Great picture and story. I need to take a cross country trip in my 40 standard coupe before it's to late.
I had a similar large photo of my great aunt standing next to a 46-48 Chevy parked in one of those trees. They drove cross country from Michigan.
“The past is a foreign country: They do things differently there.” L.P Hartley The Go-Between Beautiful picture. Thank you for sharing it and keeping it safe.
Glad you're back at the writing desk. I'm looking forward to a report from the build garage. Great photo and article. It transports me from my reading chair to . . . .
It's motivation to get out and see what adventures wait for us beyond our back yard! Nice picture and great story. Thanks Joe
Having a fresh new to me 40 Ford I have visions of what's to come also. I love that for the Time the photo was taken it would appear that the Lady next to the 40 was not stuck in the past. The checkerboard handbag and horizontal Jail Bar skirt says to me, approach cautiously with respect. I think she was way ahead of the Normal Housewife of the times. At least that's what I'm going to think. Makes me Smile.
Hello, When I was growing up, I wondered why everyone else had a small Brownie camera to take photos of our baseball games, picnics, days at the beach and elsewhere. Then come to find out, my dad had a 4x5 Graflex Camera that he did take places and took some great photos. The one thing we noticed is that that size of camera takes a while to set up with the film cartridge, the alignment of the bellows and the pop out bulb flash if needed. It was not your simple camera that could take instant photos. So, most of our photos of our family adventures were taken as set ups. We all know about posing on a cliff, a beach or just in our front yard. Our dad’s camera just was not a point and shoot, but a set up and use a light meter, a fence or block wall for support or just his old rickety tripod. The photos were not easy to take on the spot as the Graflex Camera was heavy and intricate. Even when it was open and set up, it was still difficult and time consuming. Sometimes the moment was lost. We always wondered why our dad just did not buy a high quality rangefinder camera like a Nikon or Leica, instead of lugging around a huge press camera? The 3 x3 Kodak Brownie original(s) photo was cut down to fit into a photo album horizontally. Hence, the look of a full size 8 x 10 format. Photo albums were the big thing and most families had a Brownie camera or two. Digitally, the originals were not able to be re-created in the 3 x 3 format. Too much was lost to the editing program when saved for the modern photo files. The small one was my wife's camera as a little kid-teenager, while the bigger Brownie Camera was their parent's family camera. They are still hanging around after all of these years… gathering dust. These two are from my wife's family. The small one was hers and she says that it was her companion throughout her early years through high school in the OC. The photo of the 1959 Chevy Wagon at the Salton Sea was taken with the big one. A Brownie Hawkeye box camera (Her mom and dad’s) My wife’s own Brownie Holiday box camera. (Both now reside on our granddaughter’s whole wall, living room, book case, alongside of most of our 50’s, 60’s, 70’s LP record collection) Our granddaughter's big wall bookcase + a camera collection + old LP records There would have been more photos in our film collection, but the huge Graflex Camera was just not a point and shoot anywhere camera. You could lug it around, but look like a newspaper photographer and take shots, but then the advance film pack on the back, the bellows focusing per estimated feet, etc all made a photos, not point and shoot. I did take one cl***ic photo of our mom and dad in Yosemite sitting on a short wall with the valley and half dome in the background. I have been searching for it since 1998 when we moved all of the photo albums out of the sold Westside of Long Beach house. My dad set it up and I used the little chrome metal shutter push ****on cord to take the photo. That was the only great photo I took as the “little kid” photographer. The Graflex Camera was too heavy to lug around. But, as usual, this photo that is missing was a “posed” photo set up. similar family Buick sedan, a first for our dad, a two toned 4 door sedan. On our family vacation to Yosemite and the region, this big old Buick sedan barely made it through the opening of the Wawona tree tunnel. But, was a big comfortable sedan for those long road trips with two boys playing in the back, roomy seat. Note: our parents were not the kind of parents that put up photos of the family all over the house. but, there was one of me sitting in the living room reading a book. I was proud of the photo I had taken of my parents in Yosemite with that huge camera. We had the vacation photo that I took with the big Graflex Camera in Yosemite in a frame sitting on my student desk until we moved.
Hey @jnaki I have always appreciated this particular photograph of Ansel Adams, back when he was shooting large format photography, the very cool Buick station wagon also made a great platform to shoot from. Back when I used to drive my 46 IHC, modified Firetruck, cross country to Oshkosh, for the airshow, I would also use it as a platform to shoot from.
Hey 41, Yes, those cameras were popular for newspaper photographers. When anyone sees a m***ive news flash from those 50s days, one usually sees a Graflex Camera with a huge chrome flash attached. Those photographers used the big cameras just like the telephoto lens and 35mm full size cameras they used in the 60s and the digital full size units of today. (Fast and easy to use.) But the one thing that was special, those chrome flash attachments used these large bulbs and when it flashed, IT FLASHED! Then there was a ****on on the chrome tube to eject out the bulb. Before the ecology movement hit the scene, there were those used bulbs laying all over the press photo op area. I used to see how far those bulbs would go across the room. It was like shooting a cork pop gun. 3-4 feet was about the average distance, into a cardboard box. But, they were expensive, so I used the old bulbs my dad collected from the previous day's camera usage. Jnaki Yes, as the years rolled on into the 35mm film camera era, I always noticed the terrific Ansel Adams photographs. Now, talk about posed shots. Who the heck could carry around a m***ive 8x10 camera to family photo events? Perhaps for a "Quinceanera" celebration. But that camera was the epitome of big negative holders, film and cases. It would be like holding an Amazon delivery medium size box under your arm to lug it around for a candid shot...NOT! Plus, using that black, light tight shade that covered the back of the camera and over your head. Those big box cameras of the press size and Ansel Adam's 8 x 10 were impressive. But, he started with a simple Kodak #1 Box Brownie camera. Then of course he made his photographs famous with the high dollar H***leblad cameras. YRMV
Thanks J, great read to start the day! I'm the same way when I look at a car in person. To sit in it and wonder who has sit in the same seat, who was the person that bought the car new and the excitement they felt of having a new car. If the car could talk, what kind of stories could it tell. I love these old cars
I used to have a framed picture of my family there, but I wanted to switch things up a bit. A few months ago, I got a digital picture frame from Nixplay, and it’s been a game changer. Now, instead of just one photo, I get to enjoy a whole slideshow of memories, and I can update it whenever I want. It’s been great for keeping my desk feeling fresh. Plus, it’s a nice way to look back at all the trips and family moments I would otherwise forget.
This is one of the things that bums me out about the digital age. In years to come so much of our history is going to be lost as most all pictures are digital these days. unless I make an effort to print pictures that are on my phone when I’m gone (or my phones gone for that matter) then so are my pictures for future generations to discover. I’ve heard there’s an app you can use to select X number of photographs to have printed every month. This post reminds me that I should look into that, for posterity sake ☺️
Hello, Unless you have a muscle builder's arms and legs, good luck in preserving your printed photos in a family hot rod album or two or three. In the recent fires, that shows what is valuable and what should be in your "go" bag. Memories can last forever if preserved correctly. Old photos are great to flip the pages of a album. But, please don't think that is preserving photo for the future. One emergency later, fire or even a household sprinkler dousing will ruin your day. We have a ton of old albums from our childhood days. OKC to the Westside Of Long Beach. If our son had not requested to save his photo albums in a fire at his house, we would not have expanded that idea to preserving our own photos for the future of our family, namely, our granddaughter. He was preparing us as grandparents what is important for his family history. We knew, but let him ramble on… But, since he told us that. I told him... Good luck at me or along with my wife to carry outside, 15 photo albums about two-three inches thick. Our granddaughter was first in line for safety, along with my wife. Then at the time, our little dog. But, I am fairly strong, but don't wish to carry downstairs 15 photo albums in an emergency. There are more important things to worry about. So, we digitized all of our own photo archives into digital formats. All color slides were neatly put in the slide carrier and scanned. In a few seconds, it was now on a hard drive location. The next set was waiting for me to put in the slide holder and in a second or two, scanned again… and so on. A box of 36 slides did not take very long. A bunch of Kodak 140 slide trays took a little longer, but they are all finished and preserved for eternity, for all future generations. Once those were scanned, then the 3x5 old photo and the 4x6 format photos were scanned in color and B/W by placing them on the gl*** screen. A pile of printed photos did not take long, either. Now, when there are any photos from the family holidays or vacation road trips, they are digitized in their respective folders. They are waiting for the time if and when we need color photos of our granddaughter’s yearly activities in a journal or album for her own use. "And, with the included Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software, you can easily convert scanned do***ents into editable text. Use the scanner's four customizable ****ons to instantly scan, copy, scan-to-email and create PDFs. The V600 Photo also features Epson's exclusive ReadyScan LED technology for increased productivity and energy efficiency. The Epson Perfection V600 Photo - quality and versatility at an affordable price." FEATURES Create extraordinary enlargements from film - 6400 x 9600 dpi for enlargements up to 17" x 22". Scan 4 35mm slides, 12 35mm negatives and medium-format up to 6x22cm panoramic film - built-in Transparency Unit. Remove the appearance of tears and creases from damaged photos - DIGITAL ICE for Prints. Remove the appearance of dust and scratches from film - DIGITAL ICE for Film. Restore faded color photos with one touch - Epson Easy Photo Fix included. Achieve greater productivity - convert scanned do***ents into editable text with ABBYY FineReader Sprint Plus OCR. Quickly complete any task - instantly scan, copy, scan-to-email and create PDFs with four customizable ****ons. Energy-efficient LED for fast scans - exclusive ReadyScan LED light source means no warmup time, faster scans and lower power consumption. Jnaki Perhaps, everyone has their own list of important stuff, but if one is talking about preserving family history, photo albums are cool, but not when they are gone in an emergency disaster. Our scanner was geared for the most amount of color slides, color photos and B/W photos we had saved. But, for most folks, any multi-use color printer/scanner should work. The more photos there are, you might overwork a simple inexpensive scanner/printer. But, scanner/printers will scan to save photos to digital files. We have two 5tb hard drives filled with all of our family photos dating back to 1946 through the present, including m***ive amounts of videos and photos of our granddaughter growing up. To us, those are priceless and all we need to grab on our way out of the door is granddaughter, wife, go bag and car keys. Everything else is replaceable and only worth it in its present state. But, cherished memories can not be saved from 15 to 20 photo albums laying around or on an office shelf. Our lives matter. Those digital photos are saved for posterity in our 5 tb hard drives that are safely in our “GO BAG.” A couple of years ago, our granddaughter was visiting us for a sleep over. Some time around 9 pm, she heard noise outside of our house and neighborhood. A giant fire had started in a close by dry brush area and was creeping up the hill towards our homes. The fire trucks were there and the sheriff’s cars were cruising the neighborhood ready to warn everyone about an imminent escape. We looked out of our door and we could see flames shooting up the hillside slopes. But, a “go bag” was ready along with what we needed in an instant. At the time is was granddaughter, wife, little dog and the me in the other car with the go bag safely inside. The fire got put out and no one was ordered to evacuate. But, again, personal property is replaceable. Historic family photos and notes/journals are not. So, every couple of weeks, the 5b hard drives are updated with the latest saved photos and journal writings along with the important stuff scanned and copied to the portable drive. 5tb is now the standard and it will take a long time to fill it up with other items to save in the future. But, there are duplicate files in our “go bag.” YRMV Here is a link to a recent post on the HAMB: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/through-bob-rod****’s-lens-a-grainy-glimpse-from-75-years-ago.1329499/#post-15477490
I also have an old-time photo or two on my old roll top & like previously mentioned picked them up at a swap meet antique stores etc. I can still grasp a wisp of the old mohair in my parents 38 Ford, & reminisce about a summer trip or two in the later acquired 42 Plymouth sedan.
The Jalopy Journal
