Here is a selection of French military wedding photographs that I scanned from glass plate negatives. They date from the First World War. A number of things surprise me. How plain the happy couples are, how mature they look and the uniforms and dresses being worn. They remind me of characters taken from silent film comedies - Laurel and Hardy or the Keystone Cops, to mention just two. Extraordinary!
Some of these are taken in the street. Spot the fragments of broken plate to the left of the couple in the first photograph. On the second, a spectator's arm is visible to the left, while a ventilation grill can be seen low down on the building behind couple three - their shoes have just picked up a little mud so perhaps it had rained earlier in the day?.
These are wonderful! But I do have to say on that first one...ummmmmm...not so sure. She looks very masculine. Wish we could see her hands.
ReplyDeleteI love couple No. 3! She looks like a flapper with the woven flowers! And he's so handsome and well-decorated!
ReplyDeleteTAL, I know what you mean. I did some manipulation with Adobe Aperture using curves and levels. Unusually, it was difficult to find the hands, but the left is on the soldier's shoulder, while the other can't be seen. I can only imagine the photographer did some work on the dress. What I did notice, and this is going to be very ungallant of me, was a discernable bump and all that implies . . . ! The shoes are fantastic.
ReplyDeleteHi Margaret, Couple 3 are great, aren't they. Ahead of her time, I think!