Self-Portrait, 1983. This was a period where I went out at night in suits from the '40s. I went everywhere with my trusty Nikon, almost never without it. This was on my way into one of the est Seminars I used to partake in. (With all due respect to James Joyce whose autobiography's title I cribbed for this post.)
There are VERY few photos of me at my current age. I experiment with self portraits still, but they're not for public consumption until I need one for the About the Author page in my book...
These photos are scanned from contact sheets, hence the less-than-stellar quality. I never bothered to print 90% of the photos I shot, and today it's almost impossible to find anyone that prints from negatives anymore. The last time I called around and found someone that could print negatives, they wanted $10 PER PRINT (normal size) and a $30 service charge per order. I didn't even bother to ask what an 8x10 would cost, which is the size I would have wanted. I had more than 200 negatives all ready to be printed, thinking it would cost maybe $50 at the most for all of them. I should really invest in a dark room and some chemicals! Some times I wish it was 1983 again just for the prices of services. . .
I've scanned almost 100 photos like this from contact sheets from this period—from winter snow storms, to the scooter my uncle committed suicide on, to strangers I met on the road, and will post them here from time to time. I haven't decided if I'll use them in any of my art yet.
I bought a cannon scanner that scans from negatives and slides as well as from flat objects. You just put this plastic frame on the bed of the scanner, pull another piece out, and check a couple settings in the software and it's pretty fast, decent quality, and very easy. I also have a ton of negatives and slides from the 1980s and wanted to see them all again (and put some on my blog). It's the CanoScan 8800F and I got it at Amazon for pretty cheap.
ReplyDeleteGreat story. Even though I spent a month every summer with most of my relatives, we lived 600 miles away and I wasn't able to bond with most of them - my Dad's parents died when I was 3 years old - and I only have one memory of each of them. I have more memories from my Mom's side, though they were gone by my early teens. I'd cherish any opportunity to talk to them about their lives before I was around Consider yourself blessed. Life is a rollercoaster of good and bad, in the end it's how we survive the ride that makes the difference.
ReplyDeleteYour adorable !
ReplyDeleteGotta love those oversized glasses that were sooo in at the time. I was wearing prescription Porsche Designs in 83 - I see old photos now and laugh at how ridiculous I looked. Prefer the ones you had on ! LOL
Ish-thanks for the info. my HP scanner was SUPPOSED to scan negs, but the plastic holder isn't the right size for any negatives I have, and it doesn't even fit into the slot it's supposed to. On the other hand, I think I paid $20 for it at WalMart one night, lol. I'm going to check on your Canon online. I'm dying to scan negatives for real!
ReplyDeleteand Phantom: thanks! : )
CASEY, YOU WERE QUITE HANDSOME IN THE PICTURES. I LAUGH BECAUSE I SUPPOSE YOU MIGHT HAVE CALLED ME CUTE WHEN I WAS YOUNG BUT AS GRAMPS AND I WERE RIDING TO GET A HAMBURGER THE OTHER NIGHT, I SAID TO HIM,I FELT LIKE I LOOKED LIKE AND OLD HAG. HIS REPLY BACK WAS, WE ARE OLD. WE BOTH LAUGHED OUT LOUD. LIKE I'VE SAID ON ROSS' BLOG ONE TIME, THE ONLY WAY TO GET THE WRINKLES OUT OF MY BODY WOULD BE TO TAKE MY HAIR AND PULL IT STRAIGHT UP ON TOP OF MY HEAD AND MAKE IT INTO A TIGHT PONYTAIL. WHEN AN OLD WOMEN GETS OLD EVERYTHING HANGS SOUTH. LOL
ReplyDelete[THAT'S ALL FOLKS].
GRANNY
I can just see you and Gramps laughing out loud in your car on your way to eat! it must be very special to have someone in your life for so long, I can't even imagine it. There was always something more important going on in my life and career than finding the right guy. But then again, some of us are just loners I guess. I've always been single and can't really imagine sharing my life with someone. I don't know who I'll laugh with in years to come though!
ReplyDeleteWELL CASEY, YOU CAN LAUGH WITH MARE PHANTOMX AND ME ON THE BLOG. LOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLLOLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOL. THAT'S A BELLY LAUGH.
ReplyDeleteGRANNY
I will, I will! xxxxoooo
ReplyDeleteSuch excellent pics of you, you handsome dog!! I can't imagine you at 117 pounds though..wow...how CHIC you must have been..
ReplyDeleteI don't think I will ever get to visit new york city, but I have SUCH a craving for information about the City itself and the culture and life there. It seems as though it would be so different. Did you live in the city itself?
Also, what is a contact sheet?
Granny Lou, Gramps sounds just like my hubby...aren't they a hoot!
Have a great one.
mare
well I thought I was chic. most people just thought s-c-a-r-y! I used to have to safety pin both sides of my pants at the waist AND use a belt that i cut new holes in to keep it tight enough so my pants wouldn't fall down!
ReplyDeleteI commuted from Connecticut most of the time I worked there, but I also had an apartment once and I also rented a large room in the famed Chelsea Hotel for a six month period once. Manhattan is the best, and the worst, that the world has to offer. I've only been there twice in the past 10 years, although I still have friends I'm in contact with there. Part of me thinks I might just end up there again, but part of me realizes it probably won't happen. IN the best of all worlds, I'd have an apartment there and have my apartment here too.
oh, and a contact sheet is a sheet of photo paper that has had strips of negatives laid on it and then printed, you get all 36 negatives on one sheet usually, so you can see what you've shot before you actually go to the trouble of printing them. i'd say that 'thumbnail' images online are the closest thing. You see the tiny pic and then click on them to enlarge them. Same thing with a contact sheet, but instead of clicking on them, you'd have to find that particular negative and print it the size you wanted. They make tiny magnifying glasses called "Loops" to help you see the details in such tiny photos. Of course that's all old-school now, since most magazines and publishers use only digital cameras now.
ReplyDeleteMy first time to comment on your blog, love it. TampaGranny never steers us wrong. Don't you love how time and distance turns old photos into prized possessions. I will have to dig through my old photo box and post some of my old favorite to my blog as well.
ReplyDeleteYou are a very talented individual, thanks so much for sharing that part of you.
Granny is a PEACH isn't she? Welcome to my little place on the web, Annie! You'll know Mare too. Thanks for the kind words, and I hope you check my past posts out and come back again!
ReplyDelete-casey