Color Photography - Photographic Processes Series, Updated - Chapter 11 of 12

Photography’s earliest practitioners dreamed of finding a method for reproducing the world around them in color. Some 19th century photographers experimented with chemical formulations aimed at producing color images by direct exposure, while others applied paints and powders to the surfaces of monochrome prints. Vigorous experimentation led to several early color processes, some of which were even patented, but the methods were often impractical, cumbersome and unreliable. This chapter explores early additive color processes as well as later subtractive processes like chromogenic color and the Kodachrome.

This project is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, grant number MA-10-13-0194.