This box had 31 negatives and covers quite a few subjects but also has a number of negatives that are clearly rejects for various reasons.
Still, Joel didn’t throw anything away. And even the rejects give us insight in what he likes to photograph.
The only writing on this box is “Weston 50”. The latter being a light meter, actually Weston model 650, and an “upgrade” over what Joel was using before. Light meters were important tools of the trade and one would need to get used to each model’s use to properly evaluate camera shutter and lens settings for exposure.
This may explain why quite a few images in this box are poorly exposed.
The image below belongs to the Poultry Fire event in 1947.
Although Joel printed this image, it’s backlit in the early morning, and as a result, underexposed.
Next image is a double exposure. First exposure was at the Poultry Fire, the back side with the large chimney and water tower, while the second exposure was a long time exposure of a roller coaster ride and a Ferris Wheel at night. The Poultry Fire shot was in portrait mode (vertical) and the Ferris Wheel was in landscape (horizontal) mode.
There was a second double exposure in landscape/portrait mode of what I believe is a mining operation. Joel visited a few mines in the 1946-1947 area, there’s homework to support this.
It only takes a moment of distraction to end up with a double exposure.
Below is a detail from the machinery label
Although the press negative box had a July 1947 expiration date and a lot of the image are from 1947, there’s also evidence of 1948 images in the box.
1948 was a big year for Gold Rush Centennials, and this box has a number of negatives related to the Centennial. It is not clear if this is in Coloma or another location. Lodi comes to mind in light of the advertising in the parade
Quite a few of the above images were printed or copied. The advertising for Squire, men’s clothing, suggests a Lodi location.
Ending the post today with two outdoor art show images. This event could be related to the Centennial.
The paintings in above image are mostly local scenes.
Next post we’ll look at what’s left in this box.
Cheers !
Finding Joel Pahl Dardis 