UNDATED – A portrait of three young women – probably sisters – photographed by Laurits Bendtsen in Vig Station, Denmark. © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com/Photo: Laurits Bendtsen
The story behind the image
The Carte de Visite (CdV) photo format was popular between 1880 and 1910. At roughly 6×9 cm these were just about 35-40% of the size of a cabinet photo (which was roughly 10 x 14.5 cm), so the cost was significantly lower, and almost everyone could afford them. This contributed to the enormous growth of the photo industry since 1880, and photo studios were opening up even in the remote towns.
Even villages like Vig in Denmark with a population of just 1,757 people (January 2024) had a photo studio which was operated by Laurits Søren Bendtsen. He was just active from 1898 to 1901. According to fotohistorie.com he had to give up this profession “because he could not stand the work of retouching” and became a postman in Nykøbing from 1901 to 1919.
In my view, this is sad because – after looking at thousands on CdVs over the past couple of years – I can safely say that this is the most attractive group portrait I’ve seen so far. Composition, exposure, and sharpness, are close to perfect. Bendtsen created the looks of a movie poster or book cover. I especially like the lady on the right as she has this powerful look in her eyes – pure magic!
Thank you, Laurits, for this stunning photo.
Design ideas
The high resolution image
| Capture Date | c. 1900 |
| Photographer | Laurits Bendtsen |
| Location | Vig Station, Denmark |
| Image Source | 5.9 x 8.8 cm black & white albumen print mounted on cardboard |
| 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 | 5361 x 7917 Pixels |
| Copyright | © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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