Article about: Hi everyone, A few years ago, when I started collecting, I purchased some photos or postcards, which I liked or "needed" to finish some displays. At the time I was already very car
Hi everyone,
A few years ago, when I started collecting, I purchased some photos or postcards, which I liked or "needed" to finish some displays. At the time I was already very careful about what I bought, regarding originality, but unfortunately not for the photos, my tests were only the black light, (including internal corners) the smell, and whether or not they were too famous photos .
lately after posting a photo here for opinions, I started to dig a little deeper into the topic.
I realize that my simple tests are not sufficient to determine the originality of the photos.
And I have a lot of doubts.
so I would like to start posting them here one by one to clear my doubts.
I would also like to use these topics to learn.
I hope you will be kind to look at them and give me your expert opinion. my goal is to one day be able to understand for myself whether they are good or not.
I'll start with this.
I'll post the photos that were on the website, if needed I can take some photos too, but I don't think they come any better than these.
Thanks for looking.
I would not be worried with this item in my opinion. The subject matter is pretty plain jane being a portrait photo of a soldier bearing few awards at the time. It appears he has been awarded the Medaille für den Italiensch-Deutschen Feldzug in Afrika based on the one ribbon he has, and then obviously the Ärmelband Afrika.
The Agfa postcard it was printed on is of the correct time period. And the actual printed image seems to display the typical hard-to-describe look seen with postcards. I would guess it has to do with the development process, enlarging the image. It always seems to look different, and slightly worse, than the same image printed as a snapshot.
Hi Ben,
I was hoping you would reply to this thread.
Thanks for your expertise, I'm also glad the photo is ok.
I attach a photo of my small Afrikakorps display, and as you can see the photo has an excellent matching with the rest, even the Ärmelband Afrika is folded in the same way as the photo, with the brown edges turned inwards.
As said before, these days I'm dedicating a lot of time to the photo topic. And try to improve my knowledge.
One thing I wanted to ask, I noticed looking at the photos I have and which I consider "good" if you put them at a certain angle, the light reflects on the darkest parts with a type of bluish reflection. you can also see it on the second photo of my first post.
I guess it's due to the way the photos were developed. Is it always a sign of originality?
or can fakes have it too?
By the way, the other photo that you helped me with (fallschirmjäger) is the only one of the photos I have, which does not have this type of reflection.
thanks for looking.
Hi Bulge. It's a process called silvering that happens on old photos. I have many old family photos that have this effect. I can't explain it but, I found this explanation on the internet. "The silver sheen is a common occurrence in old photographs, and results from the migration of free silver radicals within the emulsion. Some of the radicals make their way to the surface, regain their electron, and deposit themselves on the surface as metallic silver."
I would think that it's hard to replicate due to it being from a natural process that happens over time, but I could be wrong. -Rose
Hi Rose,
Thanks for your explanation, really interesting.
I think you're right, it seems difficult to replicate this process too.
Especially for photos that are worth little money on the market, I don't know if it's worth it.
It would be nice if it were a way to recognize whether they are good or not.
However, I don't know if it's exactly like that, but looking at some photos of a grouping that I have, there are some photos from the early 1900s, the effect is much more accentuated, as well as the thicker paper, so it seems that the older they are, the more they have this characteristic. . Of course it could just be a coincidence...
Have a nice day,
There are a number of tell tale signs to look for in examining photographs. The silver sheen as described is one positive, as is recognising whether the photographic paper is old or modern - if the paper isn't marked with a maker stamp this can be harder. As you have found yourself sometimes the feel and smell can offer clues to the picture being old (musty smell) or whether you detect a more chemical smell (sometimes associated with modern gloss papers or chemicals where the print has not been washed after the developing & fixing process).
Also in copies an image might be "cropped". If the photo has been copied from a book or magazine then it might look unbalanced if the faker has tried to edit out areas of the picture that aren't relevant, such as a printed caption or even a page number!
A lot of fake pictures on Fleabay can look very yellow. People assume that an old photo has to look yellow or brown instead of black and white - now photographs can become yellow over time but if unsure always ask hereabouts for guidance.
Camera film when developed has grain, this depends on the ASA of the film. The ASA is the speed at which the film reacts to light, low light situations require a higher film ASA basically.
When developed and printed you can see the grain of the film on the paper, like the dots from an airbrush. However if the grain appears uniform and linear then it's highly probable that the photo has been copied from a book (where the printing of the photo within the printing process leaves this uniform pattern).
I think that's enough to be going on with. Always ask as there's plenty of us who can look and answer your queries. Happy collecting.
Hi Blackcat,
wow That's a lot of information,
I will calmly try to implement all these precautions and fully understand the meaning of your technical words.
As often happens, certain things are acquired with practice, but at least now I know what to look for.
Thank you so much for your expertise.
Regards.
"I would be more worried about you AK title than your photos, looks to be a big O AK Cuff Fake. But needs better photos.
The Agfa photo is fine.
Morris"
Hi Morris,
Thanks for your opinion, even if it's a bit of a shock.
I purchased it a few years ago from Mario (hiscoll) and usually he is already a guarantee, and at the time following the "instructions" here on the forum I hadn't noticed anything strange.
but if necessary I can post it here with better photos, but at this point I think it's better to do it in a separate thread.
And thanks for legitimize the photo.
regards
Afrikakorps original?
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