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Student photographs people with hidden spy cam in the 1890s (2018)

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Re: Student photographs people with hidden spy cam in the 1890s (2018)

#61

Post by kfarr »

dorkwood wrote: post #16

The last photo of the man being affectionate with his young daughter is surprising to me. All my life, I've thought that men born before 1950, like my father, just didn't do that sort of thing. And yet here is a man born a hundred years earlier doing just that.

That photo stuck with me too. Such tender care, chilling with his kid and the dog at a park. That one photo made me feel more connected to humans of that past more than other historic photos I've seen.

(EDIT) Oh man there's an even more adorable pic of them rolling around too! https://www.boredpanda.com/spy-camera-secret-street-photogra...

Re: Student photographs people with hidden spy cam in the 1890s (2018)

#62

Post by mgkimsal »

cmer wrote: post #59

Somewhat unrelated question that I could probably Google, but I figured it's more interesting to hear your take. Why do people on old pictures look like they're from a completely different era? They look like they're from the 1800s. Is it the camera, the clothing or did they actually look slightly different from us? Or perhaps it's just an illusion? Realistically I wouldn't expect humans' appearance to change that mu…

For me it's usually more the quality of the film/print/color/etc. Most 70s pics have a certain color/tone/hue/saturation that says '70s'. 60s too. And so on. There may be easier determinations between 1920s and 1930s pics, perhaps, but not quickly to my eye.

What's interesting about these is that... they're candid. Most 1800s photos were people explicitly sitting for a photo. Not smiling. Sitting, posing, very grim. Many of these pics showed people being natural - smiling, chatting to each other, etc. Normal human stuff.

Re: Student photographs people with hidden spy cam in the 1890s (2018)

#63

Post by stickyricky »

cmer wrote: post #59

Somewhat unrelated question that I could probably Google, but I figured it's more interesting to hear your take. Why do people on old pictures look like they're from a completely different era? They look like they're from the 1800s. Is it the camera, the clothing or did they actually look slightly different from us? Or perhaps it's just an illusion? Realistically I wouldn't expect humans' appearance to change that mu…

I didn't find them that radically different. I can see resemblances in my own family members. Their facial hair is far superior though.

Re: Student photographs people with hidden spy cam in the 1890s (2018)

#64

Post by Wolfenstein98k »

cmer wrote: post #59

Somewhat unrelated question that I could probably Google, but I figured it's more interesting to hear your take. Why do people on old pictures look like they're from a completely different era? They look like they're from the 1800s. Is it the camera, the clothing or did they actually look slightly different from us? Or perhaps it's just an illusion? Realistically I wouldn't expect humans' appearance to change that mu…

Clothes and photo style.

If you've ever seen a colourised and touched-up photo from the early 20th century, the only giveaway is the clothes.

Re: Student photographs people with hidden spy cam in the 1890s (2018)

#65

Post by 13of40 »

mgkimsal wrote: post #62
cmer wrote: post #59

Somewhat unrelated question that I could probably Google, but I figured it's more interesting to hear your take. Why do people on old pictures look like they're from a completely different era? They look like they're from the 1800s. Is it the camera, the clothing or did they actually look slightly different from us? Or perhaps it's just an illusion? Realistically I wouldn't expect humans' appearance to change that mu…

For me it's usually more the quality of the film/print/color/etc. Most 70s pics have a certain color/tone/hue/saturation that says '70s'. 60s too. And so on. There may be easier determinations between 1920s and 1930s pics, perhaps, but not quickly to my eye. What's interesting about these is that... they're candid. Most 1800s photos were people explicitly sitting for a photo. Not smiling. Sitting, posing, very grim.…

The disturbing thing for me is that I noticed that special atmosphere/patina in 70s photos when I was a teenager in the 90s, but now I can see something analogous in pictures from the 90s.

Re: Student photographs people with hidden spy cam in the 1890s (2018)

#66

Post by hereforphone »

cmer wrote: post #59

Somewhat unrelated question that I could probably Google, but I figured it's more interesting to hear your take. Why do people on old pictures look like they're from a completely different era? They look like they're from the 1800s. Is it the camera, the clothing or did they actually look slightly different from us? Or perhaps it's just an illusion? Realistically I wouldn't expect humans' appearance to change that mu…

Aside from photo technology and clothes, there's hair and facial hair styles which make a big difference. Look at people from the 80s compared to now in color photographs for examples.

People aged differently "back then" too. If you look at people in their 20s from many decades ago, possibly particularly during war eras, peopled seemed to just age faster. Soldiers in photos look nothing like baby-face soldiers from the modern era (when I was enlisted).

Re: Student photographs people with hidden spy cam in the 1890s (2018)

#67

Post by petilon »

KMnO4 wrote: post #11
jorgesborges wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s great. I also love video footage from that era as well, capturing the ordinary bustle of the streets. It’s fun when it’s local and you can point to familiar places. One of my favourites is Victoria and Vancouver BC around 1900[0]. [0] https://youtu.be/Jp1qWV5OZec

Here’s one from 1895, upscaled to 4k60 and colourized: https://youtu.be/EqbOhqXHL7E

Much better ones:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ1OgQL9_Cw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo_eZuOTBNc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQs5VxNPhzk

Re: Student photographs people with hidden spy cam in the 1890s (2018)

#68

Post by throwaway2331 »

cmer wrote: post #59

Somewhat unrelated question that I could probably Google, but I figured it's more interesting to hear your take. Why do people on old pictures look like they're from a completely different era? They look like they're from the 1800s. Is it the camera, the clothing or did they actually look slightly different from us? Or perhaps it's just an illusion? Realistically I wouldn't expect humans' appearance to change that mu…

I thought this too, until I saw the pictures in the TFA.

They literally look exactly the same as people from our times.

Now I look at "1800s pictures" on some search engine's images, and they look completely different.

I'm gonna guess it's a mix of: doctoring/"touching up," camera, lighting, and cognizant angling/positioning of the people in question.

The candid shots look like people I would see on the street. While the stereotypical "1800s pictures" look like something I'd find on Instagram: completely alien to reality.

Re: Student photographs people with hidden spy cam in the 1890s (2018)

#69

Post by mensetmanusman »

cmer wrote: post #59

Somewhat unrelated question that I could probably Google, but I figured it's more interesting to hear your take. Why do people on old pictures look like they're from a completely different era? They look like they're from the 1800s. Is it the camera, the clothing or did they actually look slightly different from us? Or perhaps it's just an illusion? Realistically I wouldn't expect humans' appearance to change that mu…

Diet has changed drastically since the 1950s. Approaching 50% obesity means we are never going back.
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