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Long ago and far away...
Nov 9, 2013 18:25:45 #
This picture is from back east and dates from 40 years ago 1972. I was working on an assignment. Mr. Cunningham had at this time maintained his forge and blacksmith business for almost 70 years. He worked alone, and always had a line-up of farmers and others waiting for his services. But the city reached out and out and still further out and eventually surrounded his smithy. When he died, not long after this picture was taken, his building was torn down in the name of progress. The site is now occupied by a Super 8 motel.
The forge was lit by a single fly-specked bulb, maybe 100W but more likely a 60, whose aura you can see in about the top middle of the frame. In those days I had a steady hand and the hand-held exposure was in the neighborhood of 1/8 at f/4.5 with a Leica M4 and a Summicron f/2 35mm. Tri-X rated @ 200, developed in D76 1:1. Negative recently scanned and digitized. Those were the days!
The forge was lit by a single fly-specked bulb, maybe 100W but more likely a 60, whose aura you can see in about the top middle of the frame. In those days I had a steady hand and the hand-held exposure was in the neighborhood of 1/8 at f/4.5 with a Leica M4 and a Summicron f/2 35mm. Tri-X rated @ 200, developed in D76 1:1. Negative recently scanned and digitized. Those were the days!
Nov 9, 2013 18:32:04 #
Sunwriter wrote:
This picture is from back east and dates from 40... (show quote)
Is there a nearby museum that would like a print of this to display? It's an interesting piece of local history that probably very few have seen.
Nov 9, 2013 18:32:59 #
Nov 9, 2013 18:38:33 #
Nov 9, 2013 18:45:23 #
Sunwriter wrote:
A dying art - - wonder if anyone knows how to do that stuff any more - - Will be an invaluable skill when TEOTWAWKI hits.This picture is from back east and dates from 40 years ago 1972. Mr. Cunningham had at this time maintained his forge and blacksmith business for almost 70 years. He worked alone, and always had a line-up of farmers and others waiting for his services.
Reminds me of my Grandfather's basement - - he was a metal worker - - put the HVAC duct work in the Nautilus in New London CT.
Nov 9, 2013 18:52:09 #
Nov 9, 2013 18:52:53 #
Sunwriter wrote:
It was in an exhibit, locally there, and seen by thousands.
:thumbup: :thumbup:
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Nov 9, 2013 18:57:53 #
Oops! "Seen by thousands" sounds boastful and egoistic. It wasn't meant that way. Only to say that it was seen at the time by a lot of folks and wasn't hidden away as a personal picture.
Nov 9, 2013 18:59:08 #
Sunwriter wrote:
Oops! "Seen by thousands" sounds boastful and egoistic. It wasn't meant that way. Only to say that it was seen at the time by a lot of folks and wasn't hidden away as a personal picture.
I didn't read it that way, Sunwriter. It's wonderful that you shared this. :P
Nov 9, 2013 19:50:38 #
Wonderful shot. D76 1:1 ...I am not sure I miss the mess, but the time spent alone in the darkroom was always relaxing.
Nov 9, 2013 20:15:14 #
Excellent! I love this photo. I'm glad that Mr. Cunningham wasn't around to see his shop knocked down.
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Nov 9, 2013 20:21:48 #
Really great image. I remember working with Tri-X film when I had a darkroom in high school. Them were the days.
Nov 9, 2013 22:06:48 #
Sunwriter wrote:
This picture is from back east and dates from 40... (show quote)
WOW! Great shot, great story. Love the photo shot like it is, but there are at least 3 other shots that could be cropped out of the large image.
Keep up the good work. :thumbup:
Al
Nov 9, 2013 23:03:08 #
Thanks, Al. Cropping wasn't my thing. I'd estimate that about 99% of my work in those days was "print-as-shot." I was pretty zealous about not giving up any real estate on those wee negs. I was also (in those days, you understand) pretty sure that croppers weren't doing their job at the viewfinder. But that was "those days." I've been corrupted lately.
Nov 9, 2013 23:42:55 #
Sunwriter wrote:
Thanks, Al. Cropping wasn't my thing. I'd estimate that about 99% of my work in those days was "print-as-shot." I was pretty zealous about not giving up any real estate on those wee negs. I was also (in those days, you understand) pretty sure that croppers weren't doing their job at the viewfinder. But that was "those days." I've been corrupted lately.
:thumbup:
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