A Golden Age in Black and White

Posted by Robert Stein
July 19, 2007

George Zimbel

Ã‚Â© George Zimbel - UN Plaza taxi in the rain, 1955

In the 1950s, we began to see the world differently. A new generation of photographers was transforming frozen posed pictures into available-light images of people and places as they really were.

Those golden days of black-and-white photography are recalled in a new web site by one of the best of them, my friend George Zimbel. A few clicks will take you to a Bourbon Street bar, an Irish dance hall, a Vermont quarry of that time.

A few more will show you the unguarded famous–Marilyn Monroe, John F. Kennedy, Edward R. Murrow, Richard Nixon.

Ã¢â‚¬Å“Photographs,Ã¢â‚¬Â Susan Sontag wrote, Ã¢â‚¬Å“alter and enlarge our notions of what is worth looking at and what we have a right to observe. They are a grammar and, even more importantly, an ethics of seeing.Ã¢â‚¬Â

Now that we are flooded with pictures, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s good to be reminded there once was not only an aesthetic but an ethics of seeing, when everyone did not feel entitled to observe everything. What photographers who were artists did show us was well worth seeing.

Cross-posted from my blog

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Information: July 19th, 2007; Comments

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Viewing 15 Comments

nikuniku 5 months ago 1 point
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Asset Management Software 6 months ago 1 point
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Some photographers still uses the black and white effect, well this effect of photography adds a glimpse of a certain shot

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Domain Names 7 months ago 1 point
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Black and white photography has been somewhat forgotten, but a few people have found that it is great for portraits and close-up photos. The black and white look often contains an element of mystery that color photographs cannot capture. Oh the miracles of modern technology!

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pregnancy week by week 8 months ago 1 point
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This photograph reminds me of my childhood days when I use to get wet in rains & enjoy a lot.

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pregnancy symptoms 8 months ago 1 point
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George Zimbell has done a marvellous job. The photographs are very good.

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Domain Names 7 months ago 1 point
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Are these "pregnancy symptoms" your's, or the guy who follows you in this blog? lol Anyway, my favourite images are in black and white. Simple simplicity if that's a word!

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hiv symptoms 9 months ago 1 point
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This pictures of 50s remind us of those black and white days.The photography is awesome.

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blue girl 2 years ago 1 point
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Wow, thanks for this post and the link to that site. I love old b/w photography. The stuff on that site is just great.

Love the photo up top, too.

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http://bluegirlredstate.typepad.com

OutOfContext 2 years ago 1 point
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The Vermont marble quarry from the 60's collection is fantastic. Something about how the intense light sources are so deep in the background and the puffy, dark figures gives me the feeling that bad things are going on in there.
"The Old Ferguson Place" from the 80's is the other one I really liked. But then again, I'm fascinated by things falling apart.

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http://www.oocradio.blogspot.com/

Dan Leo 2 years ago 1 point
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PS --not that I would use that great pic without Mr. Zimbel's permission (now that I know who took the picture)!

(Smiley face.)

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http://danleo.blogspot.com/

Tom Watson 2 years ago 1 point
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Yeah that's a classic - I believe it's the old Gaelic Park, which stood around 240th Street and Broadway in the Kingsbridge section.

The Zimbel site is incredible - just wonderful, such a rich trove of work. And yeah, there are Kennedy pics, but I love the everyday shots the best. Thanks Bob!

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Domain Names 7 months ago 1 point
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Black and white photography has been somewhat forgotten, but a few people have found that it is great for portraits and close-up photos. The black and white look often contains an element of mystery that color photographs cannot capture. Oh! the miracles of modern technology!

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Dan Leo 2 years ago 1 point
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That Irish dancehall picture is a favorite of mine that I've had squirreled away in my iPhoto just waiting for the right time to put it in my own blog, and I never knew who took the photo. Zimbel is just great. Some of those 50s pictures are like a classic episode of "The Naked City" boiled down to one frame.

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Black and white photography has been somewhat forgotten, but a few people have found that it is great for portraits and close-up photos. The black and white look often contains an element of mystery that color photographs simply cannot capture. Oh modern times are upon us!

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Isis 5 months ago 1 point
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Yes, black & white photography has been forgotton, but still many artists still use black and white photography for artistic purposes.Thanks for sharing the link - georgezimbel.com ! Really loved his collections !

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