Auguste and Louis Lumière presented their autochrome invention to the French Academy of Sciences in 1904. The process uses a screen of minute potato starch grains dyed orange-red, green and violet. The dyed grains are dusted onto a glass plate, then covered with a layer of sensitive panchromatic silver bromide emulsion. As light enters the camera, it’s filtered by the dyed grains before it reaches the emulsion. Exposure time is very long, but once complete the plate can be processed using standard darkroom procedures. The result is an autochrome photograph.
Via George Eastman House
Would you like to support Flashbak?
Please consider making a donation to our site. We don't want to rely on ads to bring you the best of visual culture. You can also support us by signing up to our Mailing List. And you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For great art and culture delivered to your door, visit our shop.
