Glass Plate Negatives

These are approximately 1/8" thick, coated on one side with emulsion made of gelatin and metallic silver.

Photographers began exposing glass plate negatives in their cameras in the 1850s allowing them to produce multiple copies of positive prints rather than single, positive images. The first glass plate negatives were wet collodion negatives. Each piece of glass was coated by the photographer, immediately exposed and processed. This is the method by which pioneer photographers William Henry Jackson and Matthew Brady created powerful images of the western frontier and the Civil War.

Dry-plate glass negatives were first manufactured in the 1880s and some commercial photographers continued to use them until after WW II. These ready-made negatives could be stored before use greatly simplifying photography.

Caring for Glass Plate Negatives
Do you have glass plate negatives in your family archives? These images from times past should be carefully preserved. In addition to caring for them, we suggest you have photographic prints made from them for long term preservation of the images and enjoyment.

Glass plate negatives should be handled and stored with special care. The emulsion side of an exposed negative is a soft layer of gelatin in which a metallic silver image is suspended. While more inherently stable than modern color negatives, black and white glass negatives deteriorate over the years. Unprocessed chemicals in the emulsion, contamination from storage materials, dust, moisture, extreme fluctuations of temperature and relative humidity, mold, mildew and rough handling damage all photographic materials and especially fragile glass plate negatives.

Beginning in 1888, light sensitive emulsions were all put on flexible material or film. Much easier to use and store, film negatives were manufactured in standard size sheets and continuous rolls. Roll film, first manufactured by George Eastman, paved the way for small handheld cameras and the use of photography by the masses.

Camera locates tomb not seen for 1,500 years

Mexico Star 
(IANS)

The tomb of a Mayan dignitary was found in Mexico with the use of a video camera to explore a place no one had entered or seen for the last 1,500 years.

The tomb was found at the Palenque site in Chiapas state by experts from the National Anthropology and History Institute.

Archaeologists explored the site with a video camera, measuring 4x6 cm and weighing a mere 94 grams.

The shots obtained show human figures drawn in black on red-painted walls, as well as vessels along with pieces of jade and shell that were part of the dignitary's burial.

The tomb has up to now hindered entry into the area, which jealously guards the mortal remains of a very eminent figure of that ancient Mayan city, a statement said.

The dignitary lived between 431 and 550 A.D.

Archaeologists said the crypt does not hold a sarcophagus. It is highly probable that bone fragments of the body lie directly upon the floor.

The characteristics of the funeral chamber suggests that the skeletal remains could be those of a sacred ruler.

Rare Billy the Kid photograph sold for $2.3 million

Henry McCarty, a.k.a. Billy the Kid, is pictured in this undated photograph obtained by Reuters on December 16, 2010.

By Keith Coffman

DENVER
(Reuters) - The only authenticated photograph of infamous Wild West gunslinger Billy the Kid was auctioned off to Florida billionaire William Koch for an $2.3 million on Saturday night.

Koch, an energy company executive and well-known collector of art and American West artifacts, placed the winning bid in person before stunned onlookers at Brian Lebel's annual Old West Auction in Denver.

Lebel said at an auction preview that he expected the tintype image to sell for between $300,000 and $400,000.

Koch told Reuters after the auction that he plans to allow some small museums to display the piece, and after that he will "just enjoy" the iconic piece.

"I love the old West," he said. "This is a part of American history."

The metallic photo, taken outside a Fort Sumner, New Mexico, saloon in late 1879 or early 1880, depicts the outlaw gripping the upright barrel of a Winchester carbine, with a Colt 45 pistol strapped to his hip.

The photograph was owned by the descendants of Dan Dedrick, who was given the photo by his cattle rustling partner, Billy the Kid himself.

Born Henry McCarty, but known in New Mexico as William Bonney, the Kid was shot dead at age 22 by lawman Pat Garrett in 1881, months after a jailbreak in which Bonney reportedly killed two deputies.

In the 130 years since his death, Billy the Kid has been depicted, with varying degrees of accuracy, in scores of popular culture movies and books.

Koch's winning bid was actually $2 million, but a $300,000 "buyer's premium" was tacked on, bringing the total selling price to $2.3 million, an auction spokeswoman said.

Brian Lebel said he was pleased that the photo wasn't sold to an overseas buyer.

"I'm happy that it will stay in this country and will be shared with the public," he said.

Koch is one of the sons of Fred C. Koch, founder of Wichita, Kansas-based energy conglomerate Koch Industries, one of the largest private companies in the United States.

(Editing by Steve Gorman and Ellen Wulfhorst)

Alby Falzon elevated into Hall of Fame at the Australian Surf Awards

Alby Falzon, the iconic photographer and filmmaker, has been elevated into the sport’s Hall of Fame at the Australian Surfing Awards. The Australian legend directed several remarkable surf movies.

The "Crystal Voyage" and "Morning of the Earth" are some of his great masterpieces. Growing up in the beachside suburb Maroubra in Sydney, Falzon did not begin surfing until age 14, when the family moved to the New South Wales Central Coast.

Co-founder of the original Aussie counter-culture surf bible, "Tracks", Falzon lives up to his reputation as the spiritual father of the alternative surf lifestyle. Falzon still lives on an eco-friendly farm he bought in the early 1970s near the NSW mid-north coast, where he cares for and feeds injured wildlife, before loading up his boards and driving to the beach for a surf.

And it seems that the "Morning of the Earth" lifestyle he so expertly captured in the early 1970s, is still very much a part of the man today. "Keep surfing, have a good time and have fun. Bless all of you and thank you so much for this", said Alby at the Arts Centre, on the Gold Coast.

The Australian Surfing Awards incorporating the Hall of Fame Inductee were first convened in 1985 by the Australian Surfriders Association (now Surfing Australia) to preserve the history of Australian Surfing and honour its great achievers.

For more information visit the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame at:

http://www.surfingaustralia.com/awards.php

Lt. Dan Band: For The Common Good - Official Movie Trailer

Lt. Dan Band: For The Common Good - Official Movie Trailer

Ron Howard & Canon Team up for Project Imagin8ion Photo Contest:

Canon U.S.A. Partners With Two-Time Academy Award® Winner, Ron Howard, To Launch "Long Live Imagination" Campaign.

On May 22nd, Ron Howard and Canon U.S.A. invited photographers of all levels to submit their most imaginative photographs based on a series of movie themes for "Project Imagin8ion," the first user-generated photo contest in history to ultimately inspire a Hollywood short film. The "Long Live Imagination" site, designed as an interactive and engaging community for Canon users and photography enthusiasts, launched on May 22nd at www.youtube.com/imagination.

The contest and this site will foster dialogue amongst the community, and directly with Canon, inspiring everyone to new levels of creativity.

"I'm known as a narrative storyteller, so when Canon approached me to partner on the 'Long Live Imagination' campaign, I was moved by the opportunity to collaborate with the masses, tapping into consumers' creativity and using their photos as building blocks to produce a film," said Howard. "I hope the project stimulates people's imaginations whether they are an amateur photographer, a world traveler or a proud parent, and I hope what we create is meaningful."

"This project embodies everything the Canon brand represents in innovation, technology and the arts," said Yuichi Ishizuka, executive vice president and general manager, Imaging Technology and Communications Group, Canon U.S.A., "Launching a user-generated photo contest to inspire a film would not be possible without a visionary filmmaker to conceptualize and oversee it all. Ron Howard was the perfect choice, someone who constantly inspires moviegoers and turns the unbelievable into reality."

A visually stunning television commercial that takes place within Ron Howard's mind's eye will begin airing May 23rd. The spot will promote the "Project Imagin8ion" contest and online community. Consumers can visit www.youtube.com/imagination from May 22nd through June 14th and submit photos to inspire eight movie themes: Setting, Time, Character, Mood, Relationship, Goal, Obstacle and the Unknown. Throughout the promotion, Ron Howard, with the help of Canon experts and the Project Imagin8ion community, will narrow down the submissions and select eight photos - one from each category. These eight winning photos will become the basis and inspiration for a short film shot with Canon DSLR products that will premiere later this year in New York City with the winners in town for a red carpet event where they will have the opportunity to meet Ron Howard.

As part of the overall "Long Live Imagination" campaign, Canon will be curating the most inspiring photography out there, championing the imagination of the masses while demonstrating the infinite possibilities of Canon digital imaging. The customized Long Live Imagination brand channel on YouTube will serve as a meeting place and sharing community for Canon users and photography enthusiasts alike throughout 2011. The Imagination Gallery will be linked to other social media platforms including Flickr, Facebook and Twitter, so that users can easily share their photos, pose questions to the community and participate in real-time discussions. Though the gallery will launch as the home of Canon's "Project Imagin8ion" initiative, the community page will live-on and continue to grow.

Grey New York, Canon's agency partner for over thirty years, is developing the creative and digital elements of the multi-phase campaign. Alliance, the entertainment and lifestyle marketing division of Grey, is managing the partnership with Ron Howard and executing the consumer promotion, film premiere event and public relations efforts.

The Multi-Platform Campaign Includes a Curated Imagination Gallery Celebrating Original Photography and the First User-Generated Photo Contest in History to Inspire a Hollywood FilmRon Howard, with the help of Canon and the Project Imagin8ion community will select 8 imaginative photos to set the stage for his next production. These 8 winning photos will inspire the 8 movie themes for this film: setting, time, character, mood, relationship, goal, obstacle and the unknown.

Eight grand prize winners (one per theme category) will have their photo used as inspiration for an element of the film plus they will win a trip to New York City for the film’s premiere, a selection of Canon photographic equipment and a chance to meet with Ron Howard!

Ronald William "Ron" Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American actor, director and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later as the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom "Happy Days" for six years. He made film appearances such as in "American Graffiti" in 1973 and while starring in "Happy Days" he also made "The Shootist" in 1976, as well as making his directorial debut with the 1977 comedy film "Grand Theft Auto." He left "Happy Days" in 1980 to focus on directing, and has since gone on to direct several films, including the Oscar winning "Cocoon," "Apollo 13," "Frost/Nixon," and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." Ron won the Academy Award for "A Beautiful Mind" as the Director and also producer of the film. In 2003, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts.

For contest information contact:

http://www.youtube.com/imagination

 
2011 Music Festivals will soon be in full swing. Time to check your gear and get to work!  From Ohio to Oregon, there is some great music lineups that include Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert, Sugarland, and The Band Perry. Be sure to start applying for your credentials early, preferably a month ahead of time.

Multi-day passes are usually available for those that want the complete course -- as well as single-day tickets.







JUNE
CMA Music Fest - Nashville, Tennessee
June 9-12, 2011
Performers include Brad Paisley, Reba McEntire, Sugarland, Lady Antebellum, and Jason Aldean.

Riverbend Festival - Chattanooga, Tennessee
June 10-18, 2011
Performers include Alan Jackson, Kellie Pickler, and Miranda Lambert.

Indians Music Festival - Cleveland, Ohio
June 11, 2011
Performers include Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, and Jerod Niemann.

Rapids Jam - Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina
June 16-18, 2011
Performers include Lady Antebellum, Darius Rucker, Sugarland, Drew Davis, Willie Nelson, Lukas Nelson & The Promise of the Real, and Lee Brice.

Moondance Jammin Country Fest - Walker, Minnesota
June 23-25, 2011
Performers include Big & Rich, Dwight Yoakam, Dierks Bentley, Gretchen Wilson, Sara Evans, Clay Walker, Craig Morgan, Josh Thompson, Thompson Square, Neal McCoy, Phil Vassar, and Locash Cowboys.

Country Fest - Cadott, Wisconsin
June 23-26, 2011
Performers include Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum, Trace Adkins, Gretchen Wilson, Dierks Bentley, Josh Turner, Chris Young, Josh Thompson, Lonestar, and Hitchville.

Country Jam - Grand Junction, Colorado
June 23-26, 2011
Performers include Alan Jackson, Lady Antebellum, Rodney Atkins, Craig Morgan, Joe Nichols, Clint Black, Neal McCoy, Thompson Square, LoCash Cowboys, Sawyer Brown, Little Big Town, Western Underground, and The Legacy Of Chris LeDoux.

Country Stampede - Manhattan, KansasJune 23-26, 2011Performers include Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, Sawyer Brown, Glen Templeton, Lady Antebellum, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Eric Church, and Wade Bowen.

JULY
Country Concert - Ft. Loramie, Ohio
July 7-9, 2011
Performers include Jason Aldean, Carrie Underwood, Josh Thompson, Darius Rucker, Montgomery Gentry, Luke Bryan, and Colt Ford.

Cavendish Beach Music Festival - Prince Edward Island, Canada
July 7-10, 2011
Performers include Brad Paisley, Trace Adkins, Toby Keith, Tanya Tucker, George Canyon, Eric Ruttan, Ricky Skaggs, and Aaron Lewis.

Jamboree in the Hills - Morristown, Ohio
July 14-17, 2011
Performers include Miranda Lambert, The Band Perry, Tim McGraw, Josh Thompson, Toby Keith, Loretta Lynn, Rodney Atkins, Luke Bryan, and Montgomery Gentry.

Bayfest - Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
July 15-16, 2011
Performers include Trace Adkins, Montgomery Gentry, Lady Antebellum, Rodney Atkins, Aaron Pritchett, George Canyon, and Dry Country.

Country Thunder - Twin Lakes, Wisconsin
July 21-24, 2011
Performers include Lady Antebellum, Zac Brown & Friends, Darius Rucker, Craig Morgan, Martina McBride, Rascal Flatts, Josh Turner, and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

Country Jam - Eau Claire, Wisconsin
July 21-23, 2011
Performers include Zac Brown Band, Blake Shelton, and Martina McBride. Please check website for furthet details.

Oregon Jamboree - Sweet Home, Oregon
July 29-31, 2011
Performers include Lady Antebellum, Ronnie Dunn, Darius Rucker, Clay Walker, Jo Dee Messina, Sawyer Brown, Colline Raye, and Jerry Jeff Walker.

AUGUST
WE Fest - Detroit Lakes, Minnessota
August 4-6, 2011
Performers include Brad Paisley, Sugarland, Rascal Flatts, Miranda Lambert, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Blake Shelton, Willie Nelson, Darius Rucker, The Charlie Daniels Band, Jerrod Niemann, Sunny Sweeney, and Easton Corbin.

Comstock Country Fest - Comstock, Nebraska
August 18-20, 2011
Performers not yet announced. Check website for more information.

CMT Music Festival - Oro Station, Ontario, Canada
August 26-28, 2011
Performers include Rascal Flatts, Lady Antebellum, Blake Shelton, Corb Lund, Colt Ford, Sara Evans, Tara Oram, Bush Hawg, Hank, The Heartbroken,

2011 Summer Headliners

    Lady Antebellum
    Brad Paisley
    Miranda Lambert

More Summer Music Festival Info

    Tips for Attending CMA
    Folk Music Festivals
    Rock Music Festivals

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How much longer can photographic film hold on?

By BEN DOBBIN - Associated Press
Kodak employee Dan Vandelinder holds a roll of medium format film before packaging in Rochester, N.Y., Thursday, May 26, 2011. With the film market shrinking by more than 20 percent annually, analysts foresee Kodak offloading its still-profitable film division sometime in the next half-dozen years as it battles to complete a long and painful digital transformation.

At Image City Photography Gallery, Gary Thompson delights in pointing out qualities of light, contrast and clarity in one of his best-selling prints — a winter-sunset view of Yosemite National Park's El Capitan peak shot with a hefty Pentax film camera he bought in 1999 for $1,700.

His wife, Phyllis, a latecomer to fine-art photography after they retired from teaching in the 1990s, favors a Hasselblad X-Pan for panoramic landscapes, such as a time-lapse shot of a harbor in Nova Scotia.

Of 11 partners and resident artists at the private gallery in Rochester — the western New York city where George Eastman transformed photography from an arcane hobby into a mass commodity with his $1 Brownie in 1900 — the Thompsons are the only ones left who haven't switched to filmless digital cameras.

But that time may be near.

"I like the color we get in film, the natural light," says Phyllis Thompson, 70, who married her high-school sweetheart 50 years ago. "But digital cameras are getting much better all the time, and there will come a time when we probably won't be able to get film anymore. And then we'll have to change."

At the turn of the 21st century, American shutterbugs were buying close to a billion rolls of film per year. This year, they might buy a mere 20 million, plus 31 million single-use cameras — the beach-resort staple vacationers turn to in a pinch, according to the Photo Marketing Association.

Eastman Kodak Co. marketed the world's first flexible roll film in 1888. By 1999, more than 800 million rolls were sold in the United States alone. The next year marked the apex for combined U.S. sales of rolls of film (upward of 786 million) and single-use cameras (162 million).

Equally startling has been the plunge in film camera sales over the last decade. Domestic purchases have tumbled from 19.7 million cameras in 2000 to 280,000 in 2009 and might dip below 100,000 this year, says Yukihiko Matsumoto, the Jackson, Mich.-based association's chief researcher.

For InfoTrends imaging analyst Ed Lee, film's fade-out is moving sharply into focus: "If I extrapolate the trend for film sales and retirements of film cameras, it looks like film will be mostly gone in the U.S. by the end of the decade."

Just who are the die-hards, holdouts and hangers-on?

Among those who still rely on film — at least part of the time — are advanced amateurs and a smattering of professionals who specialize in nature, travel, scientific, documentary, museum, fine art and forensic photography, market surveys show.

Regular point-and-shoot adherents who haven't made the switch tend be poorer or older — 55 and up.

But there's also a swelling band of new devotees who grew up in the digital age and may have gotten hooked from spending a magical hour in the darkroom during a high school or college class.

Others are simply drawn to its strengths over digital and are even venturing into retro-photo careers.

"In everything from wedding to portrait to commercial photography, young professionals are finding digital so prevalent that they're looking for a sense of differentiation," says Kayce Baker, a marketing director at Fujifilm North America. "That artistic look is something their high-end clients want to see."

 Kodak remains the world's biggest film manufacturer, with Japan's Fuji right on its tail. But the consumer and professional films they make have dwindled to a precious few dozen film stocks in a handful of formats, becoming one more factor in the mammoth drop-off in film processing.

Scott's Photo in Rochester finally switched this year stopped daily processing of color print film because fewer than one in 20 customers are dropping off film. A decade ago, "we could process 300 rolls on a good day, and now we see maybe 8 or 10 rolls on the few days we actually process," owner Scott Sims says.

For the hustling masses, there's no turning back the clock.

"There's so many digital images taken every day, especially with mobile media, that never will hit a piece of paper," says Therese Mulligan, administrative chair of the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Even at major photography schools, film is an elective specialty.

"Our entire first two years' curriculum is digital in orientation," Mulligan says. "Those that follow a fine-art option are the first to gravitate toward film. Other genres we teach — photojournalism or advertising or biomedical — have a stronger digital emphasis because of the industry itself."

In a rich irony, film's newest fans — not unlike music aficionados who swear by vinyl records — are being drawn together via the rise of the Internet.

"The technology that enabled the demise of film is actually helping to keep it relevant with specific types of users," says IDC analyst Chris Chute.

But with the film market shrinking by more than 20 percent annually, most other signs point downhill. Analysts foresee Kodak offloading its still-profitable film division sometime in the next half-dozen years as it battles to complete a long and painful digital transformation.

Kodak will churn out a variety of films as long as there's sufficient demand for each of them, says Scott DiSabato, its marketing manager for professional film. It has even launched four new types since 2007.

While digital has largely closed the image-quality gap, DiSabato says a top-line film camera using large-format film "is still unsurpassed" in recording high-resolution images.

"The beauty with film is a lot of wonderful properties are inherent and don't require work afterward" whereas digital can involve heavy computer manipulation to get the same effect, DiSabato says.

"In the extreme, they call it 'stomped on,'" he said. "But a lot of photographers want to be photographers, not computer technicians. And some prized film capabilities — grain, color hues, skin-tone reproduction — can't quite be duplicated no matter how much stomping goes on."

Gary Thompson, who's been exhibiting his best photos for 32 years, captured his Yosemite picture on medium-format slide film — which is 4 1/2 times bigger than 35 mm film — during one of many weeks-long photo jaunts with his wife.

In the digitally scanned, 24-by-30-inch print, the shadow from a dipping sun has climbed halfway up El Capitan. The wooded, black-and-white foreground with its lacy snow patterns stands in stark contrast to the golden glow on the granite cliff face under a blue sky.

"I don't know if I could have gotten this print that large with that kind of detail" using a digital camera without "shooting several images and blending them together in Photoshop," he says. "What attracts me to shoot in almost all instances is the quality of light and there's something about film and working with it and the way it records that I just like."

Thompson feels acutely that he's reaching the end of an era.

"As people's film cameras break down, rather than purchasing another one, they move to digital," he says. "Eventually, we'll probably be doing that. There's a certain nostalgia involved, particularly when I'm working with one of my big husky cameras. That will be sad. But hey, when it happens, I'll adjust."

https://www.facebook.com/raymond.tharaldson

Gary.Thompson@ImageCityPhotographyGallery.com