Old Color Photo looks almost HDRI worthy

Every once in awhile, something comes along that leaves me pretty stunned.  These photos, taken between 1939-1943, do just that.  It’s not only because of the photos’ subjects and the baked-in nostalgia, but because of the COLOR.  Most photos I’ve seen from this era are black and white.  I only attach color to photos that were taken in the 60′s and on.  To look at these photos and try to place them in the early 20th century is hard for my mind to grasp.  It’s pretty amazing.  Not only that, but the dynamic range in most of the photos is RIDICULOUS.  Detail and color range that few modern cameras can attain.  Hell, the one I posted above has HDRI qualities to it most photographers spend hours in photoshop trying to recreate! Enjoy the few photos I posted here, but click HERE for many more.

This era always fascinated me. My grandpa never talked much about his childhood, but I remember going to his home during the summers as a child and feeling like I stepped back in time.  He built his home with his bare hands in the outskirts of Eugene, OR. and even included a woodshop where he could hand craft wooden music stands as a hobby (later a business).  I used to sift through his old photos and books imagining myself in his cuffed-up jeans covered in the soil of the middle plains or in the forest lumber yards of the NW.  These photos take me back to the same place.  I love it.

The fact that this photo looks like it was taken within the last 20 years blows my mind.

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