Comments on: Three Belgian Autochromists

Three Belgian Autochromists

madamjujujive — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 13:43:13 -0800

The beautiful vintage photos of three Belgian friends - a doctor, a painter, and accountant - who shared their experiments in color photography from 1907 to 1920. (via The Wonderland of Mia Mäkilä)

More links to sites on autochromes Prior related mefi posts: chuckdarwin post on Albert Kahn and Edwardians in Colour cardamine post on Surreal Life - Bradford Museum Autochrome exhibition ShawnString post on WW1 in color

By: MNDZ

MNDZ — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 13:55:03 -0800

walloons?

By: el io

el io — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 14:04:00 -0800

looks like 2 of them were from Antwerp, one of which was named: "Alfonse Van Besten". I would guess Flemish. Can't they just be Belgian though? It is lovely work.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 14:16:47 -0800

Ohh I love these madamjujujive! Charming, serene, contemplative. And somewhat eerie, a tender nostalgia.

By: aubilenon

aubilenon — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 14:17:25 -0800

I had never heard of autochrome photography before. Interesting stuff!

By: MNDZ

MNDZ — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 14:17:44 -0800

I'm not concerned about thier politics or ethnicity or language, i just like that word. cool old old photos.

By: Artw

Artw — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 14:30:56 -0800

I am not a number, I'm a conservatively dressed matriarch!

By: Artw

Artw — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 14:34:30 -0800

These are wondeful and charming and slightly spooky. Thank you!

By: dunkadunc

dunkadunc — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 15:09:31 -0800

Worth mentioning are these color photos of pre-communist Russia. It's strange how much more real it all seems in color. What a different place the world used to be.

By: bwg

bwg — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 16:02:51 -0800

I love this shot; very Tim Burton-esque. I keep expecting Johnny Depp to step out onto that balcony.

By: dunkadunc

dunkadunc — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 16:13:42 -0800

bwg, I was looking at that shot and was thinking, "wow, those old houses sure are cool, there's no chance they're still around"... And then I found this picture on Google Maps.

By: slater

slater — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 16:25:57 -0800

A photography site with a ridiculously unrewarding navigational scheme? Unpossible! (great pix tho. i'm just glad it's not done in Flash)

By: jouke

jouke — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 20:47:10 -0800

Stage coaches in Gent.

By: Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese

Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 21:14:57 -0800

dunkadunc, I had the very same reaction and found the very same photo. The scene does look much more romantic in the original shot.

By: Goofyy

Goofyy — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 22:43:55 -0800

I've sent the link to my Belgian father-in-law. One of the photographs bares an amazing familial resemblance to him. I would absolutely love it if one of the shots turned out to be his mother, who is still living.

By: bwg

bwg — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 01:11:03 -0800

Thanks dunkadunc. You can see how the lack of good composition in the modern shot really takes away from the structures. The vertical framing doesn't suit the scene and the red building on the left is distracting. The sky is clipped (digital camera) and the quality of light is harsher. The funny thing is if I'd shot this same scene I'd probably give the image an "aged" look in Photoshop that might not be altogether different from the original. The buildings almost seem to cry out for it.

By: Harry

Harry — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 08:31:10 -0800

This modern shot is a lot closer (and bigger) to the 1910 shot. Spot the new house in the back.

By: IndigoJones

IndigoJones — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 08:54:38 -0800

Wish they had identified all the geographical shots. Anyone have a clue about this? (Nice to know that this place survived the wars. See here and here)