Week 51 - 2020
Karl Struss, Ethel Prague with Umbrella, Long Island, 1910. Dye-transfer print fra autokrom. Preus Museum Collection.
Under the Umbrella
Although we are close to Christmas, we are also nearing the end of an extraordinary year. Thus, we should be allowed to dream of other seasons. How about dreaming away into the smile of a young woman, surrounded by flowers and a warming sun?
Ever since photography was invented nearly 200 years ago, people dreamed of capturing colours with the camera. During the first 80 years, only light and shadow were transferred onto the photographic plate. In 1907, the French Lumière-brothers (whose surname means light) patented a process that used coloured potato starch, called autochrome. Simply put, it was now possible to admire the colours exposed onto the photographic glass plate. Furthermore, the plate could be used with the camera one already had. This meant that photographers didn't need any extra equipment (other than a camera-stand and stationary models because of the long exposure time), which made autochrome photographs very popular.
We don't know much about Ethel Prague, but we can guess why she was used as a model in this picture. She's not only sweet, but she's also wearing a reddish coat, a colour that did very well in autochrome photography.