The Russian Empire - full colour photos

Between 1909 and 1912, photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii embarked on a photographic survey of the Russian Empire. His technique of using a specialized camera that caught images in rapid succession with red, blue, and green filters allowed them to be later recombined and run through filtered lanterns to create “near true colour” photos - a bit like the old projectors you used to get on aeroplanes and stuff. Click here to see the full set (that's a self-portrait of his by the river). [slideshow]

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(via)