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.
I am a student of history, having just returned to school to complete the last year of my B.A. History. I grew up in Michigan, and now live in Richmond, Virginia. The images at Shorpy are - Amazing. I've actually gone through the entire site, I need to get out, don't I?