Remarkable ww2 photos from 4x5 Kodachrome

Hayabusa Rider

Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
Jan 26, 2000
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Mods may move this if they like since it's not political in a timely sense, however war is the results of international politics gone wrong and WWII was no exception.

Pause and reflect.

days gone by.
 

Lemon law

Lifer
Nov 6, 2005
20,984
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Thanks for sharing. And other comments, the resolution of 4x5 transparencies are awesome
and the fact the color dyes have not faded in 70 years puzzles me.
 

Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
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Nice. Look how nice people dressed back then. I watch a lot of classic movies and am always struck by attire. This just proves it was real not just in the movies. Americans dress like slobs these days IMO.

38.jpg
 
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blackangst1

Lifer
Feb 23, 2005
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Those are great pics. If you guys like em you should find the WW2 series from Discovery in HD. All original HD film.
 

trenchfoot

Lifer
Aug 5, 2000
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Excellent pro quality lighting, posing and post processing. The only dig I have with those shots is the way the women workers were holding the electric drills in their poses. They obviously didn't have any working experience with them, nor did the photog(s) who posed them.

I've also seen pics of the Wright Bros. test flights in tintype and daguerrotype that have the same sharpness and overall quality.

Thanks for sharing.
 

davmat787

Diamond Member
Nov 30, 2010
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Not much there made in China.

No, but I imagine much of the raw materials traveled in on railroads built by the Chinese back in the 1800's. The railroads that connected California to Utah at least.

Anyway, thanks for sharing these HR. Up until a few years ago you could get Kodachrome developed by mail. Amazing colors and color range.
 

Hayabusa Rider

Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
Jan 26, 2000
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Up until a few years ago you could get Kodachrome developed by mail. Amazing colors and color range.

I loved shooting Kodachrome but I never quite mastered it. With little exposure latitude it was a bear to get right. Ahh but when I did it was exquisite. The quality of these photos shows both great artistic and technical skill.
 

Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
39,398
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There was a patriotism back then that no longer exists today.

We barley got into the war. FDR had to trick ppl into it and run a massive propaganda scheme whole time about devils over there. Now Americans rah rah about them. not sure i agree.

We also had draft to force ppl into it now we can do it all volunteer.
 
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Sunburn74

Diamond Member
Oct 5, 2009
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Look how non fat they all are! Amazing! They are almost unrecognizable from the people of today, heck almost a different species!


28.jpg
 
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MovingTarget

Diamond Member
Jun 22, 2003
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Great Find! I am always amazed by the events that transpired for the war back then, and by the quality of kodachrome film as well. Its a damn shame that they quit making/developing it.
 

JEDIYoda

Lifer
Jul 13, 2005
33,986
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Actually real fantastic pictures...but I would bet dollars for donuts that the pictures were re-touched!!
 

shira

Diamond Member
Jan 12, 2005
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Nice. Look how nice people dressed back then. I watch a lot of classic movies and am always struck by attire. This just proves it was real not just in the movies. Americans dress like slobs these days IMO.

38.jpg

The photographs are beautiful, but I'm certain that most of these photos were posed. And it's highly likely that many of the subjects of these photos knew well in advance that they'd be posing. So that beautiful outfit is almost certainly not representative of what people wore to work. Do you REALLY think that someone would not use coveralls to protect an outfit like that from factory grease?

And look at the "pose" in photo #10. No one would position themselves and their left hand like that to drill a hole. Clearly, the photographer wanted a clear shot of the woman's face and of the working surface.

Same thing with photo #2: Why is this woman facing sideways to what she's working one? And why is the electrical measurement device she's using not powered on?

In Photo #4, how come the photographer and large-format camera is INSIDE THE WIND TUNNEL if there's a test going on?

Photo #6: The left index finger of that worker is about to get cut really, really badly - IT'S RESTING RIGHT AGAINST THE DRILL.

In #15, "Rosy the Riveter" is going to get a rivet shot right through her left hand.

#'s 15, 16, 21, 24, 28, 29, and 36: How come the lights are off in the factory?
 

Exterous

Super Moderator
Jun 20, 2006
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Amazing pictures! I am not used to seeing high quality shots from back then so there was a constant feeling I was looking at a re-production or recently staged photoshoot.

Of course then I noticed the 3 WD Blue HDDs on the table in the left on picture 23 so now I know they are fake :p

Excellent pro quality lighting, posing and post processing. The only dig I have with those shots is the way the women workers were holding the electric drills in their poses.

And that guy who 'sights his Garand like an oldtimer'. I don't think thats how you actually sight a garand