COMMERCIAL COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY and Mercury Records

Groovin', on a Monday afternoon.

COMMERCIAL COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY and Mercury Records

More groovy grooves from Mercury records in 1956.

COMMERCIAL COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY and Mercury Records

Inside the horrendous LP cover is an insert advertising a variety of Mercury recordings that were available in the mid-1950s. You take the good with the bad.



For your viewing pleasure. William Holden on one, Kim Novak on another. Wonder if there was ever an album for the movie "Picnic" with the two of them on the cover?

COMMERCIAL COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY

I know the anticipation has been difficult. So many people were dying to know how all the pieces fit together. Worth the wait? Anybody still out there?

This is a seriously ugly LP cover. I can't find one nice thing to say about it. I'll never understand why they chose the hospital green as the predominant highlight color. Was this designed by committee? Had to be. How did they cast this shot? Where did they find these people and somehow decide they looked like the perfect family?




Click on images to see them larger.

They were selling music. MUSIC for crying out loud. This looks more like a menu at a fast food joint. This was 1956 and Mercury records was trolling the bottom with their design, but, and this was a huge surprise, the record is very good. It's in near perfect condition. I'd expected the vinyl to be in horrible condition. When I put it on and didn't hear any hissing or popping I started thinking that the reason it's not in bad shape is because of the content. One side has jazz, the other classical. Think of it as a mix-tape. The person who owned it obviously didn't want to listen to such a wide variety on their hi-fidelity system. It's a shame the packaging was so dreadful, but good for me. I love finding something this ugly.

Next post will show you some of the insert that came with the album.

COMMERCIAL COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY...

The family dynamics in this photo are so spot on. We started with junior who was trying to decide if he should tell his family his secret. We moved on to mom and dad who are wondering if they should tell the kids they've been secretly swinging for the past eighteen months. Finally we have sis, who knows more than the rest of the family does and is taking a Greyhound out of town in two nights.

Tomorrow the full picture and what it was used for. Anybody want to guess what you're going to see? Perhaps somebody already owns a copy of this.


Click on image to see it larger.

COMMERCIAL COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY...

They're almost life like. No color correction needed here. It's perfect as it is.

COMMERICAL COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY at Its Zenith

Before I show you this image in its entirety I wanted you to get the chance to absorb and appreciate the incredible beauty of it deconstructed.

This was taken back when color photography was at its zenith; along with photo styling, set construction, photo retouching, color correction, and makeup artistry. Not a penny was spared when this dynamite image was shot. Everything was top of the line because the client demanded the very best.