America in Color 1939-1940

[Bill_1856]

The edge code on the sheet film is interesting. I just checked some of my 4x5 Kodachromes (daylight) and the code is two half-round indents. I wonder if it's 3200K film shot with a cc filter?

[al olson]

Thanks for the heads up, AJ. It is interesting to look back over those years. My father was making 8mm movies on Kodachrome from about 1939 on. The colors and the subjects were similar even though there were none that were made on my part of the world. Brings back memories.

More impressive is the link to WWII Pacific photos. It is amazing that most if not all of these photos were made with press cameras as shown in image 99. There is a nice selection made by Joe Rosenthal as well.

On image 106 there is a photo of the sailor kissing the nurse. Except it is not by Eisenstaedt, it is credited as AP Photo/Victor Jorgensen. It is obviously the same scene taken from a different angle, but some of the same people are in both photos.

It is amazing the magnitude of loss of life, materiel, and destruction of ports and cities. This was a entirely different scale than what we relate to today.

[Brian C. Miller]

Well, it is Kodachrome of the same variety as this link(Boy Scouts at Capitol, 1943). The sheet clearly shows "Eastman Safety Kodak" and "22". Some more examples here, one of which has a different notch code.

[Sal Santamaura]

Well, it is Kodachrome of the same variety as this link(Boy Scouts at Capitol, 1943)...

That sheet shows very uneven processing. Look at the sky! First time I've noticed this with 4x5 Kodachrome.

[mrwestphal]

This was a great post! thank you so much. I spent all day taking my time and really enjoying them.

[sully75]

All of these pictures are available as high-res scans on the Library of Congress Website. I've made prints from scans there and had great results. They have some scans of Curtiss prints of American Indians, I made some pretty awesome prints.

[sully75]

ps regarding these being contrived pictures, are you sure we're looking at the same pictures?


PS I think these might be oversharpened past the original LOC scans, they don't look like that on the LOC website.

[Richard M. Coda]

All of these pictures are available as high-res scans on the Library of Congress Website. I've made prints from scans there and had great results. They have some scans of Curtiss prints of American Indians, I made some pretty awesome prints.

Yessiree, Bob!

I took a Walker Evans hi-res scan from the LOC and cleaned it up a little (just spotting), had a new silver 8x10 neg made and printed it in my darkroom. Looks beautiful!

[mhanc]

Thanks for the heads up. I really enjoyed these on many levels.

Perhaps these were "ordinary" photographs back when they were taken; however, the passage of time has given them significance - or at least the LOC thinks so. Interesting how time changes the perceived value of art, even if only that it takes on an historical and/or nostalgic element.

I would also think that these photographs take on value due to their rarity. It will be interesting to see if all the digital photographs of this era of everything under the sun will score as well on the test of time? Will also be interesting to see if people are then nostalgic about this era.