Where to learn, what books? maybe?? old techniques and processes

[EZzing]

I'm getting a box of old negatives of every size shape and type from my 85 year old father any day now. I picked up an enlarger and I'm going to put together my own darkroom in a few months.

These are really cool negatives depicting ranching and cowboy "stuff" and photos and negatives of old ranchers and farmers from the early 1900s. Most of them have my grandparents that homesteaded on the edge of the badlands.

Some of the photos show old farm equipment and relatives and their neighbors harvesting and doing horse and cattle round-ups.

Over the years I managed to aquire a box of again all different sized negatives of silent film stars as well as more modern ones like Laurel and Hardy, Marx Bros, old silent cowboy stars and vaudeville people and then really more modern from the 1930s to the 1970s showing movie stars on set. Some I have no idea who they are.

A lot of them came from movie magazines that went out of business 30 - 50 years ago.

I would like to print some and then I would like to hand color some of the family ranch and cowboy pictures in the manner they did way back when. Same with the early silent film stars!

My grandfather is in the cowboy hall of fame!

Any Advice??

Thanks

Bill

 

[terri]

Any Advice??

Yes - send them all to me!!!! I am green with envy, this is like a little piece of heaven arriving at your door. Wow!

Have you done much hand coloring, Bill? I've been at it for quite some time and also give beginner's workshops - I would be happy to help get you started if you need it. There is much to consider when printing for hand coloring - paper type and contrast considerations, for starters.

There are tons of books out there on older (read: alternative) photographic processes - aside from hand coloring, do you have a specific process in mind? Some of these books can be a bit heavy-handed and, unless you've dipped a toe into trying some of these processes, or handling certain chemistries, etc., it can be pretty intimidating.

I'm happy to make some general recommendations, but it may be overkill. I'm interested in knowing what you'd like to try.

(If you'd prefer you can shoot me a PM. Otherwise this thread will quickly become more suited for the Alt forum than here.)

You are going to have a ball.

 

[craig]

Pm me concerning shots of the Marx Brothers. They are very dear to my heart.

LOve ANd BAss

 

[EZzing]

Thanks for the replies.

I want to learn to hand color and have results that appear as close to how they were done way back when.

I really became interested in the hand coloring process when I was pretty young. I could tell it wasn't the same as the modern (1950-1960s) colored photos. My mother had a picture that was taken of my grandmother at age 17 or 16. It was the only picture she had of her mother as my grandmother died at age 19 in 1929 or 1930. It was damaged during a move in 1970 and I haven't seen it since. My mother is early alzheimers and isn't much help locating it. I remember it as being hand colored as my grandmother was the only colorful part of the photo.

I am putting together my darkroom equipment piece by piece and I'm
getting close.

If I could just cure my addiction to collecting cameras, it might go a bit faster.

HMMM to get this topic back to it's off topic status........ Does anyone collect old negatives with artistic or historical purposes in mind?

I bought a beseler 2 enlarger from a guy that bought a HUGE lot of glass plate negatives from the estate of a local photographer that had collected them himself.

When I was young I was in an old ladies yard that had a small green house that had been made with old glass negatives.. Geesh what a waste.

Bill

 

[terri]

You are so on target.

Check your PM's.