Captured: America in Color from 1939-1943

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fender66

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THESE...are some very nice shots! I just had to share this link. Love historical photos too. I have a couple favorites already, but love them all!

https://extras.denverpost.com/archive/captured.asp?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+d
 
I bought the book about a year ago. It is the catalog from an exhibition featuring this collection of color photos taken during the late depression years. As the caption said, these are among the few color images of the depression era and were taken by the Farm Security Administration (FSA). This group of photos is part of the larger documentation work that was being done by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) that put so many people to work during the great depression. Some of America's most famous photographers were working for the WPA or FSA during the depression and their documentary photography has become iconic of that era. These are pretty great photographs. If anyone is interested in seeing more of this kind of stuff, the Library of Congress has put a lot of their collection online. Here is their web url https://www.loc.gov/pictures/. On the right side is the link Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black-and-White Negatives to the FSA photographers.
 
Thanks for posting this.This just shows that with a photo you can frezze time.
Really liked #63 TVA Douglas Dam my granddad helped build a lot of the dams around here not sure if i worked on that one or not.
 
Chris,

Thank you for posting the link to the photos. 8) . Seeing the young girls in one or two of the photos reminds me of stories my mother has told of growing up during very lean times. She was born in 1932. She was raised on a farm about 50 miles from here, and her mother would buy flour in sacks that came in soft, flowered-print cloth, and make summer play dresses for my mother and her 4 sisters. The other shots in the series makes one want to go out and start shooting documentary photos. I'm gonna have to post the link at a couple of photo sites I frequent.
 
Hey guys....just sharing with friends. No thanks needed. I've looked at them several times and enjoy them more every time. I might have to invest in the book???

Bobberboy....are the photos as vibrant and clear in the printed form?

Waterwings....I too have the desire to go shoot more documentary photos. I've shot some in the past, and feel the need to dig some of those up again. Once I find them....I'd might scan some and share. I'd love to see some of yours too if you have anything you'd like to share. That always goes for everyone too. Love looking at other peoples photos.
 
fender66 said:
...Waterwings....I too have the desire to go shoot more documentary photos. I've shot some in the past, and feel the need to dig some of those up again. Once I find them....I'd might scan some and share. I'd love to see some of yours too if you have anything you'd like to share. That always goes for everyone too. Love looking at other peoples photos.

When I get the opportunity, I like to shoot older buildings and other stuff, and sometimes convert them to a mono version. Mine hardly ever have people in them though. Here's my flickr photostream I just recently started: https://www.flickr.com/photos/retnav1992
 
fender66 said:
Hey guys....just sharing with friends. No thanks needed. I've looked at them several times and enjoy them more every time. I might have to invest in the book???

Bobberboy....are the photos as vibrant and clear in the printed form?

I can't actually remember and having moved 18 months ago still can't find it. Anyway, sometimes book reproduction just doesn't compare to what you see on the internet. Maybe it's something about the fact that the image is literally glowing on the computer screen. I think they're good and the book is worth buying. I think I got mine copy from Amazon. I got the book because we were doing an exhibition of WPA paintings, prints and photographs a couple of years ago from our collection at the U of M and I got to see and handle many original black and white photographs from this period. As was said above, there were few color photo's taken during this time and until I saw this book I had never seen any. I have read a lot about the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl years and this collection of photo's really added a lot to understanding that subject for me.

I guess I should add that I was dragged kicking and screaming into the digital age. I know all the reasons why digital is good, but I am old school. To me there is nothing like the continuous tone image from a film negative or the magic watching the print come to life in the developer. If you have ever made a contact print from a large format camera it's hard to compare to digital. The photographers represented in this collection were the best of the best in that old school sense.
 
I guess I should add that I was dragged kicking and screaming into the digital age. I know all the reasons why digital is good, but I am old school. To me there is nothing like the continuous tone image from a film negative or the magic watching the print come to life in the developer. If you have ever made a contact print from a large format camera it's hard to compare to digital. The photographers represented in this collection were the best of the best in that old school sense.

I could NOT agree more! I spent 12 years of my professional life in a custom lab doing, just that...printing straight from negatives (both B/W and color). I miss those days tremendously, but they couldn't pay the bills anymore. 8 hours a day, 5–6 days a week, for 12 years is a whole lot of negatives. Worked with 35mm up to 11X14 negatives. Wish I could go back again.
 

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