Poisonous Photography!

Daguerreotype._Portrait_of_a_couple.

Daguerreotype Portrait of a couple.

Pat here, still deep in Victorian research. I’ve had a character pop up who claims to be a photographer, and I had a bit of panic because the book is set in 1871. How much photography could my Victorian lady do in those early stages of cameras? Kodak hadn’t even come along yet!

Even after digging through research files, I can’t claim to understand the entire process of what early photographers went through to fix pictures onto paper, but photography was a booming business by 1870. Much of the history involved finding the right combination of chemicals in the photographic paper and in the developing process. I was interested in killing off a character with cyanide or mercury because these chemicals were used in early photos, but by 1870, the profession had moved on to less deadly chemicals. But aha! Cyanide continued to be used for architectural blueprints, even if daguerreotypes and their mercury backing were going out of style. That doesn’t help my Victorian lady though.

Apparently the first major breakthrough in photography happened in 1838, when a Frenchman, Daguerre, developed a silver-iodide-coated plate that he used in a camera obscura (a device that has been used for centuries.)  I have absolutely no understanding of the process by which he

Susse_Frére_Daguerreotype_camera_1839

Daguerreotype camera

developed the image produced using mercury (aha, see!) but it only took thirty minutes, and the image could then be fixed with salty sea water.

I can hardly turn around in Victorian scientific research without running across John Herschel, an English mathematician, astronomer, chemist inventor, experimental photographer, and in his spare time, botanist. He’s the one responsible for discovering a way to fix images by dipping them in a sodium hyposulfite bath, a method still used today as the main component of photographic fix-baths. He also developed the cyanotype (cyanide!) process for blueprints and came up with the name of photography. If I made Herschel the hero of one of my books, readers would call him an impossibly unbelievable character.

Cameraobscura

Camera Obscura

Anyway, once photographers had the development process, they started experimenting with the size of lenses. By the time of my story, cameras were taking pretty clear black and white images that could be developed on the spot. The Industrial Revolution had produced a substantial middle class that couldn’t afford the family oil paintings that aristocrats had in a prior generation, even had there been enough artists to paint them all. But by George, they could have their photographs taken!

And lest you think this was an idle pastime of wealthy Englishmen—there were photographers in India (This is the Victorian era, remember—the English controlled a lot of countries) doing portraits as well. The part that fascinated me is that because of India’s religious laws preventing their women from appearing bare-faced in front of men—women had set up photography shops in the 1860s! I’m pretty sure this would have been seriously frowned upon in Victorian England. In fact, I went through a list of photographers in Edinburgh and couldn’t find a single female name—although I can pretend one of the initials hid my heroine.

So, yes, I think I may have a magical photographer heroine in the future!

 

Can you remember your first camera? Have you preserved those old photos?

100 thoughts on “Poisonous Photography!”

  1. Perhaps I may be allowed to suggest a female photographer who puts herself forward as a specialist in the art for ladies and their children.
    While a respectable woman alone might think it too great a vanity to have her portrait taken by a man, a mother would absolutely want one of her children, same as we do today. Having this done by another woman would certainly put them at their ease.
    Certainly Queen Victoria was not shy about sharing family portraits, giving them as framed gifts.
    There are a number of vids on YouTube showing the process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d932Q6jYRg8
    It was fast growing technology, and business boomed. The gun fight at the O.K. Corral in 1881 took place not at the corral, but in a lot next to C.S. Fly’s Photographic Studio. Even the wild west’s residents wanted their portraits!
    “Mollie Fly (wife of C.S.) actively managed Fly’s Gallery when her husband was away. She was one of the few female photographers of the era, taking pictures of anyone who could pay the studio price of 35 cents.”
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Fly
    Mollie was a photographer before she even met her husband. She was the one to teach him how it’s done!
    This IS a fascinating subject, certainly one I overlooked in my alternate history steampunk. I really want to swipe it for the next one, but will restrain myself! 🙂

    Reply
  2. Perhaps I may be allowed to suggest a female photographer who puts herself forward as a specialist in the art for ladies and their children.
    While a respectable woman alone might think it too great a vanity to have her portrait taken by a man, a mother would absolutely want one of her children, same as we do today. Having this done by another woman would certainly put them at their ease.
    Certainly Queen Victoria was not shy about sharing family portraits, giving them as framed gifts.
    There are a number of vids on YouTube showing the process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d932Q6jYRg8
    It was fast growing technology, and business boomed. The gun fight at the O.K. Corral in 1881 took place not at the corral, but in a lot next to C.S. Fly’s Photographic Studio. Even the wild west’s residents wanted their portraits!
    “Mollie Fly (wife of C.S.) actively managed Fly’s Gallery when her husband was away. She was one of the few female photographers of the era, taking pictures of anyone who could pay the studio price of 35 cents.”
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Fly
    Mollie was a photographer before she even met her husband. She was the one to teach him how it’s done!
    This IS a fascinating subject, certainly one I overlooked in my alternate history steampunk. I really want to swipe it for the next one, but will restrain myself! 🙂

    Reply
  3. Perhaps I may be allowed to suggest a female photographer who puts herself forward as a specialist in the art for ladies and their children.
    While a respectable woman alone might think it too great a vanity to have her portrait taken by a man, a mother would absolutely want one of her children, same as we do today. Having this done by another woman would certainly put them at their ease.
    Certainly Queen Victoria was not shy about sharing family portraits, giving them as framed gifts.
    There are a number of vids on YouTube showing the process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d932Q6jYRg8
    It was fast growing technology, and business boomed. The gun fight at the O.K. Corral in 1881 took place not at the corral, but in a lot next to C.S. Fly’s Photographic Studio. Even the wild west’s residents wanted their portraits!
    “Mollie Fly (wife of C.S.) actively managed Fly’s Gallery when her husband was away. She was one of the few female photographers of the era, taking pictures of anyone who could pay the studio price of 35 cents.”
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Fly
    Mollie was a photographer before she even met her husband. She was the one to teach him how it’s done!
    This IS a fascinating subject, certainly one I overlooked in my alternate history steampunk. I really want to swipe it for the next one, but will restrain myself! 🙂

    Reply
  4. Perhaps I may be allowed to suggest a female photographer who puts herself forward as a specialist in the art for ladies and their children.
    While a respectable woman alone might think it too great a vanity to have her portrait taken by a man, a mother would absolutely want one of her children, same as we do today. Having this done by another woman would certainly put them at their ease.
    Certainly Queen Victoria was not shy about sharing family portraits, giving them as framed gifts.
    There are a number of vids on YouTube showing the process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d932Q6jYRg8
    It was fast growing technology, and business boomed. The gun fight at the O.K. Corral in 1881 took place not at the corral, but in a lot next to C.S. Fly’s Photographic Studio. Even the wild west’s residents wanted their portraits!
    “Mollie Fly (wife of C.S.) actively managed Fly’s Gallery when her husband was away. She was one of the few female photographers of the era, taking pictures of anyone who could pay the studio price of 35 cents.”
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Fly
    Mollie was a photographer before she even met her husband. She was the one to teach him how it’s done!
    This IS a fascinating subject, certainly one I overlooked in my alternate history steampunk. I really want to swipe it for the next one, but will restrain myself! 🙂

    Reply
  5. Perhaps I may be allowed to suggest a female photographer who puts herself forward as a specialist in the art for ladies and their children.
    While a respectable woman alone might think it too great a vanity to have her portrait taken by a man, a mother would absolutely want one of her children, same as we do today. Having this done by another woman would certainly put them at their ease.
    Certainly Queen Victoria was not shy about sharing family portraits, giving them as framed gifts.
    There are a number of vids on YouTube showing the process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d932Q6jYRg8
    It was fast growing technology, and business boomed. The gun fight at the O.K. Corral in 1881 took place not at the corral, but in a lot next to C.S. Fly’s Photographic Studio. Even the wild west’s residents wanted their portraits!
    “Mollie Fly (wife of C.S.) actively managed Fly’s Gallery when her husband was away. She was one of the few female photographers of the era, taking pictures of anyone who could pay the studio price of 35 cents.”
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Fly
    Mollie was a photographer before she even met her husband. She was the one to teach him how it’s done!
    This IS a fascinating subject, certainly one I overlooked in my alternate history steampunk. I really want to swipe it for the next one, but will restrain myself! 🙂

    Reply
  6. Thank you, thank you! I haven’t started the book yet. I was just noodling around to see how realistically I might carry it off. But this is fabulous info for when I really dig in. And WRITE the next book with this info. I love the history and that we’re teaching some basic understanding to our readers. We take far too much for granted. Our ancestors should be appreciated.

    Reply
  7. Thank you, thank you! I haven’t started the book yet. I was just noodling around to see how realistically I might carry it off. But this is fabulous info for when I really dig in. And WRITE the next book with this info. I love the history and that we’re teaching some basic understanding to our readers. We take far too much for granted. Our ancestors should be appreciated.

    Reply
  8. Thank you, thank you! I haven’t started the book yet. I was just noodling around to see how realistically I might carry it off. But this is fabulous info for when I really dig in. And WRITE the next book with this info. I love the history and that we’re teaching some basic understanding to our readers. We take far too much for granted. Our ancestors should be appreciated.

    Reply
  9. Thank you, thank you! I haven’t started the book yet. I was just noodling around to see how realistically I might carry it off. But this is fabulous info for when I really dig in. And WRITE the next book with this info. I love the history and that we’re teaching some basic understanding to our readers. We take far too much for granted. Our ancestors should be appreciated.

    Reply
  10. Thank you, thank you! I haven’t started the book yet. I was just noodling around to see how realistically I might carry it off. But this is fabulous info for when I really dig in. And WRITE the next book with this info. I love the history and that we’re teaching some basic understanding to our readers. We take far too much for granted. Our ancestors should be appreciated.

    Reply
  11. What a fascinating post, Patricia, and an informative comment, P. N. Elrod.
    I vaguely remember using my parent’s Brownie camera in Australia in the sixties. I think a few of the photos reside in my photo album.

    Reply
  12. What a fascinating post, Patricia, and an informative comment, P. N. Elrod.
    I vaguely remember using my parent’s Brownie camera in Australia in the sixties. I think a few of the photos reside in my photo album.

    Reply
  13. What a fascinating post, Patricia, and an informative comment, P. N. Elrod.
    I vaguely remember using my parent’s Brownie camera in Australia in the sixties. I think a few of the photos reside in my photo album.

    Reply
  14. What a fascinating post, Patricia, and an informative comment, P. N. Elrod.
    I vaguely remember using my parent’s Brownie camera in Australia in the sixties. I think a few of the photos reside in my photo album.

    Reply
  15. What a fascinating post, Patricia, and an informative comment, P. N. Elrod.
    I vaguely remember using my parent’s Brownie camera in Australia in the sixties. I think a few of the photos reside in my photo album.

    Reply
  16. What a cool post, Pat!
    I had a Brownie when I was little. In the late ’50s the big thing was Polaroid. Waiting for the pix to develop was magical. In journalism school in the ’60s, I had to wrangle one of the big press cameras on which the front pulled down and the long lens unpleated as it did, while the flash attachment was top-heavy, causing the whole thing to topple over at the most awkward moments. (I also developed my own prints in the darkroom, with all those smelly chemicals.) Then, thank goodness, I got a (I think I have this right) twin-lens reflex camera, much more manageable. The flash bulbs often were duds and occasionally exploded, but at least I didn’t have to load powder on a flash pan.
    Fast forward to today, and I’m perfectly happy with my iPhone’s camera, which seldom even needs a flash. I luuuv technology!

    Reply
  17. What a cool post, Pat!
    I had a Brownie when I was little. In the late ’50s the big thing was Polaroid. Waiting for the pix to develop was magical. In journalism school in the ’60s, I had to wrangle one of the big press cameras on which the front pulled down and the long lens unpleated as it did, while the flash attachment was top-heavy, causing the whole thing to topple over at the most awkward moments. (I also developed my own prints in the darkroom, with all those smelly chemicals.) Then, thank goodness, I got a (I think I have this right) twin-lens reflex camera, much more manageable. The flash bulbs often were duds and occasionally exploded, but at least I didn’t have to load powder on a flash pan.
    Fast forward to today, and I’m perfectly happy with my iPhone’s camera, which seldom even needs a flash. I luuuv technology!

    Reply
  18. What a cool post, Pat!
    I had a Brownie when I was little. In the late ’50s the big thing was Polaroid. Waiting for the pix to develop was magical. In journalism school in the ’60s, I had to wrangle one of the big press cameras on which the front pulled down and the long lens unpleated as it did, while the flash attachment was top-heavy, causing the whole thing to topple over at the most awkward moments. (I also developed my own prints in the darkroom, with all those smelly chemicals.) Then, thank goodness, I got a (I think I have this right) twin-lens reflex camera, much more manageable. The flash bulbs often were duds and occasionally exploded, but at least I didn’t have to load powder on a flash pan.
    Fast forward to today, and I’m perfectly happy with my iPhone’s camera, which seldom even needs a flash. I luuuv technology!

    Reply
  19. What a cool post, Pat!
    I had a Brownie when I was little. In the late ’50s the big thing was Polaroid. Waiting for the pix to develop was magical. In journalism school in the ’60s, I had to wrangle one of the big press cameras on which the front pulled down and the long lens unpleated as it did, while the flash attachment was top-heavy, causing the whole thing to topple over at the most awkward moments. (I also developed my own prints in the darkroom, with all those smelly chemicals.) Then, thank goodness, I got a (I think I have this right) twin-lens reflex camera, much more manageable. The flash bulbs often were duds and occasionally exploded, but at least I didn’t have to load powder on a flash pan.
    Fast forward to today, and I’m perfectly happy with my iPhone’s camera, which seldom even needs a flash. I luuuv technology!

    Reply
  20. What a cool post, Pat!
    I had a Brownie when I was little. In the late ’50s the big thing was Polaroid. Waiting for the pix to develop was magical. In journalism school in the ’60s, I had to wrangle one of the big press cameras on which the front pulled down and the long lens unpleated as it did, while the flash attachment was top-heavy, causing the whole thing to topple over at the most awkward moments. (I also developed my own prints in the darkroom, with all those smelly chemicals.) Then, thank goodness, I got a (I think I have this right) twin-lens reflex camera, much more manageable. The flash bulbs often were duds and occasionally exploded, but at least I didn’t have to load powder on a flash pan.
    Fast forward to today, and I’m perfectly happy with my iPhone’s camera, which seldom even needs a flash. I luuuv technology!

    Reply
  21. Love photography. Love Daguerreotypes and Ambrotypes – they are perfect little gems. If you want to see some wonderful women photographers from the beginning of photography, check out Clementina Hawarden, Julie Margaret Cameron, Alice Boughton, and Eva Watson-Schutze. Some of the images may be a little romanticized, but they are wonderfully drifty/magical/dreamy.

    Reply
  22. Love photography. Love Daguerreotypes and Ambrotypes – they are perfect little gems. If you want to see some wonderful women photographers from the beginning of photography, check out Clementina Hawarden, Julie Margaret Cameron, Alice Boughton, and Eva Watson-Schutze. Some of the images may be a little romanticized, but they are wonderfully drifty/magical/dreamy.

    Reply
  23. Love photography. Love Daguerreotypes and Ambrotypes – they are perfect little gems. If you want to see some wonderful women photographers from the beginning of photography, check out Clementina Hawarden, Julie Margaret Cameron, Alice Boughton, and Eva Watson-Schutze. Some of the images may be a little romanticized, but they are wonderfully drifty/magical/dreamy.

    Reply
  24. Love photography. Love Daguerreotypes and Ambrotypes – they are perfect little gems. If you want to see some wonderful women photographers from the beginning of photography, check out Clementina Hawarden, Julie Margaret Cameron, Alice Boughton, and Eva Watson-Schutze. Some of the images may be a little romanticized, but they are wonderfully drifty/magical/dreamy.

    Reply
  25. Love photography. Love Daguerreotypes and Ambrotypes – they are perfect little gems. If you want to see some wonderful women photographers from the beginning of photography, check out Clementina Hawarden, Julie Margaret Cameron, Alice Boughton, and Eva Watson-Schutze. Some of the images may be a little romanticized, but they are wonderfully drifty/magical/dreamy.

    Reply
  26. I treasure some family photos that go back to the early 1900s—stiffly posed for the photographer. I need to label them carefully, because at this point I think I am the only one who knows who all these people are.
    But thinking about photography and murder, didn’t the photographer D’Ascoyne get blown up in his dark room in Kind Hearts and Coronets?

    Reply
  27. I treasure some family photos that go back to the early 1900s—stiffly posed for the photographer. I need to label them carefully, because at this point I think I am the only one who knows who all these people are.
    But thinking about photography and murder, didn’t the photographer D’Ascoyne get blown up in his dark room in Kind Hearts and Coronets?

    Reply
  28. I treasure some family photos that go back to the early 1900s—stiffly posed for the photographer. I need to label them carefully, because at this point I think I am the only one who knows who all these people are.
    But thinking about photography and murder, didn’t the photographer D’Ascoyne get blown up in his dark room in Kind Hearts and Coronets?

    Reply
  29. I treasure some family photos that go back to the early 1900s—stiffly posed for the photographer. I need to label them carefully, because at this point I think I am the only one who knows who all these people are.
    But thinking about photography and murder, didn’t the photographer D’Ascoyne get blown up in his dark room in Kind Hearts and Coronets?

    Reply
  30. I treasure some family photos that go back to the early 1900s—stiffly posed for the photographer. I need to label them carefully, because at this point I think I am the only one who knows who all these people are.
    But thinking about photography and murder, didn’t the photographer D’Ascoyne get blown up in his dark room in Kind Hearts and Coronets?

    Reply
  31. My father’s had a Brownie box camera for many years, and I remember taking pictures with it. I also knew how to remove and reload the film, which involved turning a crank on the side. It took great photos, we still have quite a few in our family albums.

    Reply
  32. My father’s had a Brownie box camera for many years, and I remember taking pictures with it. I also knew how to remove and reload the film, which involved turning a crank on the side. It took great photos, we still have quite a few in our family albums.

    Reply
  33. My father’s had a Brownie box camera for many years, and I remember taking pictures with it. I also knew how to remove and reload the film, which involved turning a crank on the side. It took great photos, we still have quite a few in our family albums.

    Reply
  34. My father’s had a Brownie box camera for many years, and I remember taking pictures with it. I also knew how to remove and reload the film, which involved turning a crank on the side. It took great photos, we still have quite a few in our family albums.

    Reply
  35. My father’s had a Brownie box camera for many years, and I remember taking pictures with it. I also knew how to remove and reload the film, which involved turning a crank on the side. It took great photos, we still have quite a few in our family albums.

    Reply
  36. My maternal grandfather had a photography studio in the 1890s; he still had his studio camera when I was young: a hugh rosewood box which used the old glass plates. He was a very skinny man, so when he went under the drop cloth to focus the camera I lost sight of him and I feared that the camera had swalllowed him whole. i don’t rememer how many times he took of me, but I DO remember that fear. (And that camera did use the “flash in the pan” flash.)
    His son-in-law was also a photographer (my mother’s brother-in-law). He experimente with every type of camera and photographic techbology he found. I have a strip from a photo-booth in which he explored the range of photos that could be taken in a booth.
    Given that background, my first brownie isn’t an important memory. My son’s first brownie is of more interest to me.
    Almost all our family photographs have been taken by my grandfather, my Uncle Dates, and my sister’s husband. There oldest grandson is becoming the next generations’ “official” photographer. My children and I have started a campaign to e sure that we also get a photograph of the photographer taken during family gatherings and my sister and brother-in-law have joined that campaign.

    Reply
  37. My maternal grandfather had a photography studio in the 1890s; he still had his studio camera when I was young: a hugh rosewood box which used the old glass plates. He was a very skinny man, so when he went under the drop cloth to focus the camera I lost sight of him and I feared that the camera had swalllowed him whole. i don’t rememer how many times he took of me, but I DO remember that fear. (And that camera did use the “flash in the pan” flash.)
    His son-in-law was also a photographer (my mother’s brother-in-law). He experimente with every type of camera and photographic techbology he found. I have a strip from a photo-booth in which he explored the range of photos that could be taken in a booth.
    Given that background, my first brownie isn’t an important memory. My son’s first brownie is of more interest to me.
    Almost all our family photographs have been taken by my grandfather, my Uncle Dates, and my sister’s husband. There oldest grandson is becoming the next generations’ “official” photographer. My children and I have started a campaign to e sure that we also get a photograph of the photographer taken during family gatherings and my sister and brother-in-law have joined that campaign.

    Reply
  38. My maternal grandfather had a photography studio in the 1890s; he still had his studio camera when I was young: a hugh rosewood box which used the old glass plates. He was a very skinny man, so when he went under the drop cloth to focus the camera I lost sight of him and I feared that the camera had swalllowed him whole. i don’t rememer how many times he took of me, but I DO remember that fear. (And that camera did use the “flash in the pan” flash.)
    His son-in-law was also a photographer (my mother’s brother-in-law). He experimente with every type of camera and photographic techbology he found. I have a strip from a photo-booth in which he explored the range of photos that could be taken in a booth.
    Given that background, my first brownie isn’t an important memory. My son’s first brownie is of more interest to me.
    Almost all our family photographs have been taken by my grandfather, my Uncle Dates, and my sister’s husband. There oldest grandson is becoming the next generations’ “official” photographer. My children and I have started a campaign to e sure that we also get a photograph of the photographer taken during family gatherings and my sister and brother-in-law have joined that campaign.

    Reply
  39. My maternal grandfather had a photography studio in the 1890s; he still had his studio camera when I was young: a hugh rosewood box which used the old glass plates. He was a very skinny man, so when he went under the drop cloth to focus the camera I lost sight of him and I feared that the camera had swalllowed him whole. i don’t rememer how many times he took of me, but I DO remember that fear. (And that camera did use the “flash in the pan” flash.)
    His son-in-law was also a photographer (my mother’s brother-in-law). He experimente with every type of camera and photographic techbology he found. I have a strip from a photo-booth in which he explored the range of photos that could be taken in a booth.
    Given that background, my first brownie isn’t an important memory. My son’s first brownie is of more interest to me.
    Almost all our family photographs have been taken by my grandfather, my Uncle Dates, and my sister’s husband. There oldest grandson is becoming the next generations’ “official” photographer. My children and I have started a campaign to e sure that we also get a photograph of the photographer taken during family gatherings and my sister and brother-in-law have joined that campaign.

    Reply
  40. My maternal grandfather had a photography studio in the 1890s; he still had his studio camera when I was young: a hugh rosewood box which used the old glass plates. He was a very skinny man, so when he went under the drop cloth to focus the camera I lost sight of him and I feared that the camera had swalllowed him whole. i don’t rememer how many times he took of me, but I DO remember that fear. (And that camera did use the “flash in the pan” flash.)
    His son-in-law was also a photographer (my mother’s brother-in-law). He experimente with every type of camera and photographic techbology he found. I have a strip from a photo-booth in which he explored the range of photos that could be taken in a booth.
    Given that background, my first brownie isn’t an important memory. My son’s first brownie is of more interest to me.
    Almost all our family photographs have been taken by my grandfather, my Uncle Dates, and my sister’s husband. There oldest grandson is becoming the next generations’ “official” photographer. My children and I have started a campaign to e sure that we also get a photograph of the photographer taken during family gatherings and my sister and brother-in-law have joined that campaign.

    Reply
  41. I had a daguerreotype picture of one of my ancestors from the Civil War. Unfortunately, it was lost.
    When I was a child, I had a Brownie camera and I took pictures of family. I had a lot of family so that meant a lot of pictures. And yes, many of them are still around. I have shared the pictures with the people who were in the pictures.
    Right now, I have a digital camera. But, I particularly like the Instamatic camera I have. Now, if there were a place to get film and a place to get the film I can’t find developed, it would all be terrific.

    Reply
  42. I had a daguerreotype picture of one of my ancestors from the Civil War. Unfortunately, it was lost.
    When I was a child, I had a Brownie camera and I took pictures of family. I had a lot of family so that meant a lot of pictures. And yes, many of them are still around. I have shared the pictures with the people who were in the pictures.
    Right now, I have a digital camera. But, I particularly like the Instamatic camera I have. Now, if there were a place to get film and a place to get the film I can’t find developed, it would all be terrific.

    Reply
  43. I had a daguerreotype picture of one of my ancestors from the Civil War. Unfortunately, it was lost.
    When I was a child, I had a Brownie camera and I took pictures of family. I had a lot of family so that meant a lot of pictures. And yes, many of them are still around. I have shared the pictures with the people who were in the pictures.
    Right now, I have a digital camera. But, I particularly like the Instamatic camera I have. Now, if there were a place to get film and a place to get the film I can’t find developed, it would all be terrific.

    Reply
  44. I had a daguerreotype picture of one of my ancestors from the Civil War. Unfortunately, it was lost.
    When I was a child, I had a Brownie camera and I took pictures of family. I had a lot of family so that meant a lot of pictures. And yes, many of them are still around. I have shared the pictures with the people who were in the pictures.
    Right now, I have a digital camera. But, I particularly like the Instamatic camera I have. Now, if there were a place to get film and a place to get the film I can’t find developed, it would all be terrific.

    Reply
  45. I had a daguerreotype picture of one of my ancestors from the Civil War. Unfortunately, it was lost.
    When I was a child, I had a Brownie camera and I took pictures of family. I had a lot of family so that meant a lot of pictures. And yes, many of them are still around. I have shared the pictures with the people who were in the pictures.
    Right now, I have a digital camera. But, I particularly like the Instamatic camera I have. Now, if there were a place to get film and a place to get the film I can’t find developed, it would all be terrific.

    Reply
  46. Oh, wow, Mary, you bring back memories! We have some of those old Polaroid photos–they’re badly fading and turning yellow but they were so much easier than dragging film to the drugstore and waiting for it to be developed! And I had someone try to teach me how to develop film, but I never had the money to buy what was needed or a place to do it. But the journalism angle–makes me want to write a book about the 60s. And yes, the iphone camera is a blessing, although our computers are about to explode with all the photos! Thank you for the flashbacks.

    Reply
  47. Oh, wow, Mary, you bring back memories! We have some of those old Polaroid photos–they’re badly fading and turning yellow but they were so much easier than dragging film to the drugstore and waiting for it to be developed! And I had someone try to teach me how to develop film, but I never had the money to buy what was needed or a place to do it. But the journalism angle–makes me want to write a book about the 60s. And yes, the iphone camera is a blessing, although our computers are about to explode with all the photos! Thank you for the flashbacks.

    Reply
  48. Oh, wow, Mary, you bring back memories! We have some of those old Polaroid photos–they’re badly fading and turning yellow but they were so much easier than dragging film to the drugstore and waiting for it to be developed! And I had someone try to teach me how to develop film, but I never had the money to buy what was needed or a place to do it. But the journalism angle–makes me want to write a book about the 60s. And yes, the iphone camera is a blessing, although our computers are about to explode with all the photos! Thank you for the flashbacks.

    Reply
  49. Oh, wow, Mary, you bring back memories! We have some of those old Polaroid photos–they’re badly fading and turning yellow but they were so much easier than dragging film to the drugstore and waiting for it to be developed! And I had someone try to teach me how to develop film, but I never had the money to buy what was needed or a place to do it. But the journalism angle–makes me want to write a book about the 60s. And yes, the iphone camera is a blessing, although our computers are about to explode with all the photos! Thank you for the flashbacks.

    Reply
  50. Oh, wow, Mary, you bring back memories! We have some of those old Polaroid photos–they’re badly fading and turning yellow but they were so much easier than dragging film to the drugstore and waiting for it to be developed! And I had someone try to teach me how to develop film, but I never had the money to buy what was needed or a place to do it. But the journalism angle–makes me want to write a book about the 60s. And yes, the iphone camera is a blessing, although our computers are about to explode with all the photos! Thank you for the flashbacks.

    Reply
  51. can you scan those photos into a computer and share them with your family? We’ve been doing that, then adding them to ancestry.com. I don’t have many, but Don’s family has some gems!
    Oooo, blowing up a photographer… new ideas!

    Reply
  52. can you scan those photos into a computer and share them with your family? We’ve been doing that, then adding them to ancestry.com. I don’t have many, but Don’s family has some gems!
    Oooo, blowing up a photographer… new ideas!

    Reply
  53. can you scan those photos into a computer and share them with your family? We’ve been doing that, then adding them to ancestry.com. I don’t have many, but Don’s family has some gems!
    Oooo, blowing up a photographer… new ideas!

    Reply
  54. can you scan those photos into a computer and share them with your family? We’ve been doing that, then adding them to ancestry.com. I don’t have many, but Don’s family has some gems!
    Oooo, blowing up a photographer… new ideas!

    Reply
  55. can you scan those photos into a computer and share them with your family? We’ve been doing that, then adding them to ancestry.com. I don’t have many, but Don’s family has some gems!
    Oooo, blowing up a photographer… new ideas!

    Reply
  56. You are a walking historian! How fortunate you are to have all that personal knowledge. And yes, the official photographer in the family tends to cut himself out of the photos. Keep up the good work!

    Reply
  57. You are a walking historian! How fortunate you are to have all that personal knowledge. And yes, the official photographer in the family tends to cut himself out of the photos. Keep up the good work!

    Reply
  58. You are a walking historian! How fortunate you are to have all that personal knowledge. And yes, the official photographer in the family tends to cut himself out of the photos. Keep up the good work!

    Reply
  59. You are a walking historian! How fortunate you are to have all that personal knowledge. And yes, the official photographer in the family tends to cut himself out of the photos. Keep up the good work!

    Reply
  60. You are a walking historian! How fortunate you are to have all that personal knowledge. And yes, the official photographer in the family tends to cut himself out of the photos. Keep up the good work!

    Reply
  61. I haven’t hunted for film and developing in so long that I wouldn’t even know where to begin. Have you searched online? My digital camera takes nice pics but uploading them is a pain. And then the pics have to be printed out from a computer, so I feel your pain!

    Reply
  62. I haven’t hunted for film and developing in so long that I wouldn’t even know where to begin. Have you searched online? My digital camera takes nice pics but uploading them is a pain. And then the pics have to be printed out from a computer, so I feel your pain!

    Reply
  63. I haven’t hunted for film and developing in so long that I wouldn’t even know where to begin. Have you searched online? My digital camera takes nice pics but uploading them is a pain. And then the pics have to be printed out from a computer, so I feel your pain!

    Reply
  64. I haven’t hunted for film and developing in so long that I wouldn’t even know where to begin. Have you searched online? My digital camera takes nice pics but uploading them is a pain. And then the pics have to be printed out from a computer, so I feel your pain!

    Reply
  65. I haven’t hunted for film and developing in so long that I wouldn’t even know where to begin. Have you searched online? My digital camera takes nice pics but uploading them is a pain. And then the pics have to be printed out from a computer, so I feel your pain!

    Reply
  66. My mother had a box brownie which her brother bought her in the 50’s. That camera took all our photos when we were young and I also have quite a few she took before she was married. When she died last year I got to keep the camera. It still works. I can buy film on line for it but still have to find somewhere to have it developed.
    It’s in a brown bag of the same shape with a long strap to carry it over your shoulder. This post has brought back some great memories.

    Reply
  67. My mother had a box brownie which her brother bought her in the 50’s. That camera took all our photos when we were young and I also have quite a few she took before she was married. When she died last year I got to keep the camera. It still works. I can buy film on line for it but still have to find somewhere to have it developed.
    It’s in a brown bag of the same shape with a long strap to carry it over your shoulder. This post has brought back some great memories.

    Reply
  68. My mother had a box brownie which her brother bought her in the 50’s. That camera took all our photos when we were young and I also have quite a few she took before she was married. When she died last year I got to keep the camera. It still works. I can buy film on line for it but still have to find somewhere to have it developed.
    It’s in a brown bag of the same shape with a long strap to carry it over your shoulder. This post has brought back some great memories.

    Reply
  69. My mother had a box brownie which her brother bought her in the 50’s. That camera took all our photos when we were young and I also have quite a few she took before she was married. When she died last year I got to keep the camera. It still works. I can buy film on line for it but still have to find somewhere to have it developed.
    It’s in a brown bag of the same shape with a long strap to carry it over your shoulder. This post has brought back some great memories.

    Reply
  70. My mother had a box brownie which her brother bought her in the 50’s. That camera took all our photos when we were young and I also have quite a few she took before she was married. When she died last year I got to keep the camera. It still works. I can buy film on line for it but still have to find somewhere to have it developed.
    It’s in a brown bag of the same shape with a long strap to carry it over your shoulder. This post has brought back some great memories.

    Reply

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