Resurrecting a Wedding Album from the Ashes!
Mar 16, 2021 13:11:50 #
Every now and again I have to digitize and negative or transparency from my old customer files. Never a big deal, I can edit and print, etc. with no issues. A few colour negatives may have faded somewhat, perhaps due to faulty C-41 processing. Some early Varicolr emulsions were problematic but I can usually make corrections.
I always assured my wedding clients that I will preserve the negatives as long as possible. Reorders on really old files are rare, however, I have replaced some damaged albums and portraits over the years.
A few months ago, I received a call from a client whose wedding I photographed 12 years ago. The album was destroyed in a house fire- it was severely burned and water damaged as well. The remains of the album were retrieved by the fire department- they brought a pile of ash to my office, in a plastic bag, as if the ashes of a cremated family member. Fortunately, the file were located and all the negatives were well preserved and intact.
I had my work cut out for me. The original prints were custom-made by ME- carefully dodged and burned were necessary to make certain there was fine detail in the white of the wedding dress and the blacks of the formal attire. Weddig photographers, of course, are made under many varying conditions-daylight, flash, portable-on-camera and multiple flashes as well as studio flash, available light. Daylight balancedt film exposed under mixed lighting requires careful colour re-balance, etc, The album contained 75 prints, printed on Kodak "Portra" paper which had an exceptions dynamic range. I no longer operate my analog colour lab and the commercial labs only use the "Supra" paper that is of much higher contrast.
I have an older model Epson scanner- it took 2 days to scan all the negatives. I made a few tests and found that a "DPI", as if I was going to make 16x20s of each image, in reality only 10x10 were required. The scanning was very slow but it paid off. I cleaned eaxh negative with my trusty old static cloth (that orange thing that's impregnated with some chemical). I cleaned and dusted the glass as wlll- I still have my compressor and filter in the shop so there was little of no-cloning, healing or spotting to be done. The negatives were mostly well exposed so colour balance, contrast and saturation control were easy. And... my nightmare about the whites and blacks was unfounded. The attached Image are in the album and replaced at damage 20x24 wall portrait.
The couple was elated and the cheque for the insurance company arrived last week!
I always assured my wedding clients that I will preserve the negatives as long as possible. Reorders on really old files are rare, however, I have replaced some damaged albums and portraits over the years.
A few months ago, I received a call from a client whose wedding I photographed 12 years ago. The album was destroyed in a house fire- it was severely burned and water damaged as well. The remains of the album were retrieved by the fire department- they brought a pile of ash to my office, in a plastic bag, as if the ashes of a cremated family member. Fortunately, the file were located and all the negatives were well preserved and intact.
I had my work cut out for me. The original prints were custom-made by ME- carefully dodged and burned were necessary to make certain there was fine detail in the white of the wedding dress and the blacks of the formal attire. Weddig photographers, of course, are made under many varying conditions-daylight, flash, portable-on-camera and multiple flashes as well as studio flash, available light. Daylight balancedt film exposed under mixed lighting requires careful colour re-balance, etc, The album contained 75 prints, printed on Kodak "Portra" paper which had an exceptions dynamic range. I no longer operate my analog colour lab and the commercial labs only use the "Supra" paper that is of much higher contrast.
I have an older model Epson scanner- it took 2 days to scan all the negatives. I made a few tests and found that a "DPI", as if I was going to make 16x20s of each image, in reality only 10x10 were required. The scanning was very slow but it paid off. I cleaned eaxh negative with my trusty old static cloth (that orange thing that's impregnated with some chemical). I cleaned and dusted the glass as wlll- I still have my compressor and filter in the shop so there was little of no-cloning, healing or spotting to be done. The negatives were mostly well exposed so colour balance, contrast and saturation control were easy. And... my nightmare about the whites and blacks was unfounded. The attached Image are in the album and replaced at damage 20x24 wall portrait.
The couple was elated and the cheque for the insurance company arrived last week!
Mar 16, 2021 14:31:13 #
Amazing story with a happy ending! I doubt many photographers could have reproduced the book a dozen years later. It is to your credit that you could.
Mar 16, 2021 15:01:56 #
Great captures and rendering of the old negatives. Lots of work, but your archiving and eye for detail saved the day. Kudos.
Mar 17, 2021 08:09:33 #
Mar 17, 2021 09:01:57 #
Mar 17, 2021 11:53:50 #
Lynn 1509
Loc: Northern Illinois
Very professional images the day of the wedding and even more skilled reclaiming and reproducing them. Thanks for sharing. I enjoy your images and writing.
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