Online content choices are endless. After all, approximately 402.74 million terabytes of data on the internet are created each day. Good thing you have the opportunity to choose what to do, and what kind of content you want to consume.
Then how about you choose to learn a little history? With today’s list, you’ll be able to see historical pictures both in black and white and in color, which gives you a chance to empathize with the past. What’s even better is that in this article, you can also learn about the creative process of the artist who made these pictures. So, don’t wait up and dive in!
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#1 Celebrating The End Of World War 2, Wounded Veteran Arthur Moore Looks Up As He Watches The Ticket Rain Down From New York Buildings. August 14, 1945
#2 Jardin Des Tuileries, Paris May 1923
#3 Women Workers During Lunch Hour, Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards, Baltimore, Maryland Photographed By Arthur Siegel In May 1943
It’s important to learn history. Some might even say we need to study, so it won’t stay behind us. Basically, it helps us to understand how past events made the world into the shape it is today and what we need to do in order not to repeat certain mistakes and not to destroy ourselves.
Some people may think that learning history is pretty boring, but they couldn’t be more wrong – you need to find a way that works the best for you. There are plenty to choose from – studying it from a textbook is only the most basic one.
#4 15-Cent Photo Booth In The Lobby At The United Nations Service Center At Washington, D.c. Photographed By Esther Bubley In December 1943
#5 A British Sailor On Board Of The Hms Alcantara Uses A Portable Sewing Machine To Repair A Signal Flag During A Voyage To Sierra Leone Photographed By Cecil Beaton In March 1942
#6 Moulin Rouge, Paris. Photographed In 1925
In a world that’s littered with content of various kinds, it’s not that hard to find something to study history from. From podcasts to short videos to articles – there’s something for everyone.
Instead of focusing on the whole plethora of historical learning choices, today we’re focusing on only one – photographs. To be more specific, colorized photographs. All the examples of before and after that you can find in today’s list are credited to the colorist Sébastien de Oliveira, who graciously agreed to talk about his work with We.
#7 Marlene Dietrich And Her Chauffeur Briggs, On A Lunch Break From Filming Shanghai Express In 1931
#8 Computer Lesson In 1972
#9 Omaha Beach Rescue
He explained that in his opinion, “Colorized photos offer the best time machine possible, the colors work as a revelation for us, people from the past were exactly like us, their world was not so different, their sky was as blue as our sky. It gives you a sense of timelessness, the only differences were the clothes and the objects around us but for the main aspect of life, nature, the humanity, they lived like us.”
Sébastien also revealed what drew him to this job as a colorist. Apparently, it comes naturally to him because of his passions: history, photography, and painting. The first one brings out “the fascination of no longer existing places and people”, the second gives an ability to freeze aspects of our world in time and the last one is all about searching for complexity in colors.
#10 Girl Posing, 1955
#11 Beer Wagon At The Charlotte Bowling Center On West First Street. Charlotte, North Carolina. Photographed By John Vachon In March 1943
#12 Chrysler Corporation Office Workers Typing Various Forms. Detroit Michigan. Photographed By Arthur Siegel In May 13, 1942
Sébastien’s typical workflow when colorizing photos has a few important steps. Firstly, he has to find the right images to colorize, because, as it turns out, not all of them can be colorized.
Secondly, he cuts out all the different parts that help him to apply the flat basic color. Then, he tries to change these colors by using different greys in the image. After that, he said that he uses certain settings to control the saturation and density of all the different colors. Finally, he uses colored grain for a finish like old autochromes.
#13 Two Clowns, Dario And Bario, Photographed In 1945 By Robert Doisneau
#14 Demonstration Of The Correct Procedure In Applying Street Makeup In A Home Management Class At Woodrow Wilson High School, Washington, D. C. Photographed By Esther Bubley In October 1943
#15 Street In New York, 1954, Vivian Maier
He made it clear that his main goal is “to give the impression that we’ve been back in time to take a photo from an iPhone.” He finished by saying that he does his best to “mimic the beauty and the density of the colors of that time.”
This statement perfectly fits in with our thesis that photographs are a perfect way to learn history – they give us a glimpse into the world that isn’t around today and give us a chance to understand what it was like to live back then.
#16 New Orleans Sandwich Shop. Orleans Parish, Louisiana. Photographed By Walker Evans In January 1936
#17 Taxi Of The Marne. Commemoration Of The First Marne Battle Of 1915, Ten Years Later, Paris 1925
#18 Goat Carriages In Central Park, New York, 1904
#19 San Francisco In The 50’s By Fred Lyon
#20 Train Station Saint Lazare, Paris 1920
#21 A Chestnut Vender, Baltimore, Md. Photographed In 1905
#22 After The Shower, The Newspaper Seller Sweeps Up Around Her Kiosk. Photographed In Paris On June 9th 1955
#23 Driver At The Associated Transport Company Trucking Terminal, Baltimore, Maryland. Photographed By John Vachon In March 1943
#24 A Greyhound Bus Trip From Louisville, Kentucky, To Memphis, Tennessee, And The Terminals. Esther Bubley, September 1943
#25 San Francisco, Photographed By Fred Lyon In 1947
#26 1940 Life Magazine “Miami & Miami Beach Winter Boom”
#27 Opel Kapitan, 1951
#28 Gordonton, North Carolina. Country Store On Dirt Road. Sunday Afternoon.photographed By Dorothea Lange. July 1939
#29 « Skid Row » Howard Street, San Francisco, California, Photographed By Dorothea Lange In February 1937
#30 Unemployed Men, San Francisco, 1937. Photographed By Dorothea Lange
#31 Paris 1928
#32 Ile Saint Louis, Paris, 1958 By Philippe Bataillon
#33 Steamer Manitou Arriving At Dock, Mackinac Island, Michigan, Photographed In 1905
#34 Trucks In The Wholesale District, At The Chair Exchange On South Howard Street. Baltimore, Maryland. Photographed By John Vachon In March 1943
#35 Street Scene, Baltimore, Maryland. Photographed By John Vachon In March 1943
#36 Street Scene In Ambridge, Pennsylvania, Photographed By John Vachon In January 1941
#37 Children Posing In The Street, Greendale, Wisconsin, Photographed By John Vachon In September 1939
#38 Store In Franklin, Heard County, Georgia. Photographed By Jack Delano In April 1941
#39 Buildings On Main Street Of Ghost Town. Judith Basin County, Montana. Photographed By Marion Pst Wolcott In September 1941
#40 Farmer’s Truck At State Rice Mill, Abbeville, Louisiana. Photographed By Russell Lee In September 1938
#41 Herald Square, 34th Street And Broadway, New York.photographed By Berenice Abbott In July 1936
#42 Sarasota, Florida, Trailer Park. Students Coming From School In The Afternoon. Photographed By Marion Post Wolcott In January 1941
#43 Miami Beach, Florida, 1962. Photographed By Elliott Erwitt
#44 March 1940. « Young Texas Couple At The Junior Chamber Of Commerce Dance During The San Angelo Fat Stock Show. » Photographed By Russell Lee
#45 Street Scene In The Downtown Business Section. Woodward Avenue At Farnsworth Street As Seen From The Maccabees Building. Detroit Michigan, Photographed By Arthur Siegel In July 1942
#46 Melvin Cash, Truck Driver, Putting Water In His Radiator Along U.S. Highway 29 In North Carolina En Route To Charlotte. Photograhed By John Vachon In March 1943
#47 Circulation Near Porte Saint Martin, Paris In 1951
#48 Daughter Of John Yeuser Of Mauch Chunk, A Coal Mining Town In Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. Photographed By Jack Delano In August 1940
#49 Service Station Run By Former Resident Of Oklahoma In Questa, New Mexico. Photographed By Russell Lee In September 1939
#50 Filling Station On A Highway Out Of Town, Charlotte, North Carolina. Photographed By John Vachon In March 1943
