Vintage colour look

[ikiru]

How did they get this look? It almost seems like a fake photograph

 

[David Goldfarb]

Old Kodachrome and careful attention to lighting and the colors of the objects in the scene.

Part of the reason that old films in Technicolor have the look they do, is that Technicolor consultants had input into the colors of all the props and costumes, so that all the colors would look "good" in Technicolor.

 

[lynn]

What, please, is he holding in his left hand? A wiener? Half a wiener? A wiener as alternate cutlery? (I use a fork and a spoon for spaghetti; some use a fork and a knife....but a fork and a wiener???)
I love the colours, very fifties, but those wieners are a bit unsettling. 🙂

 

[jano]

It's a breadstick, not a wiener!

 

[lynn]

Oh. Breadsticks look very different here! Heh.

 

[ch1]

Are you sure it is a photograph and not an illustration a'la Norman Rockwell?

 

[ZorkiKat]

How did they get this look? It almost seems like a fake photograph

If the photo was scanned from a vintage print, then you have to consider the printing process, the inks used in the process, and aging effects on the image.
These vastly contributed to the colours seen in the photo.

A vintage transparency printed or scanned today would often have colours looking normal- just like any other contemporary print since the printing processes involve a lot of corrective and restorative functions. That is, if the original colour material is still intact. FAded colour images would print, with a faded look. Old autochromes or dufaycolor would print with a contemporary look if printed on modern materials.

Jay

 

[w3rk5]

LOL! What’s more unsettling to me is the angle of the spaghetti on the fork. It must be travelling at some velocity. Yikes! 😛

 

[hiwatt]

Indeed, good old Kodachrome.
It's very far from true color rendition, but gives you a "warm" feeling without sickening reds oversaturation.
There's surely a Photoshop action somewhere to get a similar result...but will never be like the real thing 😉

 

[Stephanie Brim]

Both my grandparents say that is a painting...he's a Norman Rockwell kid. I highly doubt that it's a photograph. I have to agree with them mainly because of the shadows...they look painted on and not natural.

 

[ch1]

Both my grandparents say that is a painting...he's a Norman Rockwell kid. I highly doubt that it's a photograph. I have to agree with them mainly because of the shadows...they look painted on and not natural.

Yes, as I said above - I think this is an Illustration. Whether it's by Rockwell, I don't know, but definitely in his style.

 

[robert blu]

chorus:
"Kodachrome, they give us those nice bright colours
They give us the greens of summer
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah
I got a Nikon camera, I love to take a photograph
So mama don't take my Kodachrome away"

from Kodachrome, Paul Simon, 1973

 

[Evgeny S]

And I'm wondering, is it possible to imitate the Kodachrome colors now? I also would like to get the "ancient colors" on my pictures. Unfortunately I'm saying only of imitations, because original Kodachrome film is not available in Russia :bang:

 

[bcs89]

And I'm wondering, is it possible to imitate the Kodachrome colors now? I also would like to get the "ancient colors" on my pictures. Unfortunately I'm saying only of imitations, because original Kodachrome film is not available in Russia :bang:

If you want Kodachrome Evgeny thats not a problem - I will send you some 🙂 (I've got a bunch). The problem is developing - its almost impossible!

 

[Krasnaya_Zvezda]

I do not believe this is a Rockwell. I am relatively familiar with his work, and I'm sure I've never seen this. It is also too much of a photo-realist style to be Rockwell's work.
I'm betting this is a photo.

 

[David Goldfarb]

I think this is a photo in the style of Rockwell. Bear in mind that professional photography in this era is very likely to have a certain amount of retouching and handwork on the neg, transparency, and/or print, which can add to a painted appearance or can make it seem a little too perfect.

 

[ywenz]

that kid looks like the devil

 

[Stephanie Brim]

Yeah, that could be. It's just very, very Rockwell-like...kinda hard to really tell what it is.

 

[David Goldfarb]

For good examples of early color work that often has a Rockwell look, look at the Kodak Coloramas--

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/corp/features/coloramas/

particularly the ones from the 1950s.

 

[einolu]

More of the illustrations:
http://www.plan59.com/scarykids.htm
(via boingboing.net)