Authentic Color Photographs of the Russian Empire (1904-1915) | Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky

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Russian Czar Nicholas II commissioned a photographer, one that pioneered colourized photography, to travel through the Russian Empire. With his specially equipped railway carriage, he captured the way of life and its religious buildings, infrastructure, normal people living in it and its landscapes. His name was Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky. Many of those photographs have been preserved, and honestly, they’re of incredible quality.
Rectification: at 3:57 what you're seeing is the moulding of an artistic casting. Kasli Iron Works. From the album: Views in the Ural Mountains, survey of industrial area, Russian Empire, 1910. Not developing photographs.
US Library of Congress Prokudin-Gorsky collection: www.loc.gov/pictures/collecti...
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Time Codes:
0:00 Introduction
1:10 Sergey Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorsky
6:43 Sergey's work after the Russian Revolution
8:07 Other early colour photographers
Sources:
Allshouse, R. H. (Ed.). (1980). Photographs for the Tsar: the pioneering colour photography of Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii commissioned by Tsar Nicholas II. Sidgwick & Jackson.
Brumfield, W. C. (1990). The Color Photographs of Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii. Visual Resources, 6(3), 243-255.
Leich, H. (2017). The Prokudin-Gorskii Collection of Early 20th Century Color Photographs of Russia at the Library of Congress: Unexpected Consequences of the Digitization of the Collection, 2000-2017. Slavic & East European Information Resources, 18(3-4), 223-230.
US Library of Congress Prokudin-Gorsky collection: www.loc.gov/pictures/collecti...
Photos, paintings and imagery: Public Domain, Wikicommons
#HouseofHistory #History #Russianhistory

[@HoH]

Have a look for yourself at the US Library of Congress Prokudin-Gorsky collection: www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/prok/ Rectification: at 3:57 what you're seeing is the moulding of an artistic casting. Kasli Iron Works. From the album: Views in the Ural Mountains, survey of industrial area, Russian Empire, 1910. Not developing photographs. *Timecodes* 1:10 Sergey Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorsky 6:43 Sergey's work after the Russian Revolution 8:07 Other early colour photographers *Sources* Allshouse, R. H. (Ed.). (1980). Photographs for the Tsar: the pioneering colour photography of Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii commissioned by Tsar Nicholas II. Sidgwick & Jackson. Brumfield, W. C. (1990). The Color Photographs of Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii. Visual Resources, 6(3), 243-255. Leich, H. (2017). The Prokudin-Gorskii Collection of Early 20th Century Color Photographs of Russia at the Library of Congress: Unexpected Consequences of the Digitization of the Collection, 2000-2017. Slavic & East European Information Resources, 18(3-4), 223-230. US Library of Congress Prokudin-Gorsky collection: www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/prok/

[@TheLemonadedrinker]

These images are not 'colorised', whatever that means, as if done with a computer of some sort; they are made by a 3 layer process he developed, using starch grains from potatoes and each one required 3 exposures through different filters, so a hugely labourious procedure which wasn't always successful in terms of focus or exposure. Magnificent images.

[@Secession1900]

That is not correct. The Lumiere Autochrome plates used colored potato grains. Prokudin-Gorski used conventional black and white photo plates. A separate plate for each of the three filters (red green and blue). The three separate images were then combined in projection through colored filters. The blurring that we sometimes see in the photos is due to subject movement that could take place between the exposures. A more complete explanation is available on the Library of Congress website. www.loc.gov/exhibits/empire/making.html

[@iXNomad]

@@Secession1900 they are still not 'colorized' in a way that people take a random b&w photo and colorize them with crayons or computers. These colors are actually real colors, because the information was captured from reality, not imagined by artists.

[@tombogan03884]

You mean a Russian actually used a potato for something besides Vodka? I'm conflicted. I liked the photo's but... 😁 Interesting to know they used potato, which also seems to be considered a "superfood".

[@ShinSheel]

Prokudin is also cool for capturing people in semi-casual way, it’s not like pompous photos people did on their own

[@goodman4966]

Man this is now make wish we have Photographs of the world before 1800s all that history

[@Otokichi786]

Hold on there, Burford, I take "Colorized" to mean "Monochrome photographs turned into color photos via the use of hand colored dyes/paints." This is the three-color process that is used to recreate the original scene/subject in FULL COLOR. These are COLOR photographs, and not the "Colorized" stuff put out by "color crayon brigade." The three-color process is as much a full color process as the Lumiere brothers created in time to record Mark Twain in the flesh.

[@antidoteify]

thank you ;) exactly maybe he ment just that but did't manage to put in right words. Amazing collection.

[@kingsandthings]

Great video! I absolutely adore Prokudin's photographs. In many ways I think they are even more realistic than modern ones. There is certainly something special about the colours ...

[@dragonrykr]

And whenever a UFO comes up, even today we have potato quality cameras lol

[@cgt3704]

Ufos are false and area 51 is just a farce

[@LouiesLog]

@@cgt3704 birds aren't real

[@cgt3704]

@@LouiesLog no. They work for the burgeoise. Lol

[@Artur_M.]

A truly magnificent collection.

[@nirfz]

What a coincidence: I just finished a book that explained and featured Prokudin and some of his pictures you showed. The Book was the diaries of an Austrian POW in Russia during WW1. Dr. Richarr von Stenitzer. The one at 8:13 is from 1915 and shows a russian Officer and Austrian POWs on the Murmansk railway during WW1. In the book the author (the guy who collected the diaries and some photographs and made a book out of it) says that before digitalization the techniques to make full colored pictures out of the 3 color plates wasn't resulting in such sharp and clear pictures. And with digitalization now we can enjoy the pictures in their full potential.

[@solveigcronstrom7787]

Great idea,. Thank you 🤗

[@justinpachi3707]

This channel is getting better and better!

[@Alexrocks1253]

Great video on the photographer! I am surprised more people don't know about him considering his achievements in the early 20th century.

[@george1la]

Fantastic pictures. They show reality then.

[@scottgranneman9665]

Great job narrating!

[@MSSTUDIO]

Wow that's amazing I just find out about Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky Thanks for that

[@billthetraveler51]

That is amazing. Thank you

[@footieballer]

The quality and subject matter is absolutely stunning. Thank you for sharing. I’m so glad I subscribed. Cheers.

[@tombogan03884]

Incredible.

[@Scottzilla1970]

These pictures are astounding. I wonder if the 3 plate system you mentioned is similar to the Technicolor 3 film system as the color in those pictures have that lovely saturation like Technicolor does.

[@elizabethman7313]

Thanks so much

[@registoge351]

Simply amazing

[@JoeHynes284]

this was a wonderful look at their history

[@cebenify]

Congrats on making it past 2000 subscribers!

[@HoH]

Thanks!

[@jackray1337]

Wow. Very nice.

[@knightofevropa9720]

Very interesting video!

[@HoH]

Considering your channel name, you’re going to love the project I am currently working on! 😉

[@knightofevropa9720]

@@HoH hahahhaha

[@jeanpaulcandau]

These are magnificent and fascinating colorised photographs. Their quality is as you say awesome. Thank you very much for uploading.I have read many books on the Taiping rebellion, the greatest civil war in history. It wouild be great if you can enhance your presentation of this incredible vent. Thank you for everything

[@HoH]

Thank you for the nice comment. There certainly are some events and details I have not covered in my video about the Taiping rebellion. My fear is that as my videos approach 20+ minutes they will not be enjoyable for the general audience that enjoys history. I think 10-17 minutes are the sweet spot to keep it enjoyable, engaging and delve a bit into depth. Then again, perhaps you're right and it might be worth revisiting the Taiping rebellion in the future.

[@jeanpaulcandau]

Thank you for your answer, I am pretty sure that a 60 mn presentation with pictures would not bother viewers. The Taiping rebellion is an important and complicated event in the history of humanity and is almost unknown in western countries. Such an injustice ought to be corrected. If it does not bother you, I would be ready to prepare the first part of your presentation for you: situation of China mid 19th century and the causes of the rebellion for instance. Sincerely yours.

[@robokill387]

These are colour photographs, not colorised.

[@TheLemonadedrinker]

@@robokill387 exactly!

[@quarant1353]

Not colorized. REAL color pictures.

[@cheng3580]

No way.. this is awesome but this seems like it was taken with a smart phone!

[@JuanMatteoReal]

Very interesting pfp you've got there.

[@monkofdarktimes]

To think few knows about it and how it looks it was taken so long ago

[@JoelLopezH.]

Se revela un mundo nuevo para mí. Tengo 59,2021. Yo toda mi vida pensé que la ropa antigua era casi toda sin color, en tonos grises y verde-oscuro ; pero estas fotos me muestran que no es así. No sabía que existían los azules, los amarillos , rojos etc.

[@garypautard1069]

This was damn interesting. We are so lucky to have photographic evidence of this time in Russian history.

[@gatheringleaves]

A bygone world in full colour

[@cj.t.7321]

The MAN who's face IS In the Photo at 10:00 - the person on the bottom - the Left.. It looks like the 'face' was 'super-imposed'.. Just Wondering if you noticed that Also?

[@arailway8809]

0:15 Please identify the white tubes on his jacket.

[@2007christian]

FANTASTIC

[@HoH]

Glad you think so!

[@mauriziamarigo9764]

Immagini fantastiche

[@neatpaws]

🤗

[@rubytuesday4564]

Taylor Swift's team should see those head coverings and costumes. I think if they were worn in her next tour, Taylor would have a solid win.

[@ed9763]

Was there any need for the prolonged narrative?

[@w.loczykij5354]

Colorized?

[@gordonjamieson861]

I seen a black and white photograph of officers studying at the school of military Engeneering st petersburg before the revelution .that was 30 + years ago in a libery book that had a had a forwarding of a princess Romanoff ,I have serched for it but had no luck .If you could help i would be gratfull

[@gazmj1400]

I'm sorry did you say one of the last European empires to fall ?? Or one of the frist to fall,

[@marxistsaw8849]

“I’d take this picture of a man not handing his all of his melons over to Kulaks so he doesn’t get whipped, over a factory worker, aka a proletariat, owning their own production process in real time as enforced by article 5 of the Soviet Constitution,” and then you say this on a compute you have that was made by a factory worker who probably didn’t own their own production, because they weren’t the endowed the monetary value of what this 250 year old US empire did to vast amount Indigenous nations across North America, who have yet to own their own production or form their own republics.

[@jcguerrin]

Pensez aux français qui aiment la Russie, merci beaucoup de mettre les traductions en français merci pour c3s photos magnifiques. Isabelle russo ukrainienne par mon père Isabelle

[@keikairin2038]

Why does this make it look like the Persians took over Russia with those Islamic men?

[@marxistsaw8849]

“Before the Uzbek Soviets installed “puppet government” over theirselves” hmm, I think that’s called democracy bro. Needless to say, it doesn’t exist in Monarchal empires.