November 13, 2003

Thanks to Kerry Liles (yet again) for sending me a link to a wonderfully enthralling site: The Prokudin-Gorskii Photographic Record of the Russian Empire on the eve of World War I and the coming revolution.

"Outfitted with a specially equipped railroad car darkroom provided by Tsar Nicholas II, and in possession of two permits that granted him access to restricted areas and cooperation from the empire's bureaucracy, Prokudin-Gorskii documented the Russian Empire around 1907 through 1915."

Astonishingly however, the Library of Congress (who bought the collection of photographs from Prokudin-Gorskii's heirs in 1948), decided to scan the glass plates and, through an innovative process known as digichromatography, produced brilliant color images.

Definitely worth a look. Or if you happen to live in Washington D.C., by all means, drop by the Library of Congress for a closer look at the current exhibit of Prokudin-Gorskii's images.

Also - Luke has written up a good comeback to my article from yesterday. For the kind of photography he does, he's got some pretty convincing words in favor of smaller and lighter equipment. I would guess however, that a professional nature, wildlife, or sports photographer would have something more to say about the virtues of big and high-end (and expensive) equipment. After all - they have to sell their images to make a living. And no matter how good in composition, if an image doesn't check out quality-wise, no photo buyer, ad agency, or designer will touch it with a ten foot pole.