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Barbara Levine on Vintage Color Photos

Wednesday, 22 June, 2011

NEW on HOUSE OF MIRTH PHOTOS & EPHEMERA Blog
Stacy Waldman asks nine collectors, including Barbara Levine, to answer the question: What is your Favorite Vintage Color Photograph?

Barbara Levine: "I love vintage color photographs – from the folk art quality of early hand painted photos (the messier the better!) to the interesting ways the dyes fade out in 1950s Kodacolor images, to the dreamy saturated colors of old Polaroid photos– it is hard for me to pick a favorite because I like them all!"

"Poolside, c.1970 (above) is a good example of composition and color being completely integrated in a photograph. You can feel the sun in this picture. The bright blue sky, the shine on the woman’s skin, her swimsuit being the same color as the building and the contrasting similarity in color between the lounge chairs and the white fence all add up to a strangely appealing photograph. The color in this photograph simultaneously reads as both literal and abstract. If the color was stripped out of the image - if it was a black and white – the photo would not so neatly evoke a sense memory of summer (or be a reminder to wear sunscreen!)."  Read full blog article

For more great examples of vintage color snapshots