The thread title pretty much explains it. These are pictures taken by a photographer commissioned by Czar Nicholas II. A couple of things stick out: You get a feeling for just how broad Russia was (and is) geographically and culturally. For photos taken 100 years ago, they are remarkably vibrant. http://www.newsweek.com/id/214585
Wow, those are awesome. I'm so used to looking at b&w photos from that era, it puts it in a whole different perspective.
The three colour glass plate technology they were using, sorry I don't know enough to actually describe it properly, could capture colours really well, but it actually had problems with black/white/greys. Similar to the way technicolor on a silver screen just leaves modern film-making for dead when it comes to getting lush colours on screen. Look up the work of Frank Hurley, an Australian photographer who photographed Shackleton's mission, who was a pioneer in the field. A lot of the reproductions look faded now but that's dues to the prints fading, not any problems the originals.
Sorry, guys. It was a Newsweek page, so i figured it was ok. Here's another link which has even more information: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/empire/
Thanks Estevan. Now that is some incredible photography. Funny, some of those depict how parrallel we actually were technology wise. Totally different cultures, yet some similarities.
I got a got kick out of some of the comments :P Great pics, ive seen them on a russian magazine )Truly awesome
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