Interior photography, c1904

Posted by Kurt on January 15, 2012 in Images Jottings

Check out the 108 year old image of the State Dining Room, White House, Washington, DC.  This 8×10″ glass plate negative was scanned and added to the Library of Congress large format negative collection.  The Photographer was possibly Frances Benjamin Johnston;  and the image once property of the now defunct Detroit Photographic company.

The detail and dynamic range are quite impressive for this interior shot, even more so when you consider it’s paneled in dark wood with a bright white ceiling containing layered mouldings of fine detail.  The shadows are not too dark, and I see no blown out areas at all, the Photographer really nailed this shot.  Notice the detail in the body of the chandelier, dust on the table top,  and the edge liner design on the curtains in the center.  The sides are a little soft, but it doesn’t take away from the quality of the photograph.

The image is offered in full size at the link, although I cropped out the white border and converted it to a level 8 jpeg.  I wonder if a full frame 24mp sensor could capture this scene as well?

Tags: Old black and white photos