Uniforms Comparing colors of images as seen by the wet plate process, modern grayscale, and actual color.

major bill

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
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Many of us know that wet plate photographs often show the color yellow as dark gray or even black. In the Winter 2021 issue of Military Images magazine this effect is discussed by Elizabeth A. Topping in her When Yellow is Black and Blue Is White. Certain shades of light blue and light purple at times in wet plate photographs appear to e white or light gray. This is an interesting article which helps one decide what color uniform and trim actually are.
 
I have photos of a color wheel that shows the color wheel in photos taken using wet plate process and modern photo process. This helps me determine colors. And yes yellow often appears to be almost black and light blue can be almost white.
 
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I have photos of a color wheel that shows the color wheel in photos taken using wet plate process and modern photo process. This helps me determine colors. And yes yellow often appears to be almost black and light blue can be almost white.
I don't remember where I copied this one from or how much faith I have in what it proports to demonstrate. I've seen too many period photo reproductions of cavalrymen to believe that yellow infallibly shows up dark or black.
 
Klaudly in post #3 shows the problem. The yellow trim looks black in the wet plate image. the image and uniform are well known, but how about lesser known uniforms? Say someone spends the time and money to make a reenacting uniform based on a Civil War photograph from their home state and and ends up thinking the photo shows black trim when in fact it shows yellow trim?
 
I have had this problem, not reenacting, but drawing (for years) uniforms of civil war, if there is no description of their uniform from the soldiers, it becomes difficult to be sure of the color.
 
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This is very interesting not only from the point of view of uniforms, but also from the much broader array of the colors and fabrics which women of the day were wearing. I shall have to look at my great-great grandfather dressed in his 100th Ohio Volunteers uniform armed with this new information. Thanks.
 
This is very interesting not only from the point of view of uniforms, but also from the much broader array of the colors and fabrics which women of the day were wearing. I shall have to look at my great-great grandfather dressed in his 100th Ohio Volunteers uniform armed with this new information. Thanks.
Please share when you do!
 
I don't remember where I copied this one from or how much faith I have in what it proports to demonstrate.

What it shows is the "wet plate" photographic process in use at the time of the ACW is only sensitive to blue light. Orange is the opposite of blue, so it photographs dark; and red, yellow, and green all photograph darker than would be expected with modern B&W film.

The real problem is that darkness in the wet plate photo may not correspond to tone. A item that appears dark may have been dark - or it could have had a strong orange or yellow cast. There's no way to tell without more information.
 
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