amazing fotos - lots of space and an air of serenity to the people and atmosphere
Back then when you were getting your picture taken, it was a rare thing and was mostly something people with a lot of money could afford to get done. It was usually quite the special occasion to be in a photo. People would try and dress up in their best clothes and you usually had to remain motionless and not smile for a period of time while the camera did its exposure thing.
I actually had my picture taken with my parents and siblings when I was 12 years old with one of these old cameras.
Some more useless information about "Old Fashion" Photography:
Say ‘Prunes’, Not ‘Cheese’: The History of Smiling in Photographs
Say 'Prunes', Not 'Cheese': The History of Smiling in Photographs
Point being is that what you see in the photos may not be reality, much like today's photos.
Here's some old photos I've restored from my family's collection:
http://1drv.ms/1pkvttP
I have more and of better quality, but they're on my computer at home and these were just pulled off of Facebook (thus, lower quality) These images were also not taken from the original negatives or original prints but were scanned at a low res and emailed to me. I could only work with what I was given.