Eugene Atget Appreciation

[runswithsizzers]

The US postal service just dropped off these beauties on my front porch. Speaking of reflections, my modern "digital" polarizing filter did nothing to reduce the shiny reflections from these plastic covers. And I was too eager to look inside the books to mess around with proper lighting.

My wife asked me if Atget's photos are all "sepia toned" -- can we assume the rich brown tones as reproduced in the books are approximately the same as when the prints were new, and that was an intentional choice by Atget -- or have the prints possibly browned with age? (Sorry if that is explained in the text of the books, which I have not yet read.)

 

[snusmumriken]

From reflections, he seems to be beside the camera when he takes the photo. There's nothing to see under the cloth.

Of course! Silly me.

And that guy on the left does look like the cart driver. So he could've been a jumpy guy.

I reckon he was one of those annoying pratts that has to be seen.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Thank goodness Atget himself never had a polarizer! That would have spoiled everything that made Atget Atget. I hate polarizers myself, and indulge in untamed glare and reflection. An exception would be the copystand with anything shiny involved, like copying a Cibachrome or Fujifles Supergloss print.

Per the books - they tend to make Atget's images look more modern and punchy than the originals. The brown toning in the reproductions seems pretty accurate; but some images seem a bit too cold black to be dead-on accurate. I don't really care. That set of books is absolutely lovely to thumb through, and gives a better impression than any other books I've run into.
Signs of aging I've seen in his actual prints were mildew (foxing) and some yellowing of the paper in certain cases. The sepia tone was inherent to his chosen print medium, there all along.

 

[cliveh]

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The US postal service just dropped off these beauties on my front porch. Speaking of reflections, my modern "digital" polarizing filter did nothing to reduce the shiny reflections from these plastic covers. And I was too eager to look inside the books to mess around with proper lighting.

My wife asked me if Atget's photos are all "sepia toned" -- can we assume the rich brown tones as reproduced in the books are approximately the same as when the prints were new, and that was an intentional choice by Atget -- or have the prints possibly browned with age? (Sorry if that is explained in the text of the books, which I have not yet read.)

Wow, I would love that set of books and I believe most of his images were gold toned.