The Vintage Photography of Elmer A. Hubbard

One Man's View of Northern Arizona and Southern Utah along the Colorado Plateau

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Hand Tinted

To make his recollections of where he had been even more endearing, Hubbard took the time to hand tint nearly all his photographs. He would say swabbing and glazing the Marshall oil colors onto his black and white enlargements gave him one more opportunity to re-live his experiences in these out of the way places.

“There is no way to apply every last color to everything in the picture, so I try to tint the photograph the way I remember the place. I put in just enough color to make it look real.”

 

Standing Guard at Yei Bi Chei MONUMENT VALLEY
Hand tinted vintage photographs of the landmarks and life in Monument Valley

Navajo homestead  below White Mesa Arch NAVAJO NATION
Hand tinted vintage black and white photographs of popular viewpoints and remote areas of the Navajo Nation throughout the northern reaches of Arizona.

South Rim View from Hopi Point GRAND CANYON
Hand tinted vintage black and white photographs of popular viewpoints and remote areas of Arizona's Grand Canyon.

Thor's Hammer in Bryce Canyon CANYONS and ARCHES
Hand tinted vintage black and white photographs of natural arches and remote canyons throughout the Colorado Plateau.

CC HT 820 White House Ruins from Canyon Floor CANYON DE CHELLY
Hand tinted vintage black and white photographs of popular viewpoints and remote areas of Arizona's Canyon de Chelly National Monument

The Price of Progress GLEN CANYON/LAKE POWELL
Hand tinted vintage black and white photographs of Glen Canyon prior to the dam and as Lake Powell was filling.

At a time when photography was strictly a black and white process, hand tinting became popular as a means to present a more realistic image; though decidedly more subtle and impressionistic than modern color photography.

“Before I took up hand tinting, I was never aware of how fast the landscape could change colors before my eyes. I learned to take more time to really look at all the different tints and hues in the scene.”

While the practice enjoyed something of a revival in the mid-1960s, by then Hubbard had already earned awards and accolades nationwide for his sizable portfolio of hand tinted images of the landscape and culture in these regions he essentially called home.

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