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'Captured: The Color Landscape Of The Depression Era'

Yes indeed great pics, usually the color betrays the age of photos, but the color in these looks modern (if you get my drift).
 
Hey All,

In my opinion...

As a group the photographers of the FSA (Farm Security Administration) and OWI (Office of War Information) are the greatest group of photographers America has ever seen. Thank You FDR for putting these people to the task of documenting one of the most difficult periods in American history. They had great subject material to work with and the support to produce great photography.

As an aside these photographers produced about 1600 colour photos as compared to around 164,000 black and white.

-Ed-
 
Thanx..Priceless!..the America of the "GREATEST GENERATION",and where a lot of kids left from to go to WW2...many never to return......AMERICA!! we come a Long way Baby!......<label for="rb_iconid_20">
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Panther, was it you that had posted pics of a post war era Hawaii some time back? I thought I had bookmarked the site, but apparently I did not.
 
Interesting. Paid particular interest to the city traffic in the larger cities. Times were slow during that depression. In ways the traffic or busy-ness in the cities and industries lend somewhat of a comparison as to what we are seeing now in this one.

With the color in those photos many of the scenes look like current scenes of today except for the vehicles.
 
Nice find Ed, a great part of history. Only rich people owned cars. That one shot of the guy working a field with a horse plow only shows how much things have changed.
 
"With the color in those photos many of the scenes look like current scenes of today except for the vehicles."


The color was either Etachrome or Kodachrome (don't remember which one) slide film that gave those rich tones and vibrancy. Photo #8 is one that's pure nostalgia,...the fragrant burning of Fall leaves. Try doing that today in your community.......
 
Magnificent pictures, thanks. It would be really neat to make a slide show starting with altered B&W versions of these as they are usually seen, grainy, some spots and tears, etc, then fade to these wonderful color ones. For me it helps make a connection to the reality of that time.
 
Got a laugh out of pic 28 on the main street....Tobacco, cards, beer, drugs, cafe and beer. The good old days. Loved all the shots, you can just get lost in thought starring into each image.

Jim
 
#32. Shasta dam under construction. Is not too far from home. Been inside Shasta way back in the day when people could drive a cross it with out passing a back ground and having it guard by guys with M-16s. Plus you could take pics in side of the dam.

/was the days....
 
brad kaste said:
"With the color in those photos many of the scenes look like current scenes of today except for the vehicles."


The color was either Etachrome or Kodachrome (don't remember which one) slide film that gave those rich tones and vibrancy. Photo #8 is one that's pure nostalgia,...the fragrant burning of Fall leaves. Try doing that today in your community.......
Click to expand...

Medium Format Kodachrome was killer......:guinness:
 
Boy, do these bring back memories - I can remember some things from the late 50s, when I would have been 5 or 6 - about 10 years after these photos were taken, but many of the signs such as you saw on the main street shops were still around in Detroit when I was a kid. So were the buildings, and, best of all, the people were around too, complete with their attitudes and opinions. No Woody Allens back then. All politically incorrect now. With Nov 11 right around the corner these photos, all taken during WWII and many during the American participation in that war, can't help but bring to mind the men who left these places to fight and never to return. Now you can see what they were fighting so hard to protect.

Not many cars in some of the city photos (the photo of Detroit comes to mind) because there was gas rationing and rubber rationing during WWII, so a lot of people car pooled or rode the train or trolley (my mother did). The railroad boxcars were 40 ft long and of wooden construction. Lots of cities in America at that time had cable cars, just like San Francisco - we called them trolleys or street railways, though. Sometimes they were called the Interurban, too.

People and places, and a country, fondly remembered and greatly missed.
 
Some serious enhancing going on there. Have tried to improve old colour slides of my fathers old photo's from the early 60's....don't come out anywhere near as good as those.
 
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