11/05/2004

Over 100 Years of Color Photography


Today I had a mid-term test in David Haberstich's History of Photography Class at 8:30am. We met at The Smithsonian Museum of American History; Haberstich is their curator of photography. After the exam we looked at numerous invaluable photos, plates, and prints. One of the most intriguing objects was a glass color plate (Lippmann Plate) that dates back approximately 100 years made by Gabriel Lippmann. Amazing, considering color photography has only been in mainstream use since the early 1980s [actually 1970s]. Lippmann won the 1908 Nobel Prize for Physics for his color photography.