Finding Joel Pahl Dardis

Tag: Photography

  • Seabright, Ansco Color Slides, 1946-1947

    Seabright, Ansco Color Slides, 1946-1947

    We’ve seen images of Werne Pahl and Bernice Adams, his wife, in B&W on the beach and in the water in 1946. These are two color equivalents for the earlier “Family, Pool, Box 17, 1946” blog post I had initially no clue where the below image was taken. Liz Schuler, Joel’s friend and neighbor for…

  • Various subjects Ansco Color Slides, 1947

    Various subjects Ansco Color Slides, 1947

    In between all these different Ansco Color Slide boxes there were a few 1-2 slide series that didn’t belong with any other subject, but that were clearly taken in the same era. One of these didn’t make it into a cardboard frame. Another example of the last slide of the roll, cut off too short,…

  • Diebenkorn, Box 64, 1948

    Diebenkorn, Box 64, 1948

    We’re setting a short step back to box #64 with June-July 1948 timestamp. When I scanned the image below, my jaw dropped and I held my breath when this image was revealed line by line on the screen. Richard Diebenkorn is a very recognizable, singular and distinguished American painter, draftsman, and printmaker who successfully explored both abstract…

  • Stockton Parade, Ansco Color Slides, 1947

    Stockton Parade, Ansco Color Slides, 1947

    Just like with the other Ansco Color Slides, we have other B&W negatives to identify the date. In this case, the parade is most likely in 1947, but could be as early as 1946, basing the earlier year on the presence of Honor Guards, a strong indicator of post-WWII pride. I’ll discuss the intro image…

  • Santa Cruz, Ansco Color Slide, 1947-48

    Santa Cruz, Ansco Color Slide, 1947-48

    All these slides fall in the entertainment category. It’s clear they are taken in Santa Cruz, there are many recognizable landmarks, most of them no longer there. It’s hard to tell which year this is exactly, but we know from B&W images in dated boxes that Joel was in Santa Cruz a few times between…

  • Drewry Photocolor Slides, 1947

    Drewry Photocolor Slides, 1947

    Nineteen 35mm slides in a yellow/blue plastic box, prominently labeled “Drewry Photocolor on the 2” square cardboard frames. I had no reference for the photo processing house. So I did some online sleuthing to see if I could learn more, and was able to distill following blurb from the obituary for William Wallace Drewry Jr.…

  • Bush-Mack, Box 66, 1948

    Bush-Mack, Box 66, 1948

    Joel photographed the wedding of Frances Mack with Philippe Bush on June 5, 1948. This was his first wedding shoot as far as I know. I wondered where the typical ring shot and first kiss went. After all, these are must-haves. And we found the shots tucked away in Box 66, together with a number…

  • Rhizomia Dance, Box 66, Feb 28, 1948

    Rhizomia Dance, Box 66, Feb 28, 1948

    Another Rhizomia event, this time in a box that is clearly labeled from a time and subject perspective. Rhizomia parties are well known for pushing the edge, that’s why Joel probably didn’t miss a single Rhizomite event. There’s a Parisian motif throughout this time, lingerie, Moulin Rouge, Folie Bergère, and edgy portraits adore the (papered)…

  • Michael Pahl, Box 65, June 10, 1948

    Michael Pahl, Box 65, June 10, 1948

    Baby Michael Lawrence Pahl was born Sept 8, 1947. If the date on the box is right, then he’s about 9 months old in most of these images. It’s quite possible a few earlier images are mixed in here, Joel photographed Michael quite a few times in 1948 as we’ve seen already. Before the barrage…

  • Family etc, Box 64, June July 1948

    Family etc, Box 64, June July 1948

    This is another negative collection box with multiple subjects. The majority is Pahl family related, most likely on few different days. And yes, there are babies involved. First image is misplaced, it’s the start of a horse race and we’ve seen related images prior to this blog post when Joel was at Stanford University. Next…