[Leica] Unusual Photo Story: A Recovered Picture

[Don Dory]

You have to love the pocket protector in place even in a casual family
image.  Plus, who took the family photo; possibly the owner of the camera?

On Fri, Jul 6, 2018 at 8:39 AM Jim Shulman <jshulman at judgecrater.com> wrote:

> A few days ago a friend showed me his latest acquisition: a Vest Pocket
> Kodak Autographic camera, which looked to be from the 1920s or so.  There
> was a partially used roll of film inside, which he finished with some
> snapshots in the back yard.   Visions of long-gone flappers filled the
> imagination, saved on the film therein.
>
> I told him I'd process the film, but as with any photographic film that old
> getting any discernable images was a crapshoot.  I'd heard that the rule of
> thumb for developing old film is lose one f-stop per each decade.  When I'd
> loaded the film onto the reel (not so easy with film that had been coiled
> for decades!) and sealed the tank, I took a look at the backing paper.  It
> was decidedly more 50s-60s looking, and at the top include an exposure
> chart
> with a note that Verichrome Pan is ASA 125.  That would probably peg it
> late
> 1950s and later, and the look of the backing paper reminded me of 50s/60s
> Kodak product.
>
> With that in mind I figured that the usual VP developing time in D-76 1:1
> was about eight minutes, with each pushed stop adding about four minutes.
> Given five decades, that would be an additional 20 minutes, the total
> rounded to a half-hour.
>
> That seemed to do the trick.  When I removed the film from the tank two
> exposures taken decades ago were perfectly clear, but the recently taken
> shots a vague, blurry mess.  Perhaps the camera had deteriorated in the
> interim.
>
> The picture shows a family with clothes and hairstyles of about 1965.  Why
> they were using a 40 year old folding camera is an answer lost to the ages.
> I have no idea who they were, or the occasion of the picture.
>
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/focusit/vest+pocket+family+1+sm.jpg.html
>
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-- 
Don
don.dory at gmail.com