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I-5 construction, Sleeve 3, 1971

This sleeve contains enlarged negatives. The original negatives are 120 film format with a 2 1/4″ width. The length of the negatives was 3.5″. After enlarging, the size becomes 4.5″ x 7″. These negatives were most likely photographed with the Koni-Omega camera Joel acquired somewhere late 1959. Enlarging would have been done on his standard…
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Boat stuck in Stockton Channel, Sleeve 1

By chance, the first sleeve with 4×5″ negatives in my own collection of Joel Dardis negatives, had as subject yet another boat. This brought up memories of the first negatives I got to see from 1938, where Joel photographed a boat where a worker had an accident. In this case Joel only shot 3 negatives.…
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Woman in Boat, Sleeve 2, 1959

There’s a regatta in Stockton on July 19, 1959. Joel loves boats and he is present. This particular sleeve also has “Woman in boat” written across. Five 4×5″ negatives in total. I also came across 3 images Joel cropped and printed from these negatives. This gives us some insight on how Joel sees into his…
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Coastal Trees, JFC, 1957

There’s this sleeve in the Jessica Fong Collection promising a COP football match in 1957, and all I found were positive 4×5″ B&W slides of trees taken in a coastal area, most likely between Santa Cruz and Carmel. Although there are 8 images in the sleeve, only 3 negatives were involved. Joel is experimenting with…
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Vallecito, Big Trees, Calaveras, JFC, 1964-1965

That’s the reference of the Jessica Fong Collection 4×5″ negative sleeve we’ll be looking at today. There was no further description, and in light of multiple subjects, I assume that Joel may not have remembered for sure when this was shot at the Calaveras Big Trees State Park as it is currently known. These are…
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UOP Football, JFC, 1961

This sleeve with 4×5″ negatives from the Jessica Fong Collection of Dardis Negatives mentions Sept 27 – Nov 15, 1961, UOP Football. None of the limit dates correspond with a football match at UOP as far as my research shows. In between these two dates there are 9 matches in total. There are 9 negatives…
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Yosemite in Infrared, JFC, 1963-1964

Another 4×5″ negatives sleeve in the Jessica Fong Collection of Dardis negatives contains Yosemite landscapes photographed on infrared film. This is something Joel did quite regularly between 1962-1965. It does give a dramatic twist when done with a good amount of red filtering. In the order as found, here they are: The green foliage turns…
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Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls, JFC, 1962

The last 4×5″ negatives of the June 9, 1962 sleeve contain images of the Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls. Joel used red and yellow filters to tone the bright blue skies down. It is a common tool in the arsenal of the B&W film photographer, but in this case, Joel overdid it and the sky…
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Half Dome, Yosemite, JFC, 1962

The exact date of these images is June 9, 1962. Joel just turned 41 and he treats himself on a trip to Yosemite, his second one. These negatives were found across two sleeves with a “Yosemite, June 9, 1962” note on them. Joel focuses on Half Dome during this trip, and one more location I’ll…
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Third Courthouse, JFC, 1962

I found few Stockton Courthouse negatives In a 4×5″ negative sleeve from the Jessica Fong Collection of Dardis negatives, marked with “Yosemite 1962” The Third Courthouse construction started in 1962 and was completed in 1964. There’s a lot said and written about the demolition of the second courthouse in 1961, and the need for this…
