Most of the photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs, 20 to 200 megabytes in size) from the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) Many were digitized by LOC contractors using a Sinar studio back. They are adjusted by your webmaster for contrast and color in Photoshop before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here.

June 1942. Crane operator at Tennessee Valley Authority's Douglas Dam. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer for the OWI. View full size.
The amount of detail captured in these early Kodachrome transparencies is just jaw-dropping. The composition in this image has an appropriately monumental feel. Thanks, as always, Dave for these photographic gems!
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