4 ms·

Is this an issue of contrast, and lack of sensitivity to it? I must say the effect is strange, it does make the people look darker and more 'foreign' (from a E

Is this an issue of contrast, and lack of sensitivity to it? I must say the effect is strange, it does make the people look darker and more 'foreign' (from a Europeans perspective) I wonder what effect photos like this had on perpetuating colonialism by making the natives appear less like themselves (the colonists).

dylan604 8y ago
The Wikipedia article on the process [0] talks about how the process is more sensitive to certain colors. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collodion_process https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collodion_process
mkl 8y ago
This kind of photography was not the only means of capturing pictures. Paintings for one captured all the details: https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=goldie+portraits https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=goldie+portraits I think the effect is a bit like what infrared photography does to freckles: https://petapixel.com/2015/09/28/this-is-what-infrared-photography-does-to-freckles/ https://petapixel.com/2015/09/28/this-is-what-infrared-photo...
staticautomatic 8y ago
It's because Wet Plate is typically orthochromatic.
- galago 8y ago
  michrassena's comment has it right. 'orthochromatic' was a later term implying that the film represented the 'correct' version of the spectrum, because it was more sensitive to blue light. the term 'panchromatic' was adopted when black and white films eventually approximated visual sensitivity. the history of this spans decades, which is why it can be confusing. by the late 20th century, 'ortho' meant a monochromatic film or printing paper that was not sensitive to red light, hence it could be handled in a darkroom with a red safe-lite. however, the spectral sensitivity of even standard photo paper today might be greater than the earliest emulsions.
  - stan_rogers 8y ago
    "Orthochromatic" was a fix; it had extended green sensitivity compared to earlier processes/materials (which were usually referred to as "actinic" after ortho was introduced). Ortho was called ortho right from the beginning to distinguish it from what came before. The extended green sensitivity is what made it right. Or at least somewhat less wrong than things had been. If they'd found a way to create panchromatic plates/film before ortho as we know it happened, the name "orthochromatic" would have been given to that instead. So why did ortho rule the roost in the darkroom and in process photography when we had "actinic" papers around? (Obviously, panchromatic is out unless you like working in total darkness.) Incandescent lamps for exposure is a big part of the answer. You don't get a lot of blue light out of a glowing filament, and sunlight isn't quite as consistent and reliable as you might want it to be. (And arc lights aren't a lot of fun to work with or around.) Non-repro blue, a pale cyan that humans can easily distinguish but ortho film/paper can't, is most of the rest. Panchromatic can "see" non-repro blue by design, and "actinic" can see it because it's not blue enough to appear white if it's dark enough to see easily (in paste-up, etc.). Non-repro blue, ruby masks and relatively bright safelight made life... well, not exactly easy when compared to, say, a desktop publishing application, but it beat the heck out of constant squinting in the dark, wondering if that thing was really supposed to be there, or if it was a line at all.
    - staticautomatic 8y ago
      Developing film by inspection is a joy. I've developed a lot of ortho 4x5 under red safe light and love it even though I don't need to (my developer exhausts around the same time the film finishes developing so I don't actually need to inspect). I just do it for fun.
michrassena 8y ago
Early photographic processes were only sensitive to the blue end of the visible spectrum. It took many years after photography was developed for chemists to create dyes sensitive to red and green. Using only the blue channel from a color image is an easy shortcut to obtaining the look which is sometimes done to depict someone as rugged, aged, and weathered for artistic effect. Here's an article on simulating this look digitally, from the same publication. https://petapixel.com/2019/04/05/recreating-the-look-of-1850s-tintypes-in-digital-with-math-and-science/ https://petapixel.com/2019/04/05/recreating-the-look-of-1850...
- staticautomatic 8y ago
  It's worth mentioning that contemporary photographers can make panchromatic wet plates, and also that orthochromatic film is available.
- Zanni 8y ago
  Ah, interesting. I was wondering why they looked so much older, like 10-30 years older, to my eyes.

dylan604 8y ago

The Wikipedia article on the process [0] talks about how the process is more sensitive to certain colors. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collodion_process https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collodion_process

mkl 8y ago

This kind of photography was not the only means of capturing pictures. Paintings for one captured all the details: https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=goldie+portraits https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=goldie+portraits I think the effect is a bit like what infrared photography does to freckles: https://petapixel.com/2015/09/28/this-is-what-infrared-photography-does-to-freckles/ https://petapixel.com/2015/09/28/this-is-what-infrared-photo...

staticautomatic 8y ago

It's because Wet Plate is typically orthochromatic.

galago 8y ago
michrassena's comment has it right. 'orthochromatic' was a later term implying that the film represented the 'correct' version of the spectrum, because it was more sensitive to blue light. the term 'panchromatic' was adopted when black and white films eventually approximated visual sensitivity. the history of this spans decades, which is why it can be confusing. by the late 20th century, 'ortho' meant a monochromatic film or printing paper that was not sensitive to red light, hence it could be handled in a darkroom with a red safe-lite. however, the spectral sensitivity of even standard photo paper today might be greater than the earliest emulsions.
- stan_rogers 8y ago
  "Orthochromatic" was a fix; it had extended green sensitivity compared to earlier processes/materials (which were usually referred to as "actinic" after ortho was introduced). Ortho was called ortho right from the beginning to distinguish it from what came before. The extended green sensitivity is what made it right. Or at least somewhat less wrong than things had been. If they'd found a way to create panchromatic plates/film before ortho as we know it happened, the name "orthochromatic" would have been given to that instead. So why did ortho rule the roost in the darkroom and in process photography when we had "actinic" papers around? (Obviously, panchromatic is out unless you like working in total darkness.) Incandescent lamps for exposure is a big part of the answer. You don't get a lot of blue light out of a glowing filament, and sunlight isn't quite as consistent and reliable as you might want it to be. (And arc lights aren't a lot of fun to work with or around.) Non-repro blue, a pale cyan that humans can easily distinguish but ortho film/paper can't, is most of the rest. Panchromatic can "see" non-repro blue by design, and "actinic" can see it because it's not blue enough to appear white if it's dark enough to see easily (in paste-up, etc.). Non-repro blue, ruby masks and relatively bright safelight made life... well, not exactly easy when compared to, say, a desktop publishing application, but it beat the heck out of constant squinting in the dark, wondering if that thing was really supposed to be there, or if it was a line at all.
  - staticautomatic 8y ago
    Developing film by inspection is a joy. I've developed a lot of ortho 4x5 under red safe light and love it even though I don't need to (my developer exhausts around the same time the film finishes developing so I don't actually need to inspect). I just do it for fun.

michrassena 8y ago

Early photographic processes were only sensitive to the blue end of the visible spectrum. It took many years after photography was developed for chemists to create dyes sensitive to red and green. Using only the blue channel from a color image is an easy shortcut to obtaining the look which is sometimes done to depict someone as rugged, aged, and weathered for artistic effect. Here's an article on simulating this look digitally, from the same publication. https://petapixel.com/2019/04/05/recreating-the-look-of-1850s-tintypes-in-digital-with-math-and-science/ https://petapixel.com/2019/04/05/recreating-the-look-of-1850...

staticautomatic 8y ago
It's worth mentioning that contemporary photographers can make panchromatic wet plates, and also that orthochromatic film is available.
Zanni 8y ago
Ah, interesting. I was wondering why they looked so much older, like 10-30 years older, to my eyes.