Color Photos of London During the Blitz

These never-before-seen color images of the damage caused by the Blitz in London have been released in honor of the 70th anniversary of V-Day in Britain.

It's incredible to see the aftermath of the bombings - it's amazing how one building could be completely destroyed but the one next to it could be untouched. What a scary time for London's citizens!

Thankfully, the city has since been rebuilt (although you can still see shell marks on many buildings that survived).

Photos from How to Be a Retronaut

How to Be a Retronaut features a varied and wide-ranging selection of color and black & white vintage photographs and videos from around the world (although many are from the United Kingdom).

These autochromes of Peace Day in 1919, King Edward VII (one of the last photos taken before his death), and the Pool of London especially caught my eye. It's fun to compare places and clothing styles I've seen in person with how they used to be. (I have to say, thankfully the Thames is a lot cleaner now!)

See more old photos here.

"Russia in Color" from the Globe's Big Picture

It's hard to believe these photos were taken about a hundred years ago! Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii created them during a photographic survey of Russia, supported by Tsar Nicholas II, from 1909 to 1912.

He had a special camera that rapidly took three black and white images using red, green, and blue filters (one filter per photograph). The images were later combined into one, and projected with a filtered lantern to create near true-to-life color photos. Pretty amazing for that era, don't you think? The original glass plates are now owned by the Library of Congress.

See more of these stunning photographs here.

Munich's Marchenball

Aren't the costumes in these photos amazing? I think the hare and badger (or is it something else?) picture is my favorite. It reminds me of the book The Wind in the Willows.

The images were taken at the Marchenball in Munich on February 15, 1862. The ball was thrown by "Jung-München", one of the city's most famous artists' societies in the 19th century.

These lovely photos, and 23 others from the dance, were put up for auction recently (with a starting bid of a mere 15,000 Euros). You can see the listing here.

I only wish they'd posted more photos from the collection in the catalog!

An Irish Wolfhound and the Sea

Did you know that BBC News has a wonderful archive of old photos you can browse through? This shot of an Irish wolfhound at a misty Herne Bay in August of 1934 is one of my favorites so far.

I've always wanted a wolfhound, I just don't have the space yet for a such a giant. I love the way they look, with their long thin bodies, loping stride, and wiry coats. Despite their enormous size, they're very gentle and sweet, and make a great family dog!

By the way, I hope you all have a great weekend! It's supposed to be quite hot here, but I'm hoping to find some time to garden in the cooler evenings.

What do you all have planned?