Picture Post, a humble tribute

[Peter Roberts]

Prompted by Bill's comments to my 'Accidental irony' post I thought of sharing this little effort that I put together years ago.

Picture Post was a weekly pictorial magazine that ran in the UK from 1938 to 1957. It was ground breaking in as much as it consisted of true photojournalism rather than merely using a few photographs to illustrate a story. The covers usually featured an eye-catching image especially chosen, perhaps even taken, with regard to the need to accommodate the Picture Post title banner in the top left corner.



Sorting through old negatives with a newly acquired scanner I came across this photo of my son coming down a vintage helter skelter in about 1990. It struck me that it had all the elements of a Picture Post cover.



A little bit of playing with simple tools (Picassa and the photo editor that came with the scanner) and I came up with this.



Crude and simplistic by today's standards but it served its purpose as a family joke, and still does.

 

[Gary R. Smith]

I have a copy of the Taschen bound version of Stieglitz's collected "Camera Work. "Camera Work" was published here between 1903 and 1917.

 

[Gianluca Drago]

I truly enjoy this game. It’s clear that this forum includes individuals like you all, with photographic archives full of remarkable surprises. Truly interesting and enjoyable!

 

[Bill Brown]

Love it! I think this is one of the fun aspects of photography in that it can inspire fun and crazy projects. This get's me to thinking about another real and imagined series I created from the 1970's. Hmmm, where are those prints?

 

[Bill Brown]

I dug out my 1979 photos from the 1960's to 2000's bin. There are four total but only had time right now to scan and work up these two. These prints were probably made in 1980. They were Type R prints. This was prints made directly from transparencies. As you can see they are showing their age.

In 1979 I did an 8000 mile tour across the western U.S. and up to Canada. This trip is still one of my lifetime high points. When I returned home and saw my photos I was inspired to create a set of concept ads for Yamaha. I never did anything with these photos and this is the first time I've ever shown them.

I am a retoucher as most of you know and before PS all the work was rendered directly on the photo using paint and a brush or airbrush. I used both on these. They are concepts or mockups so they are not perfectly rendered. Kind of like a quick sketch in a sense so someone can get the idea. Pretty much a lost art in this day and time.



The night image was shot using my campfire for illumination and strictly guessing about exposure. I was happy with the result. The second concept photo was shot on Highway 89 headed north to Page, Arizona from the Grand Canyon. Thanks Peter for your inspiration so I could remember these.

 

[Peter Roberts]

I have a copy of the Taschen bound version of Stieglitz's collected "Camera Work. "Camera Work" was published here between 1903 and 1917.

Stieglitz. Now there's a name to conjure with. I shoot both digital and analogue but whenever I see the work of such pioneering masters it has me reaching for a roll of film and something to put it in.

 

[Peter Roberts]

I truly enjoy this game. It’s clear that this forum includes individuals like you all, with photographic archives full of remarkable surprises. Truly interesting and enjoyable!

Thanks Gianluca. I like the way the members of this forum are able to bounce ideas off each other. It's a great place to be.

 

[Peter Roberts]

I dug out my 1979 photos from the 1960's to 2000's bin........

Great work Bill. I'm really impressed by results you achieved there.

 

[Gianluca Drago]

As you can see they are showing their age

They show their age, but this is their flaw and at the same time their merit.

 

[Bill Brown]

Ok, here are the final two. The image with the rainbow was my initial inspiration to do these. I did that one first.

I have to tell a little of the backstory of this moment. I had left Yellowstone National Park and was driving in a light rain. It was late day and the temperature was in the 70's F. One of the joys of motorcycling is the smells at a moment like this. The prairie grasses and plants give off a distinct aroma when wet. As I drove along the deserted back road enjoying all the sensory input I noticed the clouds didn't extend all the way down to the horizon. I knew that if the rain continued to fall and the sun dropped below the clouds there would be a rainbow.

I finally picked a spot to pull over and wait to see what transpired. I took a few shots of the landscape to pass time. I'm not for sure how long I waited but I would guess about 30 minutes. As I had hoped the sun dropped below the clouds and the light rain was still falling. You can see a few fuzzy spots on the image where the raindrops got on my lens. What happened over the next moments was beyond my wildest expectations. I watched as the rainbow formed across the sky and then, to my total disbelief, it dropped down right in front of the plateau and ended in the field in front of me! Even now as I type this my emotions are welling up. I was awestruck!

I ran across the road to see what it looked like. There seemed to be only one shot I could take and that is the one here. It was an absolutely fantastic moment. In true film photographer style, stingy, I only shot one frame of Kodachrome 64! What can I say except I knew I got it so why waste any more frames. Does that ring a bell with any of you? Waste not want not. Besides, there were more moments yet to unfold before sunset. This photo and moment are in my top ten photography experiences in my lifetime. The print fading has greatly reduced the rainbow. I need to scan the original...

The other shot is pretty boring compared to this and the fading has really impacted the sky. It was a deep blue. I may have even used a polarizer on my lens.

Thanks for reading my little jaunt down memory lane. I enjoy sharing my experiences in this forum. I have numerous train images that I hope to get posted for Peter. Till next time.

 

[Gary R. Smith]

Even with digital I can't say that "I knew I got it" unless I check. I was never able to say that with film.

 

[Charlotte Ortelli]

Your mention of Picassa reminded me that it existed! I used to use it quite a lot when I was a kid, does it still have enduring support on modern operating systems? I like the edit

 

[Peter Roberts]

Ok, here are the final two.........

Thanks for sharing these, Bill. These two are even better than the first ones. Catching the rainbow must have been amazing. One shot and it's done, yes I can relate to that
Interesting that you can recall the circumstances in which a photo was taken. I find this myself when going through old stuff in the archive. I may even have forgotten about a particular photo but as soon as I come across it I can remember when and why I took it.
I look forward to more trains. I still have a lot of old railway photos to post. Not many trains in them but the ramshackle environment of a run down freight yard in which I worked back in the seventies.

 

[Peter Roberts]

Your mention of Picassa reminded me that it existed! I used to use it quite a lot when I was a kid, does it still have enduring support on modern operating systems? I like the edit

Thanks Charlotte.
I think you can still download Picassa to systems up to Windows 10 albeit from third parties which may come with risks. Google gave up on Picassa many years ago and obviously no longer provide support.
Personally I like it very much and still use it as my main photo editing tool on an old off line desk top. It's incredibly user friendly and does enough (and more) for my simple needs which are just the little tricks I used to get up to in the darkroom.

 

[Bill Brown]

Not many trains in them but the ramshackle environment of a run down freight yard in which I worked back in the seventies.

These sound very interesting. These types of locations just seem meant for b&w. The rust, peeling paint and various metal objects. I like large industrial equipment also. The mass of steel yet the precision and delicacy of it's construction.

I'm one who considers my film archive an alternate memory. Holding those negs and trannis in my hand or holding the print file sleeve almost seems magical at times how I remember certain moments from so long ago. Those motorcycle tours I took back in the late seventies and early eighties played a major role in my photographic learning. You can see one of my motorcycle photo essays on 35mmc: https://www.35mmc.com/25/02/2022/the-honeymooners-october-1983-by-william-brown/