The Word Cloud

17 Comments

• 

  by Ancient Woodland 1 year ago

  Astonishing pictures, the detail and colour are amazing even now, never mind a hundred year ago. As I trawled through the images I found myself playing 'Find the smile'. There is a hint of one in amongst all the dour faces but you have to look hard to find it.
• 

  by SecretSpi 1 year ago

  Thanks so much for posting these stunning pics - I bet they'll inspire a few people to start writing something set in those distant days and places.
  AW: I thought the dog looked quite happy, content at least!
• 

  by Kiki 1 year ago

  What amazing pictures. They almost told a story on their own, in fact they have given me inspiratio for a short story - so thank you. From what i can gather from the few historians I know, smiling was frowned upon on pictures from around this time (hahahah pun)! Ahem, anyway, fabulous pics - I love them. :)
• 

  by Nikolaos 1 year ago

  These are incredible, thank you very much for posting the link
• 

  by Weens 1 year ago

  Thanks for posting these Whisks, they are amazing. The pictures are seven years later than when Two Left Shoes is set. I looked at lots of pictures like these when doing research, but I don't think any were quite as clear as this.
• 

  by zomb00 1 year ago

  Thanks for sharing :)
  
  The babooshka's still dress the same! :P
• 

  by Caducean Whisks 1 year ago

  Thank you peeps, happy you enjoyed them - that's one of the nice things about the Cloud - you can post up anything off-beat that interests you and it will interest a few others too - and provoke thoughts and stories.
  A few thoughts?
  1) You can see where someone's moved between the three filtered shots (like the baby in the group of children, No27)
  2) Everyone wore headgear - even the labourers at the dam
  3) You can tell they're long exposures as the river (No2) moves too quickly for the exposure and so looks like oil
  4) The picture that moves me the most, is No11 - despite her finery (and how long must that embroidery have taken?), the woman sitting by the side of the road looks sooo unhappy, I want to cry with her. Why is she sitting there in so public a place, so adorned and so miserable? There's a story there.
  5) All these people are now dead (or nearly so); even the children
  6) The other picture with a strong story (for me) is No32 - the young man trying to look cool and grown-up with his mother? Has his father just died? Is he now her protector?
  7) - Kiki, I love your pun - they frowned on smiling - tee hee. Hope you post up the story of the picture that inspired you.
• 

  by mike 1 year ago

  If you have old black and white negatives from a Brownie Box camera - or photographs - and 'Photoshop' them. You will be surprised, These photographs were taken on roll film so are large negatives and they are positive prints. They have greater definition and depth of field than the majority of modern digital cameras. Great photgraphs taken by a skilled photographer.
• 

  by Caducean Whisks 1 year ago

  Mike, these photos weren't taken on roll film - they were glass plates, b&w, but three exposures with different coloured filters to achieve the stunning colour when viewed through a lantern. Given the three exposures and the clarity, I'm sure a tripod was used - nothing hand-held. The people must have stood incredibly still. Glad you liked them, though; I agree - digital may be easier, but rarely gives the same richness. Although, we are viewing them digitally on the computer, aren't we? There's a conundrum.
• 

  by Caducean Whisks 1 year ago

  Jill, you're very welcome. I wonder if these - or something similar - would provide fodder for a future competition? Several have certainly got me thinking.
• 

  by AlanP 1 year ago

  The pictures must have been taken using three plates in a single camera assembly with a single linked shutter release. There is no way that the definition could be achieved otherwise. The leaves and petals are all perfect and they would have blurred. Also there is a dog, who would not remain still (unless stuffed). Flowing water will blur for a long exposure, but the leaves would be good if all taken at the same instant.
  
  I know that this technique existed because someone I knew in the seventies used to take pictures of old houses with a massive plate camera and he knew all about that sort of thing. He could discuss it for hours.
  
  Either that or these pictures have been colourised and it's a cheat. But I choose not to believe that.
• 

  by Caducean Whisks 1 year ago

  Al - Yes, I choose not to believe it either. Did you read the blurb before the photos? There's a brief explanation of how they were taken. And there are places where you can see the person moved between each coloured filter shot - the man on the right in No19 scratched his nose between the red and the green I think, the hem of the woman in purdah - No20, the peasant's hand in No22, the hand of the water carrier in No24, and the baby on the left in No27. It's these small details that add to the authenticity, I feel. I assume the dog was asleep - or dead. They are all "still" shots, so I guess he had to choose a windless day (see flag in No23) and "pose" everyone, which might account for the still backgrounds.
  Jill - I've already bagged my photos for inspiration!
• 

  by Steve 1 year ago

  Rare quality photographs - supreme posting, Whisks. Ta.
• 

  by Caducean Whisks 1 year ago

  Of course we wouldn't fall out, Jill! Even if we did choose the same pictures as inspiration, we'd come up with different stories. Could be really interesting and it'd be a sad old world if there was only one story to tell. I'd like a go at No11 and as a spare, No32. How about you?
• 

  by SecretSpi 1 year ago

  I like the old floodgate keeper #14. Imagine, he was born in 1825! I thought he'd lost an arm at first but I think his coat's just a bit on the large side, maybe he's shrunk a little in the 66 years on the job.
• 

  by Caducean Whisks 1 year ago

  The old floodgate keeper is all yours, SS. I think he has two arms - you can just spot fingers protruding. I don't think it was his coat to begin with - did it come from a dead soldier? No, I hadn't twigged that he was born in 1825 - fancy! Just googled it and in 1825, Charles X became King of France, Salieri died, John Quincy Adams became president of America, tin cans and safety pins were patented ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1825 and http://www.brainyhistory.com/years/1825.html
• 

  by Aonghus Fallon 1 year ago

  The two photos of churches really jumped out at me - the churches are so pristine in comparison to their (rather) squalid surroundings, and also both are rather nice colours: one green and one purple.