Last night a friend emailed me a link to a blog displaying a remarkable series of photographs taken between 1940 and 1943. The blog is by a Russian photography enthusiast, and his primary interest in the photos is the format and quality, particularly considering the era in which they were taken. They were produced using 4×5 Kodachrome film, and are of an incredible quality.
Although I was at one time a photography enthusiast (who no longer needs his darkroom equipment thanks to the advent of digital technology), the images really struck me for the glimpse into industrial production and workplace safety during the mid 20th Century.
Make that lack of workplace safety….
These photographs also highlight how critical women were to the war effort.
The link I provide below actually takes you to the Russian language blog, with English descriptions of each image. He has produced a full English version, which is linked within the blog, but I found the images on the Russian version to be slightly larger, and provided better viewing.
Take a few minutes to look at this digital time machine, and glimpse a production era gone by. It is a fascinating journey.
http://pavel-kosenko.livejournal.com/303194.html?thread=22669914