So I Have This Wonderful Old Photograph...

If it were mine, I think I would add more border. Only because the bus is cropped so tightly. Also, I would clean up the dust and scratches, at least the major ones. It's really a matter of personal preference, though. Some people prefer the aged look. It's a really cool photo. :-)

i'd need to see it up close, hopefully the will understand its an old shot. i would crop it and clean whatever scratches and dirt you can find on there. tell them where it's located etc. you may want to price it to 48 though.


---Mike Savad

Since you've asked, if it were mine, I would clean it up and trim off the dead space. I feel that you are reinterpreting a piece of history, and don't have to be true to the original. It's now yours to do with as you please. I like your image, and I especially like the tilt to it. Gives it a lot of dynamic energy, the thrill of the shot at the time.

I'm a huge fan of restoring old transportation images:

Mike, by "price it to 48" you mean don't offer anything larger than 48" right? That was my plan.

So far I think you guys are right. Clean it, crop it, maybe do an unadorned version and one that I drive the levels around a bit.

The photo had no information on the back. I wonder if I could do some sleuthing from the business names in the shot... Of course it could be New Orleans, but the streetcar that the book was named for stopped running in '48. (clearly, this is a bus) There is a hotel Monteleone in New Orleans though...

Edit: It is New Orleans, it's the bus that replaced the original Desire streetcar line. That makes me like it even more.

Cynthia,

I might square it up and lose that tailgate/bed of the pickup truck. Needs some editing, then I would paly with a few "vintage" borders, but leave the scratches or add a texture,

Rich

yeah. at 6000px you can go to a 72" or so.

my grandfather was known to liking photography. so i was hoping to find some gems in all the images he caught. he only had a few, and none from a street. which was disappointing. i found a few to my liking - he was in the war as a medic so he has behind the scenes type shots, but all the images varied in quality. i did the best to "Mike it up" and add depth to them.


i haven't cleaned them all yet - it takes just way too long, but i have others. this one was cleaned a lot then shaded and i created some atmosphere. it's on the small side, and i'm hoping it will print, hoping i can explain to them that it was an old image, and it won't get better than that.

---Mike Savad

Mike I like that a lot! Have you considered colorizing it? I know it's not of the time period, but I think if you Miked that image up with some gentle translucent color, (Like they did in the 20s and 30s) it's could be really remarkable.

I have a treasure trove here: tintypes, prints on the back of glass, old bibles, 200 year old handwritten letters, family group shots from picnics at colorful places like "Poverty Knob". My family goes WAY back here in the Southeast. Turns out my earliest settling ancestor founded a town that's not an hour from where I live now. I just discovered this last week!

i never really thought much about colorizing, i could never stay in the lines. i might play with this or others. i have stuff from italy during the mid 40's just after the war ended. i won't place the one where there are dead people hanging upside down. with a bunch of family shots that one made me do a double take. i have damaged buildings, but nothing easy to fix. and a number of behind the scenes - no one should be taking pictures kind of pictures - of stuff while in the back of a truck. but it's all real looking - just not digital sharp.

i have color stuff from san francisco from i think the 60's, but there are still cars from the 50's there. a snap shot, but you don't normally see cars from the 50's parked. stuff from the 60's of plymouth rock and dated clothing. there's a number of things, just have to get to it.

the oldest picture i found (though the collection is elsewhere now), was of my great, great, great grand father - i think it went back that far, it's from 1885 i think. basing on how he looked (like a freakin vampire), and his age. i got some info from ancestory.com only the free stuff, and only because i knew names.

---Mike Savad

Mike...cars last a lot longer in California...that might explain it. We don't have snow here in San Francisco, so no rusting, etc. People cruise around here in gorgeous cars from the 40s, 50s, 60s...restored and in perfect shape.

It's funny to read about the "old photos" from the 50s because to me they aren't old and I have lots of them posted.

Heck, I was already graduated from college and in the army when I took them.

Maybe I'll dig up some of my old ones from the 30s. I still remember holding that rectangular box and looking down into that small glass viewer and snapping the shutter.

Guess everything is relative.

Cynthia, I'm with Rich: lose the truck.

maybe, but you can tell by looking at the shot it looks that old. of course now i can't find it... i may have deemed it too snap shot like.


this was my grandmother, my father is on the right. i may have to revisit that one to clean a little noise i see. this was miked up a lot though, there was much stuff in the background. i have a shot of where my father went to summer camp - they hated the place. but their playing baseball, and in the background there are cards from the 40s and 50s.

i was born in the 70s, and that's when color was invented. before that everyone was black and white.


---Mike Savad

Desire is the name of a street. Not sure if the streetcar was ever named Deisire or if it was just the destination. I would just clean it up a bit and extend the white border a bit. A lot of old scanned photos are sold on FAA. I would not worry about it having a bit of grain or defects. I would imagine the reviewers allow for the age and vintage value. You will have to be the judge of how big you can go . 48 sounds big but maybe it can.

Yep, Desire is the name of a street. "A Streetcar Named Desire" is a very famous play and later a movie.

I am going to veto the removal of the truck. It would be very difficult to clone that out, and cropping would result in a square image with not so great composition. I also don't want to change it too much, because it's an authentic moment in my Dad's life, and we were never very close. I know that sounds sentimental, maybe overly so, but the truck stays. :)

It's your snapshot. You can do whatever you want with it.

Ain't life grand.

Maybe you can offer it a couple different ways for different tastes. A clean restored version and a untouched one.

I too would leave the truck's tailgate in the shot. It adds to the "authenticity" of the picture. A grab-shot moment in the
life of one of America's greatest cities.

Also, I can see it used in an ad for perfume or maybe a travel poster type of image. You could play with it as backround
for various "faux-vintage" ads or post cards or something. Even tint it or colorize it. Put your headphones on and listen
to a variety of jazz - old & new to get inspired.
"Desire by Cynthia" ...a new fragrance of old. :-)

“(T)he oldest picture (I) found (though the collection is elsewhere now), was of my great, great, great grand father - (I) think it went back that far, it's from 1885 (I) think.” --- Mike Savad

Well, at least they weren't relying on the “old” wet plate process then.

“1880: George Eastman, age 24, sets up Eastman Dry Plate Company in Rochester, New York. First half-tone photograph appears in a daily newspaper, the New York Graphic.” --- Source...
http://photo.net/history/timeline

That said, there are those that still use the wet plate collodion process.

I salute these people!

Meanwhile I miss working in a b&w film darkroom every day! LOL.



Meanwhile, Chynthia, I would not advise “squaring” the image. While nowadays such may be considered a trite trick, I submit that when you father made this photograph he not only knew what he was doing, he was on the cutting edge of the artistic photography group. The tilting of the image was then a novel idea!

The tailgate of the truck? I suggest you leave it. It has to do with framing, and perspective.

Not to mention that from what I can tell, your dad was very close to the tailgate of that truck, and was using a wide angle lens. (notice the “bending” of the back of the bus)

Yes, I think this is not only a wonderful old photograph, it was made by a man that absolutely knew what he was doing!

As far as the scanner question? I suggest that if you have the means to make what used to be known as a “copy negative”, or what is known today as a digital file, you do just that.

Of course the making of such is an entirely different subject of which has been discussed before on this discussion page.

Nevertheless, the more I examine this photograph your father made, the more I like it!

Cnythia,

What did you use for the scan? A basic document scanner or a photo scanner?

Here is one I have tried before and there are great reviews for it.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/985630-REG/epson_b11b210201_perfection_v550_photo_scanner.html

Not only can you get high quality scans from physical photographs, but you can also scan your negatives and slides.

It comes with software called Digital ICE. Here is a description from the site:

DIGITAL ICE removes the appearance of dust and scratches as you scan

Something to consider, if you think you may have more of these to do. :)


Also, I would crop out your border. When the image prints, a 1" white border is left around for mating and framing.

Post it Cynthia. A very cool old piece that anyone who likes old stuff would buy. If they don't, it at least gives another glimpse into the past for some who have no clue!

My father took this one in Germany just after World War 2. I fudged around with it. The original is 2" x 1.5". Developed in a make-shift darkroom. I couldn't pass by the story it tells.

You could straighten the perspective and do something creative with the white areas that are created
by doing so.

Love the Remnants Of War shot, Glen.

Thank you Walter. I spent lots of time on that one. My father passed away last year just a month after I posted that image. I also have this one from his portfolio that I worked on and had printed for his Memorial Service.