Friday, December 20, 2013

Snow Play in the 1950s

Here are David and Robert playing in the snow at The Farm.

Now we have entered the era of our family's use of the Brownie reflex. This six-dollar camera ("millions were sold") is responsible for the mediocrity of our family photos from the mid-forties through mid-fifties ---when my mother's excellent bellows Kodak camera that took a large rectangular negative (which was very sharp) developed a light leak in the bellows and was replaced by this cheap piece of junk. (Look for them on eBay, where many have come to rest.) It was supposed to have infinite focus after 4 feet and be sharp to infinity. A main characteristic of these cameras (must probably give some blame to cheap film and cheap developing, too) was a sort of grayness, without real blacks or bright whites. In tonight's examples I increased the contrast some, but cannot get them any sharper. I am fond, though, of the deckle edges, which I try to include in the scans when I can,


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