From The Archive : 1960's Selfie  by phil_howcroft

From The Archive : 1960's Selfie

I bought a new gadget yesterday from Amazon. An A4 lightpad, all of £22. I ordered it at 10.30 pm and it arrived at 12 midday next day. Free postage, no "express delivery" or anything like that. Good service !

I can put film negatives and slides on the lightpad, photograph them with a DSLR and then convert them from negative to positive in post processing.

So I dug out some random negatives from my late fathers collection and stuck this one of the flatbed lightpad. The negative said FP3 (that's Ilford), Fine Grain, Panchromatic. Google tells me is was ASA 125 (that's ISO 125) and discontinued in 1968

The photo would have been shot on my fathers leica, with a 50mm prime and developed and processed by himself.

As for me, this is shot in our "back street". My mother for some reason decided to put me in short trousers and then a pair a jeans on top ! That wasn't a fashion item of the time, I suspect it was because the fly / zip was broken on the jeans and "you are going to wear them" ! I think I may have been 9 or 10 years old in the shot although i cannot remember wearing long trousers at that age. I think this may have been the only appearance of the said broken trousers as I may have refused to wear them in this fashion style. I think my jumper looks like one of my Mum's "home knits" and I think I may have outgrown it !

Technically I think the photo is quite good, it has that film quality.

I took a photo of the negative" hand held" using a 50mm Pentagon vintage lens on my Sony A6000. I need to decide which is the best camera lens combo for recording the archive.




What a cutie pie! LOL! I'll bet you were a sweet kid. Very cool new gadget. Enjoy!
February 17th, 2021  
@marlboromaam thanks maggie, i look a bit geeky !!
February 17th, 2021  
@phil_howcroft I do NOT think you look at all geeky. Shy maybe!
February 17th, 2021  
Brilliant!!!
February 17th, 2021  
very sweet
February 17th, 2021  
Fantastic! I'm going to look into this gadget! I'm scanning a lot of things lately (in fact, next month may all be scans or photos of photos to get them digitized!).
February 17th, 2021  
Glad you got one! I don't have any old negatives to use on mine but some of my children to give it a try. This was very successful! What a cute young man! Those shiny wellies though!
February 17th, 2021  
That is the face of a rascal. This turned out beautifully. Enjoy that new toy!
February 17th, 2021  
This is fabulous, it reminds me for some odd reason of the cover of the book Angela's Ashes. I'm sure your childhood was not that terrible! I'd be interested to know where this is? Looks like my grandma's ginnel.
February 17th, 2021  
@yorkshirekiwi it really does!! Angela's Ashes
February 17th, 2021  
I think you look a little mischievous! Probably a requirement for photography:)
February 17th, 2021  
Well, now there's another gadget I must have! Such a great photo, loving that smile! ...and the zipper down. Classic!
February 17th, 2021  
That's a bargain for a lightpad! Might have to indulge too. This is a super cool shot and I did smile at your story.
February 17th, 2021  
I will have to look into a light pad! This is a brilliant blast from the past!
February 17th, 2021  
Fantastic. Love the brick backdrop. You'd think he'd have mentioned that your flies were down... lol.
February 17th, 2021  
Fav. You had the same naughty smile you have today.
February 17th, 2021  
7up. Right? Has that feel of documentary shot. but actually with much more personality. Your process in converting negatives worked well -- this is amazing quality. Inspiring!
February 17th, 2021  
I recognised you straightaway. You look proper shy here Phil,but also very happy, despite the zip in your jeans! Are you sure they were jeans - did they have jeans in those days? Your new gadget sounds very good, but I bet you have a lot of negatives to go through!
February 17th, 2021  
@busylady actually Judith you are right ...no jeans in those days 😀📷
February 17th, 2021  
LOVE this. Fav
February 17th, 2021  
It's fun to go back in time, your smile hasn't changed :-D
February 17th, 2021  
@lucycameron thank you lucy , much appreciated

@katarzynamorawiec awww that it very kind of you katarzyna

@jyokota junko thank you for your visit and i am pleased i managed to inspire you, that is a great compliment

@sangwann thanks dione, you are too kind

@fueast alison, thank you , a back street in Bolton is the backdrop of the bricks

@denful thank you granny and thanks for the follow too :)


@casablanca thanks Casa, good that you smiled at the story, I think I will slip in the occasional scan into my photostream , maybe an 80s, 90s and then by the 00's and 10's they should be digital

@aikiuser jenn that is so kind of you to say :)

@pusspup thank you so much for your visit and kind words
February 17th, 2021  
@brigette @yorkshirekiwi brigette , carole, thank you for your visit and kind words , this is shot in Bolton , Lancashire, it is the the "back street" to our house ! It looks pretty much the same today (well it did last time I was there in 2018)

@ljmanning laura thank you so much

@jackies365 Jacckie, thanks for your visit and support. Shiny wellies :) I cannot remember them being so shiny, maybe I'd been splashing in puddles just prior to the photo !

@darylo Daryl, thank you , I think you need a macro or zoomlens, so that the negative fills the frame. I am still experimenting with mixed results

@moviegal1 thank you for the "sweet" comment kerri :)

@brigette brigette, i am pleased you think so :)

February 17th, 2021  
I note your lovely smile already!
February 20th, 2021  
Oooo, look at the cheeky, looking up through your eyelashes smile! What an impish little cutie you were!
Your hand knit sweater takes me back; my Mum knitted all my sweaters and cardigans up until I started secondary school. That was back in the days when hand knitted garments were cheaper than shop bought ones.
February 24th, 2021  
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