Extremely clear old photos:

[GlenPettit 1,717]

    

   Clarity is exceptional.  Seems overweight was not a factor in the early 1900s.

These photos of life in the US at the beginning of the 20th century are truly a walk back in time. The first photo below looks the same today and many of you have entered it on the way to NY.  The third photo shows how trolley cars were air conditioned in the summer.  The clarity of these photos is truly phenomenal.
  
 
  
019 | 1900| New Jersey circa. " Bergen Tunnel, eastend" 
  
  

  
020 | 1900| Chicago . "A walk in Lincoln Park " 
  
  

  
021 | 1900| Buffalo , New York. " Labor Day parade, Main Street " 
  
  

  
022 | 1900| "U.S.S. Oregon quarterdeck"| Edward H. Hart 
  
  

  
023 | 1900| "U.S.S. Chicago. One of the crew" 
  
  

  
024 | 1901| Buffalo , New York. "Unloading ore from whaleback carrier" 
  
  

  
025 | 1901| "Hanging rock on the Susquehanna near Danville , Pennsylvania " 
  
  

  
026 | 1901| Petoskey , Michigan. "Grand Rapids & Indiana R.R. Station" 
  
  

  
027 | 1901| Detroit . "Excursion steamers Tashmooand Idlewild at wharves" 
  
  

  
028 | 1901 | Colorado . "Station and hotel, summit of Pike's Peak " 
  
  

  
029 | 1902 | "A happy family" 
  
  

  
030 | 1902| Iowa . " Chicago & North Western Railway — steel viaduct over Des Moines River" | William Henry Jackson 
  
  

  
031 | 1903| New York . " Brooklyn Terminal at Brooklyn Bridge " 
  
  

  
032 | 1903| "S.S. Proteus. High water at New Orleans levee" 
  
  

  
033 | 1903| "Unloading bananas at New Orleans , Louisiana " 
  
  

  
034 | 1904| The Jersey Shore. " Steeplechase Pier and bathers, Atlantic City " 
  
  

  
035 | 1904 | " Michigan CentralRailroad. Oiling up before the start" 
  
  

  
036 | 1904| New York . "The Ponies, Coney Island " 
  
  

  
037 | 1905| St. Clair , Michigan. "Launch of steamer Frank J. Hecker" 
  
  

  
038 | 1905| St. Augustine , Florida. "They were on their honeymoon" 
  
  

  
039 | 1905| Coney Island , New York. "Surf bathing" 
  
  

  
040 | 1905>| The New Jerseyshore. " Boardwalk and beach, Asbury Park " 
  
  

  
041 | 1905| Cleveland , Ohio. " Cuyahoga River from the Viaduct" 
  
  

  
042 | 1905 | Buffalo , New York. "Jack-Knife Bridge, City Ship Canal , foot of Michigan Street" 
  
  

  
043 | 1905| The Detroit River. "Transfer steamer Detroit in the ice" 
  
  

  
044 | 1905| Houghton , Michigan. "Loading copper on steamer Juniata" 
  
  

  
045 | 1905 | Buffalo , New York. "Looking up Main Street. Steamer North Land at Long Wharf" 
  
  

  
046 | 1905 | "A winter morning" 
  
  

  
047 | 1905| Knoxville , Tennessee. " Gay Street looking north from Clinch Avenue" 
  
  

  
048 | 1905 | Hot Springs , Arkansas. "Roadway through the pines" 
  
  

  
049 | 1905| Chicago . "The bridge, Lincoln Park " 
  
  

  
050 | 1906| " Mississippi River Landing" 
  
  

  
051 | 1906| Birmingham , Alabama. " Second Avenue looking east" 
  
  

  
052 | 1906| Gulfport , Mississippi. "Steamer loading resin" 
  
  

  
053 | 1906| Wequetonsing , Michigan. "The birches and the bay" 
  
  

  
054 | 1906| Circa. "Banana docks, New York" 
  
  

  
055 | 1906| "Railroad station, Magnolia, Massachusetts" 
  
  

  
056 | 1907| Detroit . "Band concert on Grand Canal, Belle Isle Park " 
  
  

  
057 | 1907| "The Brooklyn Bridge Promenade and Manhattan Terminal" 
  
  

  
058 | 1907| Chicago , Illinois. " Jackknife Bridge , Chicago River" | Hans Behm 
  
  

  
059 | 1907| Chicago , Illinois. " Jackknife Bridge , Chicago River" | Hans Behm 
  
  

  
060 | 1907| Savannah , Georgia. "The whole black family at the Hermitage" 
  
  

  
061 | 1908| New York . " Times Square " The old New York Times building, now encased inbillboards, Hotel Astor and various theaters seen from Broadway. 
  
  

  
062 | 1908| Detroit . "Waders at Belle Isle Park " 
  
  

  
063 | 1908| Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania. " Nixon Theatre, Sixth Avenue & Cherry Alley" 
  
  

  
064 | 1908| "Suburban station, Petoskey , Michigan " 
  
  

  
065 | 1908| New York . " Pompeiian Room — HotelSeneca"

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,360]

Thank yo so much for sharing these , They are a wonderful look back in time. I can not wait to show them to my wife. 

[Sprocket 48]

I'm down the line from Magnolia Station - gonna have to take a ride and see what it looks like now.  There's more than a few of those old depots still standing.

[shallowwatersailor 3,214]

Thanks, Glenn. The "Kate Shelley Bridge" in Iowa is still standing. The "Met" bridge in Chicago is long gone.

[muz123 1,192]

Thanks for sharing the photos! there very interesting!

[tarcoleo 119]

Outstanding collection, thanks.

 

[diesel cowboy 263]

Those are impressive.  Did anyone notice what looks like 2 steam traction engines in picture 43? Its the one of the steamer going through the ice in Detroit

[JC 1965 1,532]

WOW  !!    Great pics Glen. Thanks for sharing.      

[Coadster32 793]

Amazing how clear those pics look. Thanks for sharing.

The one of the parade in new York...just about everyone is wearing a hat on their head.

[953 nut 56,761]

Glen, you always come up with the coolest photos, thank you. My favorite was the couple on St. Augustine Beach; she on a donkey and he in a goat propelled cart, may need to check the family photo album, could be relatives of mine.  

[GlenPettit 1,717]

I've had a bunch of people ask why these are so clear, in reality, all the old outdoor photos are like these were, it's just that we're used to recent color and digital pictures now.
---  A hundred years ago, all film was B/W (Black & White with fine chemically dissolved silver atoms), scenes were ALWAYS taken on a bright overcast day and before 11am or after 4pm to avoid direct rays and dark shadows (which gave too much contrast), sometimes the Photographer would have to wait days, but no direct sun (soft shadows are OK).  Shutter speeds were always slower, like maybe 1/60th or 1/30th of a second (which would freeze motion in all more-distant subjects) and the lenses were closed down to f:16 or f:22 (to give depth and have everything in focus).  Film and processing was expensive & timely so they made sure the first shot was right.
The B/W film then is about 10-times the fine detail & quality as digital is today, (even color silver film loses 2/3 of it's quality, or down to 1/3 of the detail in recording all three colors, one grain for @ color).  Our new automatic cameras today usually shoot at a fixed 1/125th and have a larger lens opening, usually f:5.6 and is focused at 5' for close or 50' for distance, so a lot is really out-of-focus.  With digital, the pixels get a lot of "averaging" by the computer, again lowering sharpness and depending on your eye to compensate quality loss 
(like watching a TV from 2' away, stay there and your eye adjusts to it, but hurts later).  Today, we're used to cheap pictures and customer demands won over quality & cost, the much more expensive film is almost gone except for fine high-quality work, commercial work.
When NASA takes those overhead shots of the world, they are using digital, with a telephoto lens, often a 5 second exposure, a $5,000,000 camera and the results are enhanced by computers and infrared contrast.     And now you know.
Glen

On these photos, if you look at things within 5-10' of the Camera, they are often out-of-focus or have a blur from their motion (water, fingers), if people were within ear-shout they were told to stand still for a few seconds.  During the Civil War in 1865, the shutter speed was often 1-2 seconds and you will see movement within 50' of the lens, that's why people shots look so poised, they were, most people held on or leaned on to something, and 'gunpowder was used to light the shot, even outside, and people were told to 'watch the birdie'. The very first photo was shot on a thin layer tar on a metal plate, through very large lens for 2 hours in 1838.  Technically the first camera was used in the 1600's and the image was recorded/saved by an artist tracing it inside the very large camera box.
 

Edited August 27, 2015 by GlenPettit

[rmaynard 15,805]

Most of these pictures were probably taken with a large format camera. The negative itself was 3" x 5", 4" x 6", 5" x 7", or 8" x 10". Minimal or in some cases, no enlargement was necessary. I once took a class on old-time photography and have taken pictures with antique cameras onto 8" x 10" glass plate negatives. Then a contact print was made. The clarity was amazing. But... thank goodness for digital. Now the newest digital pictures can get pretty close to the quality of the old large-format contact prints.

[Digger 66 3,488]

    

   Clarity is exceptional.  Seems overweight was not a factor in the early 1900s.

These photos of life in the US at the beginning of the 20th century are truly a walk back in time. The first photo below looks the same today and many of you have entered it on the way to NY.  The third photo shows how trolley cars were air conditioned in the summer.  The clarity of these photos is truly phenomenal.
  
 
  


  
024 | 1901| Buffalo , New York. "Unloading ore from whaleback carrier" 
  
  

  

  
042 | 1905 | Buffalo , New York. "Jack-Knife Bridge, City Ship Canal , foot of Michigan Street" 
  
  

  
 

 

Absolutely stunning The second pic is about a golf balls distance from where I work now & in the first one , I can see "chinamans-lighthouse" .
There is a coast guard base there now .
Wow , again .
Very cool !!!!!! 

[bmsgaffer 2,046]

Most of these pictures were probably taken with a large format camera. The negative itself was 3" x 5", 4" x 6", 5" x 7", or 8" x 10". Minimal or in some cases, no enlargement was necessary. I once took a class on old-time photography and have taken pictures with antique cameras onto 8" x 10" glass plate negatives. Then a contact print was made. The clarity was amazing. But... thank goodness for digital. Now the newest digital pictures can get pretty close to the quality of the old large-format contact prints.

Yep. If you go to the original site (or the original original: library of congress) they will tell you the original format and most were large format glass plate. Shorpy admits to some enhancements as well.

Still, awesome old time photos (I shot exclusively film MANY years into the DSLR revolution until the cost of developing 6 months of film was more than it cost to get a semi-pro DSLR). Never got into the large format due to cost but always wished I could.

Now with two (very little) kids my DSLR shooting has gotten to a real minimum overtaken by easy phone shots, but I am saving my pennies to put a decent lens on my Canon 5D Mark III waiting patiently in my camera bag. Now THAT'S a digital camera that can produce some detail. 

[Digger 66 3,488]

If I'd have been able to move about 20 feet west ( I'd be in the river ) but this is nearly the exact same spot where that pic was taken over 100 years ago .
Michigan ave no longer continues to the outer harbor as it does in the pic , but it would have crossed the river right at the foot of that tall beige building ( General Mills today ) .