In spite of the fact some of you disregarded my instructions, thanks anyway for
the condolences. The burial was accomplished Thursday, and a good time was had
by all. More about that another time.
I believe I have previously mentioned that almost all of my photographs taken
prior to 1968 were lost in a house fire. While my son and I were looking last
week for necessary documents in an old roll top desk, which originally belonged
to my grandfather and was one of the few things to make it out of the house
from the fire, we discovered a half dozen six-frame strips of Panatomic-X
negatives in glassine sleeves that had somehow fallen behind one of the
drawers. (I'm still pissed at Kodak for discontinuing this film, which was one
of my favorites.)
A half dozen or so of the shots were taken on my father's 42nd birthday. (He
died in 1998, just over a month short of his and mother's 60th anniversary.) I
was 18 at the time, and just starting to get serious about photography, so this
is one of my earliest efforts, a grab shot taken with an Asahi Pentax K and
55/1.8 Takumar (which, by the way, gear hoarder that I am, I still have). I'm
guessing I was using a Honeywell strobe, too. I no longer have it, or if I do,
I haven't seen it in quite a while.
This photograph is an excellent representation of our family. We laughed a
lot, more than some folks thought was dignified and proper, and those of us
left still do -- including my mother's only sister, who'll be 97 this
Halloween. (Folks born on Halloween have to have a sense of humor.) Hell, we
laughed at mother's funeral. She would've joined in, except she, of course,
was three days dead by then.
Anyhow, here's the picture:
http://home.att.net/~hiwayman/wsb/media/192375/site1065.jpg
Now a question. These negatives are covered with what looks like the craze
you'll find in antique china and porcelain or the maze of cracks you see in old
oil paintings. I'm just not sure if it's cracks in the emulsion or if it's
maybe some sort of fungus. I've been lucky over the years to have had almost
no problems with fungus, in either gear or on film, probably as a result of
refusing to live without air conditioning turned down to 68F, so I'm not sure
I'll know it if I see it.
I've scanned the negatives at 5400 dpi with the Minolta 5400, so I've got
nothing to lose, I suppose, by trying some film cleaner to see what happens.
Anybody have any ideas? Here's what it looks like close up.
http://home.att.net/~hiwayman/wsb/media/192375/site1066.jpg
Could it be that the Minolta 5400 is just too darn good and I should just scan
the film with the old 2400 dpi HP PhotoSmart and fuggedaboudit? Or maybe I can
borrow somebody?s Nikon. ;-)
Please note the winkey. And here's a smiley for good measure: :-)
Walt
--
"Anything more than 500 yards from
the car just isn't photogenic." --
Edward Weston
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