Old WPA photo's

[pappy19]

It takes a while for the pictures to come up, but worth the wait. This will make you thankful for what we have today. We have come a long way baby!
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History Lesson:

If you're old (as some of us are) and love photography (as I do), you'll enjoy these old WPA photos. Kodachrome had a few problems at birth, but within a year or two became the premier color film of all time. Nothing has ever surpassed it for resolution and archival qualities. Sadly, it has essentially died out and only one lab in the world will still process it, and then only 35mm.

The WPA was a good thing for America at the time, and because they paid professional photographers to document the program we have a legacy of photographs, many in color, that realistically documented that period in our history. This site (link below) is well worth a look if you like history and photography.

The name of the instrumental accompaniment is Vaya Con Dios. I don't know who's playing it, but it doesn't sound like Floyd Cramer.



Great pictures from America 's past, click on the site below



A Look Back In History

 

[actionaj]

Cool web site.

 

[dmccarty]

Interesting photos. Wish he had not made all of the political comments.

We went to the NC History museum awhile ago and they had some B&W photos taken in the 20/30s up in the mountains. Very interesting.

I finally switched fully over to digital and sold off all of my film camera's this year. I had a gallon bag of old film in the freezer that I tossed. Still had a few rolls of Kodachrome. Love my Kodachrome.

Later,
Dan

 

[turbo36]

Interesting photos. Wish he had not made all of the political comments.

We went to the NC History museum awhile ago and they had some B&W photos taken in the 20/30s up in the mountains. Very interesting.

I finally switched fully over to digital and sold off all of my film camera's this year. I had a gallon bag of old film in the freezer that I tossed. Still had a few rolls of Kodachrome. Love my Kodachrome.

Later,
Dan

These are incredible photo's , many I've never seen before ( this time period is a hobby of mine) I'm not sure why you used the term "political statements" pretty much all the statements are of historical record and not a political opinion or ideology.

 

[Bird]

The name of the instrumental accompaniment is Vaya Con Dios. I don't know who's playing it, but it doesn't sound like Floyd Cramer.

Very interesting pictures. And it "says" that's Floyd Cramer. I think it actually is, but it is a bit different from most of what I liked by him, I might be wrong.

 

[N80]

I love the photography of Dorthea Lange and Walker Evans. There is a book called Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by southern author James Agee which features the photography of Evans and other WPA photographers.

I think the politics of the WPA is a potentially hot topic with great lessons for us right here and now. Some feel that the WPA and all of Roosevelt's programs were necessary and pragmatic and saved this country. Some feel, as I do, that it marked the intrusion of the government into areas not specified in the constitution and greatly socialized this nation and were in the end a failure and only the economic boom of WWII and post WWII actually saved us. Opinions will vary and my point in all this is not to start a political discussion but to suggest as people look at these photos to think of what such programs meant to us and how the photos were used (were they social commentary, propaganda, unbiased documentary, etc etc). Great photos, great topic and worth all of our thought.

Oddly, it seems to me, that no matter how the government or the photographers intended the photos to be used, they have transcended that purpose as both magnificent works of art and pure document.

Another great photographer of the era is Margaret Bourke White who documented the industrial growth of the US.

As for Kodachrome, it was indeed a great film. Some really like its color rendition, others find it a bit garrish. To me, Kodachrome colors do not look accurate but I'm a bit odd and never did even like Fuji Velvia which is the high saturation darling of contemporary color landscape photographers. According to Wickipedia, the weakest color in terms of long term stability in Kodachrome slides is yellow and it is supposed to endure for 180 years! I have 50 year old Kodachromes of my grandfather that still look great and they were never in any sort of ideal storage. Kodachrome does not last very well when exposed to light, escpecially bright light and can degrade when used frequently in a projector.

Kodachrome does not scan well, at least not with consumer film scanners. I could never get excellent results with my Nikon CS IV scanner.

But the bottom line is, you can pick up a 60 year old Kodachrome slide and with no more technology than sunlight you can look at it and enjoy it. I doubt the same will be true in 60 years when my grandkids dig out an old DVD with all my digital pictures on it. Not only will they probably have nothing to put a DVD into....they probably won't even know what it is!

 

[kenmac]

thanks for the great photos and the history

 

[dmccarty]

These are incredible photo's , many I've never seen before ( this time period is a hobby of mine) I'm not sure why you used the term "political statements" pretty much all the statements are of historical record and not a political opinion or ideology.

Well, what in the photos supports the text?

People giving funny looks at a guy taking photos is not because of racism.

The houses in "Southern city" look just fine. They need some paint and some trim work. I can show you houses TODAY that look just like those houses. If you notice the street in the "Southern City" there is no trash. Go look at the NYC photo. Lots of trash in the street. Which street do you want to live on? The photo from the lower east side talks about the vibrant Jewish community. I guess the people in the Ninth ward could not have a vibrant community. After all there was no discrimination against Jews. That is sarcasm BTW. I know someone from the Ninth Ward. Prior to Katrina they did have a vibrant community.

What in the photos leads or supports the statements? Why do some photos have negative language while others do not? Could it be the BIAS in the person who made the website?

HOW did they get the photo on the NYC street? There is little blurring, its at night, and Kodachrome is not a fast film.

Later,
Dan

 

[Blagadan]

Thanks for the link. NIce for someone who lives outside america to see "how it was".

I liked this one the most. I'm not train chaser, but I'd love to have one like this framed, awsome light.

 

[N80]

Dan, of course its bias. Any art can be interpreted in any way and can be used to support any ideology or propaganda. I did not read anything on that web site, so I don't know what it said.....and don't much care.

If it is trying to make racial or regional statements about people during the Great Depression then the comments are probably half-baked and reactionary. The depression affected all regions of the US and many of the most poignant photos come from California and the mid west....not the deep south or even urban ghettos.

I am very suspicious of people who use older, well established art or literature to support contemporary agendas. Its the cheapest form of art appreciation or criticism. Unfortunately this has been the predominant form of academic study in the universities for the last 40 years and as such it has crippled the study and production of literature in this country and has affected the other arts as well.

Okay, off the soap box now. But, I would encourage everyone to go to other web sites and look at other books about the WPA photographers. Don't read anything. Just look at the pictures. Look at the people in them and see what they say to you. Don't try to figure out how the Roosevelt administration wanted them to be used, don't try to force a contemporary agenda on them. Look for things like love, loss, pain, sympathy, care, joy, courage, fear etc etc. Those things are universal and transcend the issue of that time and this.