Man Using Tool to Strip Logs, Central Asia

1905
Shown in this winter view is a carpenter in a colorful padded robe using a long-handled adze to shape a log. A trimmed log in octagonal shape lies in the foreground. Behind the man are twigs and firewood stacked among gnarled plane trees. Visible on the right is another figure in a white turban. In the far left background is a white-stuccoed wall, probably built for the Russian compound in Samarkand. The image is by Russian photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863–1944), who used a special color photography process to create a visual record of the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. Some of Prokudin-Gorskii’s photographs date from about 1905, but the bulk of his work is from between 1909 and 1915, when, with the support of Tsar Nicholas II and the Ministry of Transportation, he undertook extended trips through many different parts of the empire. Prokudin-Gorskii was particularly interested in recently acquired territories of the Russian Empire such as Turkestan (present-day Uzbekistan and neighboring states), which he visited on a number of occasions, including a trip in January 1907 that focused on the ancient cities of Bukhara and Samarkand. Turkestan appealed to him not only for its Islamic architecture but also for scenes from traditional life in cities such as Samarkand, taken by Russian forces in 1868.

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Filename: 6516.jpg
Copyright: acku Afghanistan
Image Size: 1800x1661 / 781.2KB; 1905 Central and South Asia Men Woodcutting Carpenter Photo WDL 010575
Contained in galleries: CENTRAL AND SOUTH ASIA

1905<br />
Shown in this winter view is a carpenter in a colorful padded robe using a long-handled adze to shape a log. A trimmed log in octagonal shape lies in the foreground. Behind the man are twigs and firewood stacked among gnarled plane trees. Visible on the right is another figure in a white turban. In the far left background is a white-stuccoed wall, probably built for the Russian compound in Samarkand. The image is by Russian photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863–1944), who used a special color photography process to create a visual record of the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. Some of Prokudin-Gorskii’s photographs date from about 1905, but the bulk of his work is from between 1909 and 1915, when, with the support of Tsar Nicholas II and the Ministry of Transportation, he undertook extended trips through many different parts of the empire. Prokudin-Gorskii was particularly interested in recently acquired territories of the Russian Empire such as Turkestan (present-day Uzbekistan and neighboring states), which he visited on a number of occasions, including a trip in January 1907 that focused on the ancient cities of Bukhara and Samarkand. Turkestan appealed to him not only for its Islamic architecture but also for scenes from traditional life in cities such as Samarkand, taken by Russian forces in 1868.