Black and White and Red All Over

Every once in awhile, someone posts something on Facebook that really gets me going.

Last night, Connie Schultz shared a story entitled "Christina in Red," about a British electrical engineer who took photos of his daughter in 1913. Color photos. I was so taken with the story, I had to re-share on my own Facebook page.

With big sister, Denise

It's funny how the addition of color takes photos out of the past. Looking at them, you can imagine this young girl turning away from the camera to text her friend. In one shot, she's standing by a lilac bush in bloom with an expression all parents of young people have witnessed when you have ordered them to do something tedious. (Or maybe it's just her "pensive" face. It's hard to tell.)

I came of age in an era when family photographs (and television, for that matter) transitioned from mostly black and white to all color. Sometimes I have to stop and think about the various colors our house was over the years. I remember the pink checked romper I wore as a toddler, only because my mom saved it for me. But many of the other colors of my early childhood are lost in the black and white world that dominated the period.

From an artistic standpoint, I appreciate the rich texture of black and white photography. And I hate when they go back and colorize old movies. I'm glad this practice has waned. (I imagine an offshore technician in a little room somewhere deciding Bette Davis' ball gown should be green because that's the technician's favorite color.)

But I admit, I enjoy the rich color photographs that bring the world to my door. The cherry blossoms, the Aurora Borealis, the lights of distant cities.

And the old pictures from 1913, that transport me to another time and place. And make me wonder whatever happened to the Christina who lived there in a flash of red.