Photo Interactive: The Civil War, Now in Living Color
How one author adds actual blues and grays to historic photographs
- By Ryan R. Reed
- Smithsonian.com, February 22, 2013
Newest History & Archaeology Photo Essays
Photo Interactive: The Civil War, Now in Living Color
How one author adds actual blues and grays to historic photographs
(4 pictures)
Top 10 Things You Didn’t Know About San Francisco’s Cable Cars
Ever since they became a part of the city’s transit system, they have been iconic mainstays of its cityscape
(10 pictures)
PHOTOS: The History of Abraham Lincoln on Film
The 16th president has been a Hollywood star and box office attraction since the earliest days of Hollywood
(5 pictures)
Eight Lessons for the Presidential Debates
What are the key dos and don'ts the candidates should remember when campaigning for the White House?
(11 pictures)
Most Popular Photo Essays
The 20 Best Small Towns in America of 2012
From the Berkshires to the Cascades, we've crunched the numbers and pulled a list some of the most interesting spots around the country
(21 pictures)
The 20 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2013
From the blues to the big top, we’ve picked the most intriguing small towns to enjoy arts and smarts
(21 pictures)
16 Photographs That Capture the Best and Worst of 1970s America
A new exhibit at the National Archives highlights an interesting decade—one that gave rise to the environmental movement and some awkward fashion
(16 pictures)
Seven Famous People Who Missed the Titanic
The notables who planned to sail on the fateful voyage included a world-famous novelist, a radio pioneer and America’s biggest tycoons
(9 pictures)
Comments (7)
There is no blood because the body had been moved and setup up for photographing. This is the same soldier that is portrayed in the Confederate Sniper Devil Den photo.
Posted by Christopher on April 29,2013 | 11:53 AM
Fantastic job! They look like they could have been taken yesterday. Really brings the period to life.
Posted by Jim Bonnett on March 2,2013 | 12:11 PM
I totally agree with Ms. Hummel.
Posted by Terry Brasko on February 27,2013 | 08:04 AM
As a civil war enthusiast and professional artist, I'm immensely disappointed with these- and with the fact that the Smithsonian is highlighting the work. I appreciate the philosophy behind the colorized photos and the amount of work that must have gone into this book, but the efforts are regrettable by industry standards. Colorizing black and white photos is a tedious process, yes, but it requires an intimate knowledge of the subtlety of color that Guntzelman clearly isn't employing. There's no account for light temperature, for colour variation in any of the subjects- you can't just jump into Photoshop and set a green layer to "color" and expect those trees to look realistic. Real colour is far more subtle than what he's achieved, and these just end up looking like poor Victorian colorizations than anything like true, colour photography. Love the idea and I ABSOLUTELY commend the author for his efforts, but I feel like a man with cinematography and difecting credits should have a better eye for something beyond local color. -Claire Hummel
Posted by Claire Hummel on February 25,2013 | 05:21 PM
Truly amazing! Thank you.
Posted by Mari on February 24,2013 | 09:50 PM
Absolutely incredible...
Posted by Kathy P on February 24,2013 | 11:34 AM
as a history and civil war fan, these are just great for a true feeling of the war and the people of that time frame, would be excited to see more and think would help us get a better idea of the scope and depth of the battlefields,people and clothes of this era's great man and woman
Posted by john griffith on February 22,2013 | 03:12 PM