1910 – A woman hangs the laundry to dry on a clothes line in Dillenburg, Germany. Scan © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com
The story behind the image
Here is another very old photo from our family archive. It shows a woman hanging the laundry to dry on a clothes line in the garden. The ancestor apparently was documenting the daily activities of the family. Other shots of the series show the ladies knitting or reading.
You may think that this image looks bad, and you are right. It’s not up to standards even considering the technology back in 1910 (which was already pretty advanced in terms of photography.) But the truth is: the print – as it looks today when I found it – was in a horrible condition, see below. It had faded significantly, and there are some contrast shifts that I cannot explain. Maybe the person who created the print from the negative realized the lack of contrast and experimented with the exposure?
Anyway, in my edit I tried to create the look the photographer probably had in mind.
What’s more, I think these were early amateur photos. A professional photographer probably wouldn’t stay very long in business delivering such mediocre shots. However, IF the photographer was an amateur, he probably was one of the first and deserves appreciation for his bravery and willingness to experiment, learn, and practice.
Design ideas
The high resolution image
| Capture Date | 1910 |
| Image Source | 12 x 17 cm black & white print |
| Digital Image Source | EPSON Perfection 4870 Photo |
| Digital Image Source Format | TIFF, 48 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Dimensions | 5479 x 7717 Pixels |
| Copyright | Scan © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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