Blenheim Orange Loc: Michigan

I watched a video on YouTube tonight of colorized Civil War era photos. Most of the photos I have seen many, many times over the years, and I am amazed by the difference it makes to see them in color.

I'll put the link in the next post.

Blenheim Orange Loc: Michigan

Link:

https://youtu.be/FKN03_BvbWY?si=exwokqFIUFWMEwlU

alwazbusy1 Loc: Montana

Thank you so much for sharing. The photographs are beautiful, and as you said, bring a very different fell in color.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

WOW!

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Mike, amazed in a good way or bad? Expand, please I'd love to chat about the role of color vs. the impact of black and white.

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

👍😍👍

Timmers Loc: San Antonio Texas.

Collodion and wet Collodion process was not color sensitive as was the later emulsions. So a B&W image from the era may not be accurate to the color of the images from that time. The early silver gelatin emulsions of early films were not vary sensitive in the red end of the spectrum either and much of the early film emulsions were in the sensitivity range of 3200K, thus Super Pancro Press, type B was favored by landscape photographer such as Ansel Adams who intentionally did not correct the material to daylight illumination because the resulting images were more to his (their) liking for rendering in the band areas for B&W (Adams purchased vast quantities of Super Pancro Press, Type B as Kodak was fazing it out for the more color accurate red sensitive balanced B&W film emulsions.).

So, what was a modern emulsion that was close to Collodion films? Kodak Duplicating Film would be a good film example. It was blue sensitive, with a vary slight green sensitivity and no sensitivity in the red region. If you wanted to make an image that showed freckles strongly, this was the film for the job. It would display freckles so strongly that freckles that were not seen by normal illumination to a viewer were seen and in abundance. This is why old portraits of the time appear so 'ruddy' as to skin tone. The daylight speed of this film is stated by Kodak as about 8 to 12 ISO and that is quite accurate, a little more sensitive than Collodion emulsions of the time.

One last item, war photographer only traveled with large bodies of troops. Collodion is a necessary material for medical purposes of the time, so a photographers wagon was more desirable to capture and raid by both sides than any other supply. It was a dangerous profession to be in during war. Not to mention the volatile nature of the materials used in making the emulsions.





https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collodion

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

As others have said, I also enjoyed the colorized photos/video. Where I think it falls short and maybe I’m expecting too much, is portrait skin color. It always seems “not natural” to me. And it might be the photography equipment and flash of the time? Face sections are blown out and distract from the beauty of the image. The landscapes, citiscapes, and distant (?) group images, not so much. It’s only my opinion, but b&w colorization is still a novelty.

azted Loc: Las Vegas, NV.

That was excellent. Loved the use of catchlights in the eyes as if there was an off camera flash involved!

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Following...

One is not necessarily better than the other at all times. They are different media. They communicate different things differently. War photos in color can be more impactful, but when you are trying to rally support for a war effort (think WWII), B&W keeps people on a different mental focus (i.e.; winning).

B&W communicates with shape, line, form, contrast, moment, subject, and pure composition. Like radio news, it focuses our attention on the idea of the subject.

Color communicates emotion, immediately. Stage lighting designers use the entire palette of colors to set moods for scenes in a play, or songs in a concert. When the nightly TV news began to show color film reports from Vietnam back in the 1960s, many Americans quickly got queasy about the war.

Bill_de Loc: US

Very nice!!!

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Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

One recent interesting discussion: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-799513-1.html

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Blenheim Orange Loc: Michigan

I am not sure. Some of the photos that I have looked at all my life suddenly "came to life," especially the street scenes in Atlanta and Charleston.

Blenheim Orange Loc: Michigan

Ah, that's it. I had a strong emotional response to seeing those very familiar images in color.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

The portraits are very moving, definitely a feeling of "real" humans in that era.

The slave auction house was disturbing. Again, color makes it feel more real. I hadn't viewed more than a few seconds when I first wrote in your thread, so I didn't know there would not be any battlefield carnage. For me, colorizing those scenes would have been sacrilege in a way.