While photography is my #1 passion, I do have other interests: Archaeology and history being two of them. As a result, two of my favorite rags are Smithsonian and Archaeology magazines. While Archaeology magazine regularly features incredibly poor, snapshot photography accompanying their incredibly interesting articles, Smithsonian magazine provides some amazing photography to illustrate their's. Smithsonian also features articles, on a fairly regular basis, that focus on the history of photography and/or historically important photographers.
I had a doctor's appointment the other day and, while waiting to see the Doc, I spotted a September, 2007, issue of Smithsonian lying in the waiting area. Somehow, I had missed purchasing that issue--I guess I should subscribe instead of buying each month from a newsstand--so I snatched it up and immediately decided to bring it home with me. Generally, I don't exhibit thieving ways but I made an exception in this case. (I hope that didn't cost me much in Karma points.)
There's an article in the September, 2007, issue of Smithsonian that roused my curiosity as both a photographer and history buff. It's titled, "Color Comes to Photography."
According to the Smithsonian's report, "The most improbable object imaginable--the lowly, lumpy potato--played a leading role in the Great Leap Forward of color photography."
It seems that, back in 1903, the Lumière brothers--notable figures in the history of photography and whose family name may or may not have been hijacked as a term for the the measurement of luminous flux, i.e., the perceived power of light called lumens--developed a dazzling, new, photographic process they called autochrome and we call color photography. The Lumières developed this exciting process with the help of some pommes de terre, which is what the French call potatoes before they're peeled, cut, cooked in hot oil, salted, and transformed into French Fries. (Another notable French achievement although, for some bizarre reason, the French routinely dip their fries in mayonnaise, rather than ketchup, and, IMO, lose gastronomy points for their odd and unappealing habit of doing so.)
Anyway, somehow and someway those clever Lumière brothers figured out they could grind potatoes and apply the potato dust to photographic plates and, in so doing and with long exposures of a minute or so, manage to end up with a color image. How people figure this kind of stuff out is a total mystery to me. (Potatoes? Go figure.)
The lumières' new autochrome photographic plates were an immediate success and soon their factory was working overtime to meet the demand for potato-infused, color-producing plates. Icon photographers like Edward Steichen, Alfred Stieglitz, and Alvin Coburn were quick to embrace the new process. The Smithsonian article features some great examples of early, 20th Century color spudtography, including a rare color image of Mark Twain.
The Lumières' autochrome process remained the King of Color Photography for over 30 years until it was dethroned by Kodachrome and Agfacolor film.
The pretty girl at the top, leaning against the brick wall and lost in her own, private, fantasy, is Ciera. (No doubt she's fantasizing about the photographer.) I captured the image last week using two lights: A large, white-lined, 4' umbrella for the main and a small, white, shoot-thru umbrella for the highlights. No spuds, potatoes, or pommes de terre were used in the production of the image.
3 comments:
Interesting article. BTW there is I've once used a technique to produce colour images with B&W negative film. I don't know how "old" it is, nor how well-known it it. I've never found any background on it. I know it has it's limitations, but it's fun to experiment with (given time).
Generally, it works like this: you expose the same scene 3 times. Difference between the frames is the filter used - red, green and blue. Since B&W has no separate colour layers, each frame is used to record one colour.
Afterwards, these 3 frames are combined into 1 photo. Each frame (colour layer) is lit using the the same filter as used during the exposure: one for red, green and blue. Et voila: if the paper can record RGB, all colours are combined into one colour image.
O, the following line caught my attention: "...lose gastronomy points for their odd and unappealing habit of doing so." ROFL - somehow, somewhere I find gastronomic remarks from the US of A about the French very amusing. Yes, I know this is a generalisation, so let's just call it ignorance on my behalve :)
So, if we sprinkle the models with potato dust, do they turn into B&W?
Bob
There's one scientific error in your article: French Fries are not invented in France. They originally come from Belgium. The French just stole them from the Belgians (like they did with Jacques Brel).
Could you tell I'm from Belgium.
Anyway, love your blog! If you're ever in Belgium, let me know and I'll take you out for some genuine Belgian Fries (we have ketchup too).
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