AA-2026-FE4461
On the image
The sky displays a prominent cyan cast, a common feature of colour photography from the 1970s that suggested reality was more fluid than previously understood. This was an era when film stock promised to capture the world, but often delivered a world that looked slightly more interesting, or perhaps just unwell.
A line of trees stands silhouetted against a sun that has leaned heavily into the yellow end of the spectrum. The photographer, likely pleased with capturing the raw beauty of nature, had no way of knowing this image would later serve as a prime example of an era's particular hue, like a visual amber warning light.
It demonstrates a certain faith in the camera: point it at something, and it will record *something*. The quality of that something was often secondary to the fact that it was recorded at all, in glorious, slightly off-kilter colour.
The historian's note
This landscape image, dated to the 1970s, captures a treeline against a sunset or sunrise. The pronounced cyan and yellow colour shift observed in the sky and highlights is characteristic of film photography from this period.
Such colour casts could result from various factors, including the ageing of film stock, specific film emulsion characteristics, or variations in the photographic processing chemicals and techniques prevalent at the time. This image serves as a visual artefact reflecting the aesthetic and technical attributes of colour photography during the mid-20th century.
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Cyan Sunset over Winter Trees, 1970s. 1970–1979. Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library, AA-2026-FE4461. https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/cyan-sunset-over-winter-trees-1970s.
@misc{aaAA2026FE4461,
title = {Cyan Sunset over Winter Trees, 1970s},
year = {1970–1979},
howpublished = {Archive \& Atlas, Historical Image Library},
note = {Accession AA-2026-FE4461},
url = {https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/cyan-sunset-over-winter-trees-1970s}
}TY - ART TI - Cyan Sunset over Winter Trees, 1970s PY - 1970–1979 PB - Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library AN - AA-2026-FE4461 UR - https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/cyan-sunset-over-winter-trees-1970s ER -
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