Hello! Just joined! Intro from an old photo lab rat....

[sachapp464]

Greetings from Boston!

I learned about photography and photo processing in high school back in the '80's and my first full time job was working the black and white darkroom at a professional photo lab. The best job I ever had! I processed everything from 35mm to 8x10 sheet film and printed everything from contact sheets to mulipanel murals.

Worked my way into film reproduction and photocomposition. Did everything from E-6 slide and sheet film processing, C-41 negative processing, proofing in b&W, EP2 color and Cibachrome, contrast masking, making internegatives and transparency duplicates, cutting rubyliths and dropping out backgrounds & adding text & graphics to photos for banners and displays....

Then came digital. I spent a few years learning how to use flatbed and drum scanners and working with Photoshop, Illustrator and QuarkExpress and outputting & printing large format multipanel murals during the bleeding edge '90s. But it just wasn't the same as working in the darkroom - and there certainly wasn't any going back. So I decided to go to school and leave my 15 year photo-imaging career behind.

Fast forward 20+ years and two more careers later and I find myself becoming the family photo archivist. I've inherited an intimidating amount of glass negatives from the 1890s and other medium format black and white negatives from the early 1900's to the 1920's as well as boxes and boxes of Kodachrome and Ektachrome slides from the '60s through the '90s. My current quest is finding a safe way to clean them, scan them and store them. That's why I'm here!

Also I'd be happy to offer advice to anyone thinking about going retro and needing advice on anything darkroom related or Photoshop & digital imaging related.

 

[Warfarin]

Welcome

 

[Jeff15]

Hello and welcome.....

 

[Space Face]

Hello.

 

[jeffashman]

Howdy and welcome!

 

[weepete]

Welcome to TPF!

 

[Robshoots]

Greetings and welcome to The Photo Forum.

 

[TmRm]

I have to ask. You've processed, printed, reproduced, photocomposed, proofed, masked, duplicated, cut, dropped, added, scanned, photoshopped, and archived almost every kind of photograph. Do you also take pictures?

 

[Space Face]

Hello lab rat😄😉

 

[sachapp464]

I have to ask. You've processed, printed, reproduced, photocomposed, proofed, masked, duplicated, cut, dropped, added, scanned, photoshopped, and archived almost every kind of photograph. Do you also take pictures?

Not seriously, except to the extent of product shots for my business and snapshots for my personal enjoyment. I figured out a long time ago, I'm not all that talented in the creative arts, as much as I wanted to be. But I'm a great technician!

 

[TmRm]

Not seriously, except to the extent of product shots for my business and snapshots for my personal enjoyment. I figured out a long time ago, I'm not all that talented in the creative arts, as much as I wanted to be. But I'm a great technician!

You're halfway there! Photography is a combination of art and technology. Some of us haven't even acquired one yet.