I recently acquired over 140 glass negatives, dating from the late 1890s to the early 1900s. Six measure 6 1/2" x 8 1/2" while the remaining are slightly smaller. While some of the negatives are in rough shape, they contain a tremendous amount of detail because of their large size. All of these negatives were shot in the studio, photographer and location unknown. Instead of using a traditional scanner to digitize these images, I am "scanning" them using my Mirrorless camera, mounted on a tripod, and shooting the negatives while mounted on a light box using a macro lens. This method is MUCH quicker, and I believe produces a much better image when properly done. Once I capture the digital negative image, I reverse the image and process using NLP (Negative Lab Pro) which converts the negatives into positive images and can apply various film "types" and looks to the images. and I continue the retouching and restoration in Lightroom and Photoshop. My goal in addition to repairing most of the damage and flaws in the negatives, is to maintain the original dynamic range of the images from the brightest whites to the darkest blacks, while preserving the detail. Along the way, I'm also experimenting a bit with colorizing some of the images - some seem to lend themselves more than others to this process. My ultimate goal here is to also add a video or tutorial explaining and showing my process from start to finish...
Wonderful series - I’m especially fond of the photo of the parents with a young child (boy?) with his arm around his father. Thank you for preserving history.
Oh, the history in the photos. Wouldn't it be fascinating to know who these folks were?
You have done a great job of giving these unknowns a place in time. Keep up the great work.
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© Kevin Giannini Photography