Topic: Albert Kahn and autochromes

[Janet_P]

Did any other UK wasters watch the BBC4 documentary about French banker Albert Kahn? It was brilliant.
Kahn funded photographers between 1908 and 1930 to go all over the world and take autochromes and film footage documenting different ways of life. His "Archive of the Planet" contains over 72,000 colour photos and 100 hours of film.

Here are some sites where you can look at some of the work.

http://www.awm.gov.au/captured/french/tradition.asp

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/core/Slideshow/slideshowContentFrameFragXL.jhtml?xml=/arts/slideshows/edwardians/pixedwardians.xml&site=

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/photogallery/edwardians-colour1.shtml

I taped the repeat on DVD and might be able to sort out a copy or two for anyone interested.

Janet
 

[Karl]

No, but it looks fascinating. i love it when you come across this sort of historical programme and the often amazing photos they reveal. BBC did a season on Russia a couple of years ago and did a programme on a Russian who had travelled the country and made fascinating colour images of Czarist Russia, I think he was funded by the last Czar. Brilliant. Talk about a lost way of life. CAn't remember his name though.

And I was completey blown away when they did the Lartigue documentary and he remains one of my all time favourite photographers.

[Janet_P]

Yeah, I spent the whole of the programme Ohhhing and aahhing over the images. It's what the BBC do best.

I'm sure I've seen a website about the Russian photographer you mentioned. I can't remember his name either...

Janet

[kuru]

Still had a site about the Russian photographer bookmarked:

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/empire/

[LT]

it was really good wasnt it Janet.  Those pics from Galway were just amazing - the reds of their clothes.  And also some of the north africa pics looked like they were shot yesterday.  truly amazing.

I bought a book recently dating from 1914 called "Saturday with my Camera".  It's got chapters on all sorts of photographic processes including POP, Carbon Printing, etc etc etc.  It has a chapter on Autochromes - I was hoping it might tell you how to make your own, but sadly it only describes how to develop them.  As far as I know, the exact way the Lumiere brothers made the Autochrome plates has been lost in time, and I think people are trying to re-create them without a huge amount of success - although I might have dreamt that last sentence.   

[Janet_P]

Just looked at the TV guide and realised that this programme was not a one-off, there's another one this Thursday (BBC 4 9pm) called Visions of Men, also about Kahn's autochrome collection - it's part of an Edwardian series. There's also a progamme on Wednesday night about Edwardian camera technology.

Leon, I was talking to my dad about autochromes and he was saying that when he was a Naval Photographer (1950's) they used sheet film similar to autochromes that used potato starch. I'll ask him more about it and let you know, it could be a viable alternative.

Janet

[Janet_P]

OK, I've just spoken to my Dad and the film he used was Dufay. A reversed black and white film with colour starch. This was in 1949 when he was a photographic college but he never used it in the field. It's all a bit technical for me but he said it used a starch metric filter. Looking it up on Google brings up stuff about colour film but it was still film too.

Janet

[Phil Bebbington]

It really was a wonderful program...I am sure that it was the first of 4.....a few years ago I worked for about a year at the RPS with the collection when it was based in Bath. They had a stack of Autochromes...it was so wonderful to see them close up and handle them.

[cpierce]

Amazing photos and the quailty is impressive.  Leon, let us know when you figure out the method for Autochromes!

[Karl]

Still had a site about the Russian photographer bookmarked:

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/empire/

thanks, great to look at them again. Interesting story too.

[Karl]

Just looked at the TV guide and realised that this programme was not a one-off

thanks for keeping us up to date with the TV guide. I wanted to see last night's repeat but starting at 00:50 it was beyond me (and I dont know how to work the video/telly thing on Freeview!). Will watch the rest of the series though