Century-Old Color Photos From Russia

These color photographs were taken between 1909 and 1912. Supported by Tsar Nicholas II, photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863-1944) photographed many aspects of the Russian Empire.

Prokudin-Gorskii’s specialized camera captured three black and white images of the same scene, using red, green and blue filters. Subsequently, the photos were recombined and projected with filtered lanterns to show the color images seen here.

Yes, these photos really were taken 100 years ago. Hundreds of color images are made available by the Library of Congress, which purchased the original glass plates back in 1948. See more here:

Russia in color, a century ago

Tags: 100 year old pictures, Old Color Photos, old color picture, old Russian photograph, Russia