Thankfully I have found a website which have a giant catalogue of images which contain a very detailed description and also links to the re coloured versions of the photographs.
http://rarehistoricalphotos.com/testing-bulletproof-vest-1923/
Testing a bulletproof vest, 1923
The gun players are WH Murphy and his assistant, of the Protective Garment Corporation of New York. The pictures were taken during a demonstration of the company’s “bulletproof vest” for DC-area police in 1923. The live demonstration took place at the Washington city police headquarters. They are inventors and salesmen trying to convince the police force that these bulletproof vests work and save lives.
The colouration of this photograph in comparison to the monotone image bares a lot more relevance and emotion for a viewer, the instant tone which hits the eye is the greenery in the background of the topic, the fact that this bullet proof vest is being tested in the open in a situation where it could potentially save a life is testament to the trust these men have in their product.
http://rarehistoricalphotos.com/saigon-execution-murder-vietcong-saigon-1968/
Saigon execution: Murder of a Vietcong by Saigon Police Chief, 1968
After Nguyen Ngoc Loan raised his sidearm and shot Vietcong operative Nguyen Van Lem in the head he walked over to the reporters and told them that, “These guys kill a lot of our people, and I think Buddha will forgive me.” Captured on NBC TV cameras and by AP photographer Eddie Adams, the picture and film footage flashed around the world and quickly became a symbol of the Vietnam War’s brutality.
The fact that this footage is famous for being a symbol of the Vietnam War’s brutality and was publicised on nation television in black and white, it is remarkable to see an infamous photograph like this, recoloured. For me, this colouration bring home the reality of what is occurring in this situation is brung home by the realness of the street which they are stood on, something which gets emotively conveyed in colour.
http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/conflict-time-photography-tate-322
The marine and the kitten, Korean War, 1952
http://rarehistoricalphotos.com/marine-kitten-korean-war-1952/
The marine named her “Miss Hap” because, he explained, “she was born at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
In the middle of the Korean War, this kitten found herself an orphan. Luckily, she found her way into the hands of Marine Sergeant Frank Praytor. He adopted the two-week-old kitten and gave her the name “Miss Hap” because, he explained, “she was born at the wrong place at the wrong time.” There’s a juxtaposition between the soldier and the human. He’s dressed for war but hasn’t lost the ability to care for another living creature. Photo taken during the Korean War.
In the photograph, Praytor is seen leaning against sandbags with a pistol holstered to his hip and his helmet resting on his knee. In his left hand he holds a kitten, nursing it delicately with a medicine dropper. Praytor wrote that the kitten was one of two who were orphaned after a solider shot their mother for “yeowling.” The solider who adopted the other kitten killed it after rolling over on it in his sleep.
But Praytor’s kitten survived. He fed her on meat from ration cans. After Praytor left her to return home, she became something of a mascot for the company’s public information office. Praytor believes another soldier, corporal Conrad Fisher, eventually adopted her, and brought her home to the United States.
The colouration of this photograph brings out the detail and create a higher level of sharpness in my opinion. Firstly when I saw the monotone photograph I wondered if the Marine was giving the kitten a cigarette, I think this was due to the colour of the image and how it was hard to make things out.
A higher sense of realism becomes additional to the photograph once re coloured due to the striking green of the Marine's uniform and the camouflage on his helmet. I feel after this photograph has been re coloured the audience can connect and empathise lots more, its plays on the viewer's heart strings.
Easter eggs for Hitler, 1945
Special Eastern eggs for Hitler, 1945
Photo was taken on March 10, 1945, during the Battle of Remagen
Two black American soldiers with special artillery ammo for Hitler, Easter Sunday, 1945. Technical Sergeant William E. Thomas and Private First Class Joseph Jackson prepared a gift of special “Easter Eggs” for Adolph Hitler and the German Army. Scrawling such messages on artillery shells in World War II was one way in which artillery soldiers could humorously express their dislike of the enemy.
Due to the segregation and reducing of most black soldiers to non combat roles, they constituted well under 1% of US military deaths during WW2. But even so, in WW2 the black units were highly decorated. In addition to actual bravery, the US commanding officers often put these “more expendable” units in more dangerous areas. Racist officers didn’t care whether they lived or died. In 1948 the military ended segregation in the army by order of President Truman. Korea was the first war black Americans fought in the same units as whites did.
This photo has a very majestic element once re coloured in my opinion, the dark neutral colours and tones of greens set the scene immediately of the black American soldiers, and the emotion on their faces, this satirical act must have been something which cheered up all of the soldiers, this day on easter which is very evident by their faces.
The scene is set by the colour, the green military truck in the background, even the brown woven basket the soldiers have used to fully set the scene.
Feeding polar bears from a tank, 1950
The soldiers fed the polar bears with condensed milk tins.
The soldiers would feed the polar bears with condensed milk tins. People would open such a tin with a tin-opener and then gave the can to the bear who licked all the milk from tin and then feed her little bears with it. Those blue and white tins of condensed milk were the winter dessert staple of every Soviet kid. The condensed milk (called in Russian: sgushchennoye moloko) had indeterminately long shelf life and there was always plenty of it. It was a common dessert in the army too. It isn’t surprised to see it given away to bears, because unlike some stuff that was rationed the condensed milk in USSR was available in unlimited amounts.
The tracked vehicle you see on the photo is a GT-SM GAZ-34036, fully amphibious. This vehicle was widely employed by the Soviet Military. It was an over-snow vehicle designed for a variety of roles, but primarily as a general cargo/troop carrier and light artillery/heavy mortar tractor. The GT-S is also capable of traversing shallow swamp areas. The layout is conventional, with an engine compartment at the front, a cab behind that, and the cargo/troop section behind the cab. Towing capacity of the GT-S is 2 tons.
The colouration of this photograph exposes the realism I feel, the light Arctic blue sky, the brown fur on the Russian Solider's coat and the transparent ice on the tank, everything fits into place which makes this photograph seems to hard to believe that it is believable and also exciting.
An act of a man feeding Polar bears with his bear hands, something which would not be allowed in the 21st Century, 60 years ago this was acceptable and health and safety friendly. The interaction that the Polar bears are having with the soldiers is amazing, clearly these animals have never seen or been hunted by humans before and for this reason they are incredibly tame.
This is a stunning and exciting photograph once recoloured.
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