Funny, great point! I never got dad to talk much about the war, but he still had a lot of old negatives in a trunk. I never got to print any, but I did see several graphic negatives. Wish I could find them!

Thanks for correcting...Reconnaissance

My dad was an Army Staff Sargent serving in Belgium and France with 42nd Rainbow during the”Battle of the Bulge”. He said he would receive “drops” of aerial negatives that he would develop and print in his Jeep mounted darkroom which he would send up to forward command for strategic planning.

Does anyone have any info on this practice?

How often does Aunt Sally get Uncle Joe to get dressed up except for a wedding? I often set up a backdrop off to the side at wedding receptions to do "Family Portraits" when I had "down time" during reception/meal/dance time. I usually did individual, couple, and small family portraits. These images were uploaded to the online bridal album under "Family Portraits". My portraits gave me extra revenue for the same time, and even occaisionally were the last portrait taken and used in obituaries. I provided these images at no charge as a service when requested.

I did not allow family members or friends to "shoot" along beside me...I excluded that in contract. If challenged, I explained that I had invested a lot of money in lighting and equipment, plus the extra time it made guests wait! I politely but assertively stated to the audience that they need to wait until I was done to take any "photos" (I did "portraits"). I slaved my lighting by radio so even if they shoot they wouldn't get the portrait quality I had. I have heard of pro's sabatoging amateurs by placing an inconspicous flash pointing back at camera to "blow out" their images...a bit mean-spirited, but effective.

I encouraged the couple to eliminate the "receiving line" after the wedding to give more time for after service formals and limit the guest waiting time. Photos under these conditions hardly ever made it to the album or print orders due to inability to catch interactions with the guests. I encouraged the couple to do "walk-arounds" to each table to allow mini-group shots which were more intimate.

I imaged as "Memories by Michael" in the Western Kentucky region for 16 years. I retired as a film photographer, even though all my processing, marketing, and sales were in digital format. I retired due to deteriorating health with arthritis. My strength was developing a rapport not only with the couple, but the family, clergy, and each of the vendors. I made sure to offer free promotional images to vendors featuring their products, which naturally got me referrals from multiple sources. I created personalized websites for the couples to see previews, with web ordering of images for direct mailing. Couples were involved in creating and composing their albums.