Comments on: Colour photographs of Janet and Iris Laing, 1910 http://howtobearetronaut.com/2010/03/janet-and-iris-laing-1910-in-colour/ Ever get the feeling you're living in the wrong time? Thu, 03 Nov 2024 08:13:39 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Glenn http://howtobearetronaut.com/2010/03/janet-and-iris-laing-1910-in-colour/#comment-409 Glenn Wed, 10 Mar 2024 18:55:12 +0000 http://howtobearetronaut.com/?p=1665#comment-409 These photos are great. Iris and Janet's home is now (100 years later) my local library, and their garden is where I go running! A strange coincidence and quite remarkable to see. Many thanks for sharing these images. These photos are great. Iris and Janet’s home is now (100 years later) my local library, and their garden is where I go running! A strange coincidence and quite remarkable to see. Many thanks for sharing these images.

]]> By: Nicholas Hedges http://howtobearetronaut.com/2010/03/janet-and-iris-laing-1910-in-colour/#comment-404 Nicholas Hedges Wed, 10 Mar 2024 13:09:04 +0000 http://howtobearetronaut.com/?p=1665#comment-404 I live in Headington and have many memories of Bury Knowle Park as it is now. I've always wondered what it would have looked like when it was a private residence, so to see it and in colour is amazing. Thanks for showing them. I live in Headington and have many memories of Bury Knowle Park as it is now. I’ve always wondered what it would have looked like when it was a private residence, so to see it and in colour is amazing. Thanks for showing them.

]]> By: Chris http://howtobearetronaut.com/2010/03/janet-and-iris-laing-1910-in-colour/#comment-367 Chris Thu, 04 Mar 2024 20:39:40 +0000 http://howtobearetronaut.com/?p=1665#comment-367 That's a good point, Melissa. The exposure time for an autochrome was "only" about one second, so it wasn't the case that smiles would have been too difficult to hold over a long exposure. Having said that, smiling is rare in photographs up to this point, as people were used to long exposures, and it was easier to maintain a neutral expression rather than a smile. For myself, I don't find Janet and Iris' expressions to be sad or glum. I find their expressions to be very natural, self-assured and self contained, and I feel as if I am seeing the girls at their most natural Their mother Etheldreda was an artist, and the girls may have been very used to being drawn or photographed, and so they retain their natural expressions. "Smiling for the camera", after all, means we have stepped out of the moment, and put on a version of ourselves for posterity... That’s a good point, Melissa. The exposure time for an autochrome was “only” about one second, so it wasn’t the case that smiles would have been too difficult to hold over a long exposure. Having said that, smiling is rare in photographs up to this point, as people were used to long exposures, and it was easier to maintain a neutral expression rather than a smile.

For myself, I don’t find Janet and Iris’ expressions to be sad or glum. I find their expressions to be very natural, self-assured and self contained, and I feel as if I am seeing the girls at their most natural Their mother Etheldreda was an artist, and the girls may have been very used to being drawn or photographed, and so they retain their natural expressions. “Smiling for the camera”, after all, means we have stepped out of the moment, and put on a version of ourselves for posterity…

]]> By: Ruth de Wynter http://howtobearetronaut.com/2010/03/janet-and-iris-laing-1910-in-colour/#comment-366 Ruth de Wynter Thu, 04 Mar 2024 18:14:28 +0000 http://howtobearetronaut.com/?p=1665#comment-366 These are absolutely gorgeous. It's so strange & wonderful to see images from this era in colour. I could look at them for hours! These are absolutely gorgeous. It’s so strange & wonderful to see images from this era in colour. I could look at them for hours!

]]> By: Melissa D. http://howtobearetronaut.com/2010/03/janet-and-iris-laing-1910-in-colour/#comment-365 Melissa D. Thu, 04 Mar 2024 16:42:11 +0000 http://howtobearetronaut.com/?p=1665#comment-365 Perhaps it simply was not yet a convention to "Smile for the camera", but these girls show such glum, sad expressions in every photo! While in such lovely, colorful surroundings even! Perhaps it simply was not yet a convention to “Smile for the camera”, but these girls show such glum, sad expressions in every photo! While in such lovely, colorful surroundings even!

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