WHEN THE CAMERA DID NOT LIE
Colin Edwards recounts the tale of a chance discovery thanks to the authenticity of the photos produced by Kodakchrome film
IT IS just over a year since the last-ever roll of 35mm Kodakchrome film was produced. It was given to New York photographer Steve McCurry, who used it in his Nikon F6 for a travel documentary. That final roll ended a success story that began in 1935.
In May this year Michael Lyman, a photographer from Florida in the USA, bought a vintage slide projector in a charity shop. The projector had a drawer in the base that contained 80 cardboard-mounted Kodakchrome slides dating from the 1950s.
Because Lyman didn't know the people in the pictures, he invited his website visitors to seek any identifying clues. He wrote, 'Looking at these pictures is like stepping back to a time of post-war prosperity when America was at it's greatest, when people had well-paid jobs that allowed them to buy nice homes and big cars that had style and personality.'
Lyman continued 'They make me feel kind of sad, Photography is about capturing moments that are gone forever. The father was proud of his 1951 Chevrolet because it features in many of the pictures. He probably worked locally with enough wages for two vacations a year, to go bowling with his friends and to put food on the table for his family.'
'Within weeks, Lyman had sufficient responses to identify the town, the street, the house and even one of the girls pictured in her school uniform. Then, in a final breakthorough, he identified the family and now plans a trip to New York to return their photos. 'I want to tell them how the story unfolded and what a gift they have provided by allowing so many people to lift their spirits and to feel good about those days, 'he explained.
Ok, so maybe Michael Lyman saw those old Kodakchrome slides through rose-tinted spectacles where the past always looks wonderful. Even so, there is an amazing sense of authenticity in every shot.
If you have a problem associating authenticity with Kodakchrome's typically vibrant colours, remind yourself that these slides are the actual film that passed through the camera. They are from the days when the camera did not lie. Family photos were not manipulated on a computer beyond recognition. What you got was what you saw.
Many cassettes of long-lost Kodakchrome also passed through my Voiglander Vito C. Now my digital camera yields predictable results instantly, but in doing so it manages to remove some of the fun, most of the uncertainty and, I suspect all the future nostalgia.
Article by Colin Edwards in the Back Chat section of Amateur Photographer magazine. In the 30th July 2011 issue.
* To read more about Michael Lyman's story, visit: http://rochester.ym.com and search for 'Michael Lyman.'
Colin Edwards recounts the tale of a chance discovery thanks to the authenticity of the photos produced by Kodakchrome film
IT IS just over a year since the last-ever roll of 35mm Kodakchrome film was produced. It was given to New York photographer Steve McCurry, who used it in his Nikon F6 for a travel documentary. That final roll ended a success story that began in 1935.
In May this year Michael Lyman, a photographer from Florida in the USA, bought a vintage slide projector in a charity shop. The projector had a drawer in the base that contained 80 cardboard-mounted Kodakchrome slides dating from the 1950s.
Because Lyman didn't know the people in the pictures, he invited his website visitors to seek any identifying clues. He wrote, 'Looking at these pictures is like stepping back to a time of post-war prosperity when America was at it's greatest, when people had well-paid jobs that allowed them to buy nice homes and big cars that had style and personality.'
Lyman continued 'They make me feel kind of sad, Photography is about capturing moments that are gone forever. The father was proud of his 1951 Chevrolet because it features in many of the pictures. He probably worked locally with enough wages for two vacations a year, to go bowling with his friends and to put food on the table for his family.'
'Within weeks, Lyman had sufficient responses to identify the town, the street, the house and even one of the girls pictured in her school uniform. Then, in a final breakthorough, he identified the family and now plans a trip to New York to return their photos. 'I want to tell them how the story unfolded and what a gift they have provided by allowing so many people to lift their spirits and to feel good about those days, 'he explained.
Ok, so maybe Michael Lyman saw those old Kodakchrome slides through rose-tinted spectacles where the past always looks wonderful. Even so, there is an amazing sense of authenticity in every shot.
If you have a problem associating authenticity with Kodakchrome's typically vibrant colours, remind yourself that these slides are the actual film that passed through the camera. They are from the days when the camera did not lie. Family photos were not manipulated on a computer beyond recognition. What you got was what you saw.
Many cassettes of long-lost Kodakchrome also passed through my Voiglander Vito C. Now my digital camera yields predictable results instantly, but in doing so it manages to remove some of the fun, most of the uncertainty and, I suspect all the future nostalgia.
Article by Colin Edwards in the Back Chat section of Amateur Photographer magazine. In the 30th July 2011 issue.
* To read more about Michael Lyman's story, visit: http://rochester.ym.com and search for 'Michael Lyman.'
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment