Friday, April 15, 2016

CONTACT SHEET...








Remember SLR cameras?
Film?
Negatives?
And remember contact sheets?
         
Seems like light years ago, but I still have a few buried in a cardboard box in my upstairs closet; this is a four-shot strip from a contact sheet made nearly fifty years ago.

I am twenty-two years old; a long-haired hippie with a gold ankle bracelet (I no longer have all that hair, but I still have the ankle bracelet) and a handsome boyfriend (I still have him in my life, too) who took these shots in, roughly, 1968.

The strip is faded, for sure, and it curls along both long sides.

It’s hard to tell what’s what:
          The first shot is of me and one of my dogs, a total mutt named Ron; he had a good chunk of yellow lab in him, but the yellow was nearly white and so he simply disappears into the background. There’s a coffee cup in the foreground by my arm, and, in my upraised right hand, a Winston filtered cigarette;


         The second is interesting (on the reverse of this shot, David wrote “legs,” which might give you an idea of what was on his mind in 1968); my gold bracelet is on my left wrist (it still is); it’s one of the few photographs of me that illustrates the presence of Native American DNA that showed up in my genetic testing;
         
In the third, I seem to be trying to stand on my head (‘nuff said); and the fourth has some kind of bizarre shading effect—half my face is light; the other dark. Beats me…

Hmmmm.

Maybe it wasn’t a Winston I was smoking—after all, it was the 60s!

16 comments:

  1. Oh those happy, carefree days! I enjoyed your photos and the memories. I was 20 in 1968, with no real idea of what life held in store for me. I wouldn't change anything, but I would like to go back and live it all again.
    Thanks for your visit today and for taking the time to look at all the photos.

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    1. They were happy and carefree, weren't they? And, like you, I had no idea what life would be like -- what a wonderful journey it has been so far!

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  2. I love contact sheets and the thing I like most of all about Lightroom as a digital programme is that it almost replicates contact strips. Great photos with such a feel of the time they were taken.

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    1. I don't know Lightroom, but then, I'm a Luddite -- got dragged into this computer stuff kicking and screaming. I'm still working with limited knowledge, but enough to get me where I need to be now!

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  3. And the moon was in the seventh house.......etc., etc. You looked cooler than cool. Amazing that you still wear the bracelet.

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    1. And Jupiter aligns with Mars, etc.! Yes, still have the bracelet; given to me on my 21st birthday by my parents!

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  4. So neat to remember those days, when "Hair" was a play as well as what everyone wore LONG! Great contact sheet, and you must have done some of your own light room stuff to have made it yourself.

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    1. I don't remember doing the darkroom work, but somebody did, for sure. The photos were MUCH clearer 50 years ago, that's for sure -- somehow they've faded!

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  5. Those were the days! Long hair and ankle bracelets. I never had the ankle bracelet, but it was the only time I wore my hair long. Happy memories.

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    1. I'm amazed how much our hair got in the way, and yet we still wore it long. I was pretty skilled at tying it in a slipknot at the back of my neck!

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  6. Glad you explained what those photographs were about, as only the legs one is really clear, but clearly they bring back great memories for you. Those were the days!

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    1. They are great memories, Jo! But the real reason for posting it is that it was the only thing that came close to that poly-thing that Alan set us up with!

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  7. Fun shots! I used to love making contact prints in my darkroom. Sadly for some photos that's all that remains. Negatives and prints are long since gone. I'm glad you have these.

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    1. I like negs/prints so much better than this digital stuff...and darkroom work was fun -- loved watching the image develop as I tipped the tray back and forth...

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  8. That 'legs' picture was a great shot. I'm so glad we all, at one time or another, feel comfortable sharing photos of ourselves when we were young as it's not only fun, but reveals a bit of our personalities as well. :)

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    1. Thanks, Gail! It IS revealing, sometimes...but we're all on level playing fields now (that's the best part about getting older, I think).

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