High Qual Photos from early 1900s Russia

[chris]

I thought these pictures were really neat. A glimpse into the past...

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/08/russia_in_color_a_century_ago.html

[Specs]

I'd agree. The pictures are fascinating. Not just the subjects or the context but also that these must be the oldest real colour photo's I've ever seen. I suppose you can always photoshop or colourize old black and white images but the colour and the process in these seem to bring a whole different dimension to the photos that you don't get using other means.

Is the lack of smiles a result of the times, locale or process?

[chris]

"Lack of smiles" is something common in all olden days photos that Ive seen. I guess people didn't have much to smile about back in those days If you look at old photos from the US civil war era you will be hard pressed to find one with someone smiling!

[J.O.]

Photography in those days took much longer than today. You had to pose for several minutes (I've read as much as 45 minutes) for a portrait while remaining very still. It's pretty difficult to hold a smile for that long and expect it to look natural.

[Kip Powick]

Photography in those days took much longer than today. You had to pose for several minutes (I've read as much as 45 minutes) for a portrait while remaining very still. It's pretty difficult to hold a smile for that long and expect it to look natural.

Understand where you are going Jeff and I concur but some of the pictures were taken outside and 'nature' never stands still for that long so it begs the question........were some of these photos 'touched up' long after the fact?

Thanks for the link Chris

[Specs]

It's pretty difficult to hold a smile for that long and expect it to look natural.

You should see me on payday! (grinning ear to ear)

[thor]

Understand where you are going Jeff and I concur but some of the pictures were taken outside and 'nature' never stands still for that long so it begs the question........were some of these photos 'touched up' long after the fact?

Thanks for the link Chris

I don't think they had photoshop then,  HAHA.  

There is a picture has a blurry river .  We often take family pictures 'Old country style' ie. no smiles.  then a goofy one.  It adds a lot of entertainment to picture taking.