We're the Military and Airpower Guys of Jonah Goldberg of National Review Online + a stray we found wandering around looking lost. All original material JHD, BHD, JR, WT, and KA 2003-2010 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html Sat, 24 Mar 2012 16:04:34 Z Movable Type 4.12 en Copyright 2012 http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification The Crimean War, US Civil War, Boer War, WWI, WWII, and Korea, are, in my mind, "black and white" wars. Not in terms of war aims and justifications - but because they were photographed in black and white. For wars prior to that, much of what passes for visuals are oil paintings, in color. Even the wars of the ancients are that way for me - as that is how the artists of later centuries painted their visions of what they were like. Not so the wars listed above. They were the wars covered when black and white phototgraphy was... http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html Sun, 30 Jan 2005 10:49:52 -0600 Yep, Leave it to the beancounters to always spoil things. Boquisucio http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13293 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13293 Tue, 01 Feb 2005 20:54:02 -0600 besides color photography?" When the reply was, "Errr--nothing," the US military got into color photography just in time to make all those great stock shots used in every WWII aerial epic for the past 50 years [Opening: aerial of Pacific, looking straight down. Cue Zero, cue guns, cue trail of burning avgas, cue F4U flying cluelessly through buddy's tracers, cue immense fireball]... ]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13291 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13291 Tue, 01 Feb 2005 19:31:20 -0600 Color photographs have been around for longer than what most people think. I once saw a color pic from the 1880's - not colorized, but from original color plates. The subject matter was very mundane: A family on a Sunday jaunt through the countryside, if I remember correctly. As I said, the technology has been around, its just that until the color developing process was automatized, it was extremely difficult (and expensive) to make it work cheaply and reliably. If I remember correctly, Black&White development is a three-step process in the dark room. Whereas Color development is a seven-step process, which requires an inordinate amount of skill, and patience to work and skill for each and every step along the way... Nevermind constant monitoring of the chemical agents etc. Boquisucio http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13274 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13274 Tue, 01 Feb 2005 15:22:57 -0600 Wasn't M34d3 that Civil War guy? T'is a puzzle, to be sure . . . http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13261 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13261 Tue, 01 Feb 2005 11:34:21 -0600 JTG - No need to be confused--just remember: 1. JMH = Tanker, walking wikipedia on the subject of armor, devilishly droll. 2. WST = Aviator, shambling 80s Colliers' on the subject of aviation, impishly droll. See? Easy as finding a pizza joint outside the M34d3 m41n g4t3. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13237 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13237 Tue, 01 Feb 2005 08:41:34 -0600 Ok, JustThisGuy, it ain't often I need to look something up, but this made me do it: "contraventile micturition." Unfortunately, the only reference to this phrase that I found in dictionaries, or even Google, was to this: "Don't waste your time, Ma'am, trying to educate suchlike folks. That would be like engaging in contraventile micturition." It was very frustrating to say the least, to spend the time searching only to end up where I started, kind of like pissing into the wind. You know? P.S. That's twice. Third time, you get a reputation for that sort of thing . . -SangerM :-) http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13221 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13221 Tue, 01 Feb 2005 01:58:35 -0600 Um, I wrote "Capt.H" above when I meant to write "Bill." Yeah, I noticed the camouflage, decided to stop typing before the weirdness list got too long. I think the ethanol is winning. 'nite, all. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13218 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13218 Tue, 01 Feb 2005 01:15:08 -0600 Dang, Capt. H, you must have been reading my mind. I had thought of making another post about contraventile micturition, but got all timid on thinking that I didn't want to get a reputation for that sort of thing. I now understand that all is already known anyway, so one might as well write what he thinks. I, for one, welcome our new L33t hax0r masters at F0rt M34d3. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13217 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13217 Tue, 01 Feb 2005 00:59:44 -0600 Oui." Or, in this instance, "oui-oui." ]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13200 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13200 Mon, 31 Jan 2005 21:30:13 -0600 ROTFLMAOASTC! John - too droll, by far! http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13189 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13189 Mon, 31 Jan 2005 17:21:38 -0600 "In the end, Major Petite decided writing his initials would suffice." Cheers JMH http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13180 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13180 Mon, 31 Jan 2005 16:05:39 -0600 Justthisguy - The half-fast concealment is more than likely oriented toward the prevailing wind. T'would nevah do, don't'cha know, to have the Field Grades wandering about displaying more dampness than would adhere to a finger... http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13169 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13169 Mon, 31 Jan 2005 13:55:29 -0600 ew. Wet finger after voting image is burning into my mind....MAKE IT STOP! (but don't make it stop until I'm done laughing, of course) http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13152 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13152 Mon, 31 Jan 2005 10:00:46 -0600 After all that, you neglected to mention the fact that its been camouflage-painted? I could go the cheap route, and note it's French, as if that's the answer. And on days when it's muddy, that path of sticks would be a welcome pathway... As for the rest - you obviously haven't been in the Army serving anywhere near a "Headquarters in the Field," where fripperies of this type are de rigeur. Oops. 'Nother French word. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13125 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13125 Mon, 31 Jan 2005 06:11:43 -0600 On Looking at it Again: That picture is thought-inducing in so many ways. Did anyone notice the little ogees cut at the extremities of the sidewalls? Not functional, obviously done for esthetic reasons. And then there is what looks like a mown lawn abutting some shrubbery, backed up by a young forest. And then,again, why does a soldier, or any other adult male human, worry about visual concealment from one direction (Ok, 3) and not from others. I mean, do it privately, or do it publicly, but what is this half-ass concealment? Inquiring minds want to know. Oh yeah, that path of sticks looks like an evil stumble-trap for us poor drunkards, to me. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13119 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13119 Mon, 31 Jan 2005 00:25:03 -0600 Masson, P. ed. 1985, _World war II in colour: a photographic history with 650 illustrations in full colour_, Grolier Enterprises, Dansbury Connecticut. Trivia for Saving Private Ryan, from the Internet Movie Database (IMDB): Although director Steven Spielberg reduced the color saturation of the movie by 60% for artistic reasons, both major American satellite providers (DirecTV and Dish) and numerous cable TV providers turned up the chroma gain to re-enhance the color saturation to normal-looking levels when broadcasting the movie. They did this because on the first day or two of the movie's broadcast run, their customer service centers were swamped with calls from viewers complaining that something was wrong with the color. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13110 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13110 Sun, 30 Jan 2005 21:19:51 -0600 Of course he is... why else would *I* have chosen it? http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13109 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13109 Sun, 30 Jan 2005 21:02:45 -0600 Yeah, he's voting. . . He'll have a wet finger when he comes out. :-) http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13108 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13108 Sun, 30 Jan 2005 21:01:41 -0600 I think there was a book called "The Agfachrome War" full of pictures of Germans doing things in other peoples' countries, and a couple I've seen in the local B&N with Kodachrome images by US guys. One had some very haunting, creepy (because we now know what was gonna happen) images taken around the Philipines (sp?) in November, 1941 or so. Blue fatigues and P-35s oh my! Oh in your picture, there, is that guy doing what I think he's doing? http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13106 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13106 Sun, 30 Jan 2005 20:44:25 -0600 In the case of WWII, at least, the pictures aren't necessarily colorized after the fact. The US military did have color film during WWII. The History Channel used to have a series based on the color footage shot during WWII that was called _The Colors of War_ that was rathe interesting. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13102 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/01/colorizing_war.html#comment-13102 Sun, 30 Jan 2005 18:10:07 -0600