Before Photoshop, photographs were hardly left untouched. Professional portraits were retouched and airbrushed from the start. Press prints in particular were worked over to meet the needs of page layout and halftone printing. The main difference is simply in the marks left behind. Crop marks and the painting out of backgrounds for a cut-out effect are common leftovers of the manipulator's hand, leaving behind a wealth of inadvertent surrealism.
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| Nina Leen, LIFE © Time Inc. |
A man in a business suit, 1946. Source
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| Nina Leen, LIFE © Time Inc. |
Polar bears at the Bronx Zoo, 1956. Source
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| Nationaal Archief |
George Mallory (with halo) and other members of the 1924 Everest expedition. Source
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| Peter Stackpole, LIFE © Time Inc. |
Head of Twentieth Century Fox Darryl Zanuck preparing for his daily boxing bout, 1937. Source
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| Library of Congress |
New Zealand cyclist Fred Wells, ca. 1911. Source
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| State Library of New South Wales |
Wrestler Jack Gacek, 1938. Source
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| State Library of New South Wales |
Harold Hardwick, Australian Olympic gold medallist in swimming, 1912. Source
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| Library of Congress |
Kathryn Diver, ca. 1910- ca. 1915. Source
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| George Silk, LIFE © Time Inc. |
Skier Andrea Mead Lawrence practicing for the Olympics, Vermont, 1947. Source
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| Smithsonian Institution |
Writer Nathalia Clara Ruth Crane, ca. 1930. Source
The Sherwood family, 1915. Source
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| Smithsonian Institution |
Albert Ernest Jenks, chairman of the University of Minnesota Anthropology Department, 1920s-30s. Source
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| J. R. Eyerman, LIFE © Time Inc. |
Tennis player Jack Kramer, 1953. Source
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| State Library of New South Wales |
The first Australian national rugby team, the Kangaroos, 1908-9. Source
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| Nina Leen, LIFE © Time Inc. |
Glove, 1952. Source
1 comment:
That's so cool!
Years ago, I was a photography student and a bit fan of old-school analogue techniques. As a result, I was well aware of this practice but I have rarely seen so many great examples. Thank you.
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