Lewd and Lurid
April 28, 2003 5:50 AM Subscribe
Check out the early photoshopping techniques on the last page.
posted by crunchland at 6:13 AM on April 28, 2003
posted by crunchland at 6:13 AM on April 28, 2003
Crazy! This one looks particularly bizarre. Why were these pictures done this way?
posted by psychotic_venom at 6:25 AM on April 28, 2003
posted by psychotic_venom at 6:25 AM on April 28, 2003
Crazy! This one looks particularly bizarre. Why were these pictures done this way?
Well, just judging by how square it is, the editor decided that they only wanted a headshot of one of the women, and therefore had to paint out (literally) the other woman.
That's a pretty well done one, though. This one just makes me cringe slightly.
posted by Katemonkey at 6:42 AM on April 28, 2003
Well, just judging by how square it is, the editor decided that they only wanted a headshot of one of the women, and therefore had to paint out (literally) the other woman.
That's a pretty well done one, though. This one just makes me cringe slightly.
posted by Katemonkey at 6:42 AM on April 28, 2003
Crunch, that rocked. Thank you.
I found myself trying to figure out the backstory of the more bizarre ones, the real details probably lost to history.
Weegee would have loved that exhibit.
posted by CunningLinguist at 7:23 AM on April 28, 2003
I found myself trying to figure out the backstory of the more bizarre ones, the real details probably lost to history.
Weegee would have loved that exhibit.
posted by CunningLinguist at 7:23 AM on April 28, 2003
[yes it is]
Is it my impression or are these photographs a good deal better as photographs than what passes for tabloid photojournalism nowadays?
posted by MiguelCardoso at 8:28 AM on April 28, 2003
Is it my impression or are these photographs a good deal better as photographs than what passes for tabloid photojournalism nowadays?
posted by MiguelCardoso at 8:28 AM on April 28, 2003
actually, the more I study the photos, the more retouching I find. This photo, for example, which depicts an 11-year old boy who is described as "all bones and little flesh." It's apparent that the shadows of his ribs have been accentuated to prove the point.
posted by crunchland at 8:45 AM on April 28, 2003
posted by crunchland at 8:45 AM on April 28, 2003
Miguel, I agree... but a lot of them look awfully posed to me. And worse. For example, this one has clearly been 'photoshopped' to make the kid's ribs look more prominent, and this one looks like a Hollywood set with Hollywood lighting: what's with that background? Or the remarkably even lighting of the figures?
And was stuff like this really printed in the newspaper? Even if it wasn't, I still think our standards of even tabloid squeamishness have become a lot more narrow in the past half-century.
On preview: ack, crunchland, ya beat me to it.
posted by Slithy_Tove at 8:46 AM on April 28, 2003
And was stuff like this really printed in the newspaper? Even if it wasn't, I still think our standards of even tabloid squeamishness have become a lot more narrow in the past half-century.
On preview: ack, crunchland, ya beat me to it.
posted by Slithy_Tove at 8:46 AM on April 28, 2003
My heart is breaking that i can't take this fellow(?) home with me. If only i was born 46 years earlier.
I can't even determine what he is made of. Woe is me.
posted by deathofme at 12:35 PM on April 28, 2003
I can't even determine what he is made of. Woe is me.
posted by deathofme at 12:35 PM on April 28, 2003
[T]his one looks like a Hollywood set with Hollywood lighting: what's with that background? Or the remarkably even lighting of the figures?
I don't think this particular shot was staged at all; from the shadow that falls across the train tracks in the background, this was probably taken under a bridge or overpass. In that instance, the photographer would have to use a flash. Otherwise, the figures in the foreground would be nothing but silhouettes. (Actually, even in the open on a sunny day most pros use "fill flash" to get rid of the dark shadows resulting from overhead light).
I admit that the background does look a bit odd in contrast, but not entirely inconsistent with those old, Graflex plate cameras then favoured by the press...
Oh yeah, cool link! And thank the good Lord for Photoshop!
posted by Jughead at 12:38 PM on April 28, 2003
I don't think this particular shot was staged at all; from the shadow that falls across the train tracks in the background, this was probably taken under a bridge or overpass. In that instance, the photographer would have to use a flash. Otherwise, the figures in the foreground would be nothing but silhouettes. (Actually, even in the open on a sunny day most pros use "fill flash" to get rid of the dark shadows resulting from overhead light).
I admit that the background does look a bit odd in contrast, but not entirely inconsistent with those old, Graflex plate cameras then favoured by the press...
Oh yeah, cool link! And thank the good Lord for Photoshop!
posted by Jughead at 12:38 PM on April 28, 2003
A drain of death
January 19, 1952 Saturday
Shirking any sense of deja vu, our photographer makes Michael Lee Carr, 5, stand dangerously close to this cliff and point to the storm drain in Compton where his playmate, Terry Hall, 3½, fell and was swept away during the flood late yesterday. His body was found in the Los Angeles river.
Nowadays, the photographer whould be sued for child endangerment.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 1:40 PM on April 28, 2003
January 19, 1952 Saturday
Shirking any sense of deja vu, our photographer makes Michael Lee Carr, 5, stand dangerously close to this cliff and point to the storm drain in Compton where his playmate, Terry Hall, 3½, fell and was swept away during the flood late yesterday. His body was found in the Los Angeles river.
Nowadays, the photographer whould be sued for child endangerment.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 1:40 PM on April 28, 2003
A drain of death
January 19, 1952 Saturday
Shirking any sense of deja vu, our photographer makes Michael Lee Carr, 5, stand dangerously close to this cliff and point to the storm drain in Compton where his playmate, Terry Hall, 3½, fell and was swept away during the flood late yesterday. His body was found in the Los Angeles river.
Nowadays, the photographer would be sued for child endangerment.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 1:41 PM on April 28, 2003
January 19, 1952 Saturday
Shirking any sense of deja vu, our photographer makes Michael Lee Carr, 5, stand dangerously close to this cliff and point to the storm drain in Compton where his playmate, Terry Hall, 3½, fell and was swept away during the flood late yesterday. His body was found in the Los Angeles river.
Nowadays, the photographer would be sued for child endangerment.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 1:41 PM on April 28, 2003
doublepost monster on the loose.
*slaps forehead*
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 1:42 PM on April 28, 2003
*slaps forehead*
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 1:42 PM on April 28, 2003
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and it's weird but they have lots of similarities to hollywood publicity photos from back then too...flattering lighting and poses for the most part (Helen Miller and John Paine especially), and the blind GI with his seeing eye dog could be directly from a movie still.
posted by amberglow at 5:58 AM on April 28, 2003