Swedish Portraits 7

 

The last of the Swedish portrait series.  Click on Swedish CDVs to see the rest.  I saved this one for the end because it was the only one with anything written on it.  It can be hard to read, but "Grandma & Grandpa Erikson."  Grandpa is wearing a medal, but from which war?  Or is the medal military?  It could have been for years of service as a postman.  I guess we'll never know. 

In the Backyard With Grandpa

Or maybe a creepy uncle, I can't tell.  Dated SEPT 1958.

The Here, There, and Everywhere Collection-Old Granddad

No, not the whiskey.  I've got to say, the lady in the one picture looks a bit manic.  Perhaps granddad had to take the kid away for his own safety. 

Click on The Here There and Everywhere Collection in labels for information on the title and to see lots of other photos from the lot. 

The Here, There, and Everywhere Collection-The Too Big Album Page 2

Continuing with the album page that was too big to fit on my scanner, the bottom row of pictures.  What's fascinating to me is the difference in clothing.  The grandparents still seem to dress in the nineteenth century, with the ground length dress and frock coat, while the youngest woman is wearing a leg baring dress.  Note the difference in height between the two women in the first picture. 

As usual, click on the here there and everywhere collection in labels for everything else from the collection.

The Here, There, and Everywhere Collection-The Too Big Album Page 1

As a rule, when I'm posting an album page, I like to show the whole page for position, and then do a scan of each individual photograph. This page, however, was too big to fit on my scanner, so I've been forced to do it in sections.  For the record, this the top row of pictures from a single page. 

It looks like a family get together at the family homestead, and when this was taken, it's quite possible that this land had been in the hands of this particular family from the homesteading era.  If nothing else, the grandparents were almost certainly old enough to remember the Civil War, Custer and the battle of The Little Big Horn.  The youngest woman in the top photo may have been born before the first airplane flight, and probably lived to see man walk on the moon.  Quite a span of history.

As usual, click on the here there and everywhere collection in labels for more pictures and an explanation of the series title.

Light and Dark

As a former professional photo printer, I'm rather fascinated by how these two photos were made.  Did the lab have some sort of  automatic printing machine that pulled the film through the enlarger,  making all the prints, using the same setting, or did the printer look at the negs, make a quick guess as to the proper exposure length and F-Stop?  Whatever the method, the results left something to be desired.

The labs I worked in were considered custom labs.  I'd put a neg in the enlarger, make an exposure, dodge and burn as necessary, and keep working until I got a good all around print.  Every once in awhile, we'd get a client who asked for a machine print.  We didn't have any printing machines like the ones found at the Photo Hut, so I'd put the whole roll on a light table, make an estimate and then print every frame the same.  In time, I became so practiced that I could get a good custom print on the first couple of tries, and I could get that good middle ground estimate for an entire roll with little more than a quick glance.

Now, there is always some confusion as to why F-8 has a larger opening than F-16.  It's quite simple, F-Stop stand for fractional stop.  F-8 is one eight the focal length of the lens, and F-16 is one sixteenth.

Stamped on the back, "A Madson Print, DEC  31, 1935, CHICAGO."  

Choking Grandpa

Is it just me?   The high collar, the stiff pose, the blank, lifeless stare.  Doesn't Grandpa look as if he's about to keel over?

Written on the back, "Rhoda."  Processing stamp on the back dated "Week Ending Jan. 28 1956."

Fast Times

What a pair.  The old guy, so proud of his beer, and dark beer at that.  And the little girl, no doubt a grand daughter, poised to pedal away once the proud parent, and somewhat embarrassed child, can work that damn camera.  Please don't let our precious little girl grow up to be a drunkard like dear old dad.

Written on the back, "At Dax Garage."

Visiting Grandpa, The Travelers Collection

I think that bobbed hair is from the twenties.  Just think, she probably lived to see a man walk on the moon.  Grandpa could remember a world before airplanes.

Click on travelers collection in labels to see everything.

Dancing Grannies

Crazy, dancing grannies shuffle off to Buffalo on the steps.  Well, they would if they could.

Sitting At Christmas

Demented Grandpa prevents little Emily from playing with new doll.  Bad Grandpa, bad!  Dated "DEC 70"  No other information.