Proof Sheets

 

I spent decades working in photo labs, specializing in black & white.  I processed tens of thousands of rolls of film and made proof sheets from them.  A proof sheet is made by placing the negatives directly on a piece of paper, then adding a sheet of glass to ensure good contact, and finally exposing them to light.  It looks like someone cut these two frames from the proof, and I think, 127 film. 

The Canal

Same negative size, same contact print, same single weight matte paper, so even though it's not the same people and subject matter, it has to be by the same photographer.  With the boat in the background and the dirt berm it has to be a canal.  That doesn't help with a location.  There are canals like this all over the world.  The workers pictured may work on the canal or may work on the boat. 

Click on Triangular Plan in labels.  Hopefully I'll get back out to the store where I found the photos from this and the previous two posts and find some more.   If not, so it goes.

Ethel

As promised, the third and last real photo postcard from the Philippine (?) envelope.  No, I can't be 100 % sure that all three photos from this small envelope of cards are from the Philippines, but this one looks more  a sure bet than the last one.  There is some information written on the back, "Ethel, one of old pose," but that doesn't give a true location.  Obviously, it's the clothes that do not say North America, so considering the Carving P.I. label from the first card, well why not jump to the conclusion.

Now, for those who have wondered about the "AZO" that is often seen around the stamp block on photo post cards.  The first two cards from this mini series had an "ARTURA"  identifier, while this one has "AZO."  So, what's the difference?  To start with, both are Kodak products.  Artura was made by Kodak from 1905 to 1921, and while the label is almost always seen on pre-manufactured postcard stock, the paper was actually available in a variety of formats.  It was usually used as a contact paper, and since Kodak and a number of early camera and film companies  made products that yielded a negative that was postcard sized, it was a natural for the market.  It tended to produce images with a very slightly green tone.  Artura was discontinued after Kodak lost an antitrust suit, and had to either divest or eliminate some of it's products.

Azo, was also a slow paper best used for contact prints, and like Artura, it came in a variety of sizes.  Azo was noted for having a wide tonal range and could  easily give rich blacks and hold highlights, making it a favorite with amateur printers and photo labs alike.  Azo was originally manufactured by The Photo Materials Co. in Rochester, New York in 1898.  Kodak bought the company the same year, and kept Azo in production until 2005.  It was the longest continuously manufactured photographic paper in history.  In one of the photo labs where I used to work, we would make contact prints  from 8X10 negatives on Azo.

Happy Cows

Remember the California Milk Commission commercials about happy cows and happy milk?

Anyway, I know a lot of vegan, animal lovers, animal rights types and they're always telling me about how intelligent animals are, almost always comparing animal intelligence to human intelligence.  Having grown up in a small rural town, having worked on farms, and being an avid hiker backpacker who has seen plenty of animals up close, I always point out that we are all intelligent in the way we need to be to survive, and it's foolish to compare people and, let's say cattle.  Still, I can't help but wonder, is the one cow saying to the other, "I hate being all penned up in a zoo.  Ah, to run free."  While the other replies, "Well, we're not being eaten here, so stop complaining."  

Another contact print with glass negative from Toronto.  Perhaps the Toronto Zoo.

Christmas In California

I don't know how well it reads on a computer screen, but the photo credit in the lower left corner, "LEONARD'S STUDIO, THIRD & BROADWAY, SANTA ANA, CAL"  Written below that in pencil, "Dec 25th 1925"  Let's be honest, there's a difference between playing in the snow and living in the snow.