history lesson • russian hand-colored photos 1850-1950

these are a selection from the private collection of m. golosovsky. before color photography it was common practice to hand-color black and white photos and i've always loved the effect...it feels at once so dramatic and cartoonish. in a really russian way these feel so spectacular and gaudy too. you can see more from this collection here.

[all unknown photographers. from the collection of m. golosovsky. ca 1850-1950.]

history lesson • lászló moholy-nagy

lászló moholy-nagy was born in hungary in 1895, in the 1920s he moved to germany and eventually became a teacher at the bauhaus. in the 1930s he landed in chicago and was instrumental in the spread of photographic education in the united states. he began his experiments with photography in the form of photograms in the 1920s. looking at these works today i am blown away at how interesting and relevant they still look and feel. i love his graphical approach to picture making and the spirit of experimentation in these. see more of lászló's work here.

[all lászló moholy-nagy. top to bottom: photogram no. 1 - the mirror. ca. 1928. © estate of lászló moholy-nagy. via the getty. superimposition. ca. 1935. in the collection of the george eastman house. study with pins and ribbons. 1937-8. in the collection of the george eastman house. jealousy. 1927. in the collection of the george eastman house.]

masao horino

okay today we have a little history lesson in japanese modernist photography. masao horino was considered one of the most prominent photographers in the first half of the 20th century in japan. he was particularly interested in putting forth the beauty of machinery and photographed tons of bridges, tanks, towers, and ships. i love the combination of image and text here. you can learn more about him on wikipedia right here.

[masao horino. the character of greater tokyo. 1926-31.]