to the almost miraculous skill of the engravers.) The curious thing about the autochrome was that, when these plates were turned over to Bruckmanns, the technicians were given no explanation of the autochrome process; they set up the plates, copied them, and, judging from the fine results, had no trouble whatever. A few months later, some scientifically minded German technicians began studying autochrome plates and arrived at the conclusion that, because of their technical color structure, they could not be reproduced. And I believe that was the end of the use of autochrome plates for reproduction."
In all, quite a story.
- Barrett
http://tinyurl.com/2hwros
I find it intresting that Steichen, whose Autochromes were among the most famous of the medium, ultimately seemed a bit underwhelmed by color...at least one might assume this by the fact that the ratio of black-and-white to color output by the man remained quite high up to his death in 1973 (he appears to have had the good sense to stick to Kodachrome for much of his later color output).
As far as why the Autochrome process was short-lived, Steichen explains it this way, in his book Steichen, A Life in Photography:
"When I joined Steigltiz later in Europe and showed him these photographs in color, he wanted them reproduced for Camera Work. They were turned over to the Munich firm of Bruckmanns, and that house made marvelous four-color reprouctions for Camera Work. (As the original plates were lost, the reproductions in this book have been made from those half-tone reproductions. The fidelity of the reproductions amply testifies to the almost miraculous skill of the engravers.) The curious thing about the autochrome was that, when these plates were turned over to Bruckmanns, the technicians were given no explanation of the autochrome process; they set up the plates, copied them, and, judging from the fine results, had no trouble whatever. A few months later, some scientifically minded German technicians began studying autochrome plates and arrived at the conclusion that, because of their technical color structure, they could not be reproduced. And I believe that was the end of the use of autochrome plates for reproduction."
In all, quite a story.
- Barrett
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SteveM(PA)
Poser
that's so funny...a co-worker JUST left the article on my desk. Those pictures are beautiful. Made with potato starch! Can you imagine being Anthony Bannon, museum director for Eastman House, and being handed those Steichens in an ice cream shop parking lot? Great story.
R
RML
Guest
Deep Throat comes to mind. The Watergate kind! 
andrealed
Established
amazing colour photography from the past
amazing colour photography from the past
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey_Prokudin-Gorsky
amazing colour photography from the past
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey_Prokudin-Gorsky