The First Full Color Photographs

A litle while back, I stumbled on a remakable article on the photography of Prokudin-Gorsky, who took some of the first full-color photographs and just had to share. You can find the full article here. In 1909, backed by funding from Tsar Nicholas II, he set out to capture the zeitgeist of Russia in vibrant, full color.

His pictures paint a rich, vivid account of a rapidly changing country during the great war. It was also on a society on the cusp of modernization which came with the revolution of 1917; his starkly contrasting subject matters of military, nature and agrarian living when juxtaposed create a rather proleptic dialogue for things about to come. Political dialogoue aside, they are a decadent treat for the eyes. The article is very interesting, follow the link above if you want to read the whole thing.

P.S.- How bad do you want the Emir's blue silk jacket?

The Emir of Bukhara, 1910

The Kalganov family

Three Russian peasant girls, 1909

Russian peasant women and girls gathering tea

Ostrecheny, 1909

Unknown Man, 1905-1915

Team of Sheksna Steamer, 1909

Mugan family, Grafovka Village