Captured: America in Color from 1939-1943

Denver Post ^ | July 26, 2010 | Plog

[re_tail20]

These images, by photographers of the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information, are some of the only color photographs taken of the effects of the Depression on America’s rural and small town populations.

The photographs are the property of the Library of Congress and were included in a 2006 exhibit Bound for Glory: America in Color.

[heartwood]

Americans making things and growing things.

A self-reliant people, still.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Very interesting collections, including the WW II and Russia photos.

[Squantos]

WOW !

Awesome post !

Thanks !

[MaryFromMichigan]

Great find!
(Anybody know if there is a "photography" ping list at FR?)
AMAZING, beautiful, crisp shots!

Some folks may enjoy listening to a radio show from that same era-
Complete Radio Broadcast Day On September 21, 1939

[Red_Devil 232]

Great stuff! Thanks for the post!

[Wage Slave]

Fascinating. I looked at every photo! Thanks

[dubyagee]

bfl

[DaxtonBrown]

Wow, those are so eerie in color. A lot of the kids in the pics will still be alive, in their 70s or 80s

[Franklin Wright]

Our parents and grandparents were much tougher than us. Thanks for posting.

[Cacique]

btt

[PalmettoMason]

Very nice! Thanks for posting.

I know it's dumb, but I always have a mental picture of that whole era being in "black and white". This give me a whole new perspective.

I am emailing the link to my Dad, who was born in 1930. I think he will enjoy the pics.

Thanks again!

[ecomcon]

Fascinating! Thanks for posting.

[KarlInOhio]

I had always thought that the world was black&white back then.

[PUGACHEV]

Saying that these photographs are property of the Library of Congress may be misleading. There is no copyright to these images or any of the other Farm Administration or WPA commissioned work. Anyone may make copies of these photographs. Unfortunately, when you get them from the LOC they are huge TIFF files having originated from 4X5 color negatives, and working with them requires a fast computer and lots of patience. Even still, the resolution is less than what you would expect, and far below what you could produce with a modern DSLR. Not that the film wasn't capable of more, it's just perhaps that the lenses and processing was not up to modern standards. Although I have processed a few of these very phots as part of my hobby, and they can produce wonderful prints up to 24X60, which is the limit I can print.

[TomGuy]

Some of those areas had not changed much 10-15 years later, when I was growing up in NM in the 50s.

[Cheetahcat]

Thank You for the thread.

[trisham]

That was extraordinary. Thank you!

[TomGuy]

when you get them from the LOC they are huge TIFF files having originated from 4X5 color negatives

I did a 'save as' of the blog webpage in Firefox. It eventually gave me an error (because of javascript crap on the blog page). However, it did download the pix in JPEG format. 150-250 Kb each.

[The Truth Will Make You Free]

Not a single fat slob (obese person).