[PRCo] west penn r-o-w
Fred Schneider
fwschneider at comcast.net
Fri Aug 9 14:17:24 EDT 2013
Regarding "you should have bought Panatomic X instead of Tri X in bulk….."
In every life there are those coulda, woulda, shouldas.
If I had all the money in the world, John, I would have hired a caddy to carry my film holders and I would have photographed the Pittsburgh interurbans with a Linhof 4x5 Press Camera.
Reality sucks but it is all we have. I photographed the Washington and Charleroi line with a 35mm Baldina and I really didn't understand shutter speeds and lens openings as a 7th grader. You can imagine the results. My next camera was a Christmas gift from my father in 1954 … a used Voigtlander "Bessa" that had a magnificent f 2.8 lens, took 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 negatives but it had one problem … the lens board wobbled. Bill Middleton had the same problem with his … didn't like to stay in focus. One picture would be perfectly sharp and the next one looked like it came from a box camera. My next camera was a used Kodak Recomar in 1956 … a sheet film camera in 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 but it also had a Suydam roll film adapter. Better but less than perfect. Finally in my senior year of high school I bought a Minolta Autocord … a poor man's Rolleiflex … superb piece of glass … sharp as hell. But I think of all the good stuff I could have had in the 1950s given a better camera.
I also took a lot of E4 process Ektachrome, John. That was the crap that turned purple after a few years. We used it because it was two f stops faster than Kodachrome and the colors just jumped out at you when the slides were first processed. (There was also a difference in color if you waited to process it … best if you developed it an hour after you exposed it.) Then we took them out of the box a few years later and we wished we hadn't used that crap. I lost all sorts of great stuff in Italy, Germany, France, Switzerland and Britain in 1959-1961 that I took on that brown fecal matter. Oh well, I was also taking everything in duplicate and there is a black and white negative to match every color slide. They survived. Coulda, shoulda used Agfachrome in Europe … readily available … faster than Ektachrome … similar process and the one roll I took in Scotland in 1960 still hasn't faded.
So John … we do have our memories. We saw things. We may not have seen things that John Baxter, Bob Brown, Bob Scanlon, Bartley … or to move to Lancaster … John Bowman or Jim Shuman or Leon Franks saw. But then they are now missing all those new light rail projects that we are chasing.
So forget what went wrong … smell the flowers, enjoy the roses, listen to the jokes, have as much fun as you can and try to forget the crap that went wrong. (Spoken by a man who just came from a funeral of a friend … live goes on and we have to try to enjoy it.)
On Aug 9, 2013, at 1:08 PM, John Swindler wrote:
>
>
> First challenge is to figure out what I have. At least there are contact print sheets for the 1980s negatives. Those from 1960s have been stored in glassine envelopes for past five decades. If could go back, would NOT buy bulk Tri-x film, but instead go with pan-x. Suspect the consideration was poor lighting conditions.
>
>
>> From: trams2 at comcast.net
>> To: pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org
>> Date: Fri, 9 Aug 2013 11:24:44 -0400
>> Subject: Re: [PRCo] west penn r-o-w
>>
>> It's grainy, but the resolution is mighty low. 35mm negatives require the
>> same resolution as scans. Yes, you can do it for 5 x 7s at half the
>> resolution and get equivalent results, but I think it's easier to have a big
>> enough hard drive (and external backup) to do everything this size at
>> 4000/4800 ppi. Of course, we all have photos that shouldn't be scanned at
>> all (think trash can instead); discretion is always needed.
>>
>> Try that negative again at 4000 and see the difference. The grain should be
>> manageable.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: pittsburgh-railways-bounces at mailman.dementix.org
>> [mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounces at mailman.dementix.org] On Behalf Of John
>> Swindler
>> Sent: Friday, August 09, 2013 10:53 AM
>> To: Western PA Trolley discussion
>> Subject: Re: [PRCo] west penn r-o-w
>>
>> Thanks Ed
>>
>> So when you scan a 35mm negative for printing purposes, also at 4000psi????
>>
>> What if you only want a 5x7 size print. Then scan 2000psi sufficient?? Or
>> still go with scan of 4000psi???
>>
>> Unfortunately used tri-x in early 1960s and pushed development - images will
>> be grainy. For some b/w pix in early 1980s, uses plus or pan-x.
>>
>> Attached scan is from the negative. If I sent previously, it was scan from
>> print. Outbound PRR commuter train approaching Edgewood station. The
>> negative includes the mailbox on pole to left. When did they disappear???
>>
>>
>>
>>> Date: Fri, 9 Aug 2013 14:12:57 +0000
>>> From: bobrathke at comcast.net
>>> To: pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org
>>> Subject: Re: [PRCo] west penn r-o-w
>>>
>>> Thanks, John, Bob and Ed. I'll try VueScan.
>>>
>>> Bob
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>
>>> From: "Edward H. Lybarger" <trams2 at comcast.net>
>>> To: "Western PA Trolley discussion"
>>> <pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org>
>>> Sent: Friday, August 9, 2013 7:35:38 AM
>>> Subject: Re: [PRCo] west penn r-o-w
>>>
>>> When I scan a slide at 4000 ppi, I get a 50-54 MB file. That makes a nice
>> 8 x 10 print. Remember, you want that 300-400 ppi resolution at the FINAL
>> size, not the original image size.
>>>
>>> My Nikon scanner works on a Windows 7 machine loaded with Virtual XP that
>> I bought in 2011. But when I tried to repeat the effect on a new laptop
>> recently, I cannot get it to work...same problems as Bob is experiencing.
>> My wife's son, who manages all the student computers for the Naval Academy,
>> says that a lot of things that are supposed to be backwards compatible
>> simply don't work, regardless of what we're told. I've often said that
>> Microsoft got rich making defective software and then charging again to fix
>> it.
>>>
>>> At some point I will purchase VueScan for the laptop so I can have the
>> option of taking the scanner out in the field. They offer two versions...a
>> cheapie, with no support, and a slightly less cheap one with lifetime
>> support. I'll probably spring for the premium version.
>>>
>>> Ed
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: pittsburgh-railways-bounces at mailman.dementix.org
>>> [mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounces at mailman.dementix.org] On Behalf Of
>>> John Swindler
>>> Sent: Thursday, August 08, 2013 8:53 PM
>>> To: Western PA Trolley discussion
>>> Subject: Re: [PRCo] west penn r-o-w
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Epson Perfection 350. It was our son's, but he recently upgraded. The
>> computer is a recent HP with windows 7.
>>>
>>> I didn't have software CD, so downloaded the server files from the Epson
>> website this afternoon. Surprisingly, it worked.
>>>
>>> For scanning, the default is 300dpi for transparencies. I switched to
>> 400dpi - what you saw. In one instance, Fred asked for higher resolution,
>> so tried 800dpi - took long time to scan and file was 4mb. I guess for
>> sharing slides, 400dpi is more than sufficient, but for making prints should
>> consider 800-1200 dpi.
>>>
>>> Next experiment is to see what scanner can do with some 35mm b/w
>>> negatives from around 1963. Wondering if this will include the 1537
>>> fantrip????? (first challenge is to locate negatives - first time in
>>> abut 50 years)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> From: bob.dietrich1 at verizon.net
>>>> To: pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org
>>>> Date: Thu, 8 Aug 2013 19:13:44 -0400
>>>> Subject: Re: [PRCo] west penn r-o-w
>>>>
>>>> Bob:
>>>>
>>>> I have an Epson Perfection 1650 scanner that quit working when I went to
>> Windows 7 64bit. The solution was VueScan, an inexpensive product ($40)
>> that may work with your scanner. See www.hamrick.com.
>>>>
>>>> Bob
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: pittsburgh-railways-bounces at mailman.dementix.org
>>>> [mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounces at mailman.dementix.org] On Behalf
>>>> Of Bob Rathke
>>>> Sent: Thursday, August 08, 2013 6:36 PM
>>>> To: Western PA Trolley discussion
>>>> Subject: Re: [PRCo] west penn r-o-w
>>>>
>>>> John,
>>>> ?
>>>> Which Epson slide scanner do you have - the V500?? I have a Nikon
>> Coolscan5000ED slide scanner that worked great with Windows 98, but I can't
>> get it to work with Windows 7 Professional/Virtual 98.? My old Windows 98
>> computer was recycled, so now I'm limited to making only?low-res slide scans
>> on my HP scanner.
>>>> ?
>>>> Bob
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>
>>>> From: "John Swindler" <j_swindler at hotmail.com>
>>>> To: "Western PA Trolley discussion"
>>>> <pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org>
>>>> Sent: Thursday, August 8, 2013 3:32:50 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: [PRCo] west penn r-o-w
>>>>
>>>> ?
>>>> West Penn right of way - probably. ?
>>>> ?
>>>> PAT had downtown office on Wood St. 1970s. ?
>>>> ?
>>>> As for third pix, since list topic is Pittsburgh Railways, this is PRC
>> bus 503, with couple seats removed and tables installed. ?I want to say that
>> PAT called it their 'party bus', but will defer to those with better
>> memories. ?Used 1972 to sign up senior citizens for the free transit
>> program. ?This pix is in Ingram.
>>>> ?
>>>> Scanned at 400 dpi as experiment of Epson scanner capabilities.
>>>>
>>>> ?
>>>>> From: j_swindler at hotmail.com
>>>>> To: pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org
>>>>> Date: Thu, 8 Aug 2013 13:46:37 -0400
>>>>> Subject: Re: [PRCo] change to bus fans
>>>>>
>>>>> ?
>>>>> Two bus fans - May 1986, location is Harrisburg. ?Kodachrome from Ray
>> Foley.
>>>>> ?
>>>>> Second pix is example of what computers can salvage from an under
>>>>> exposed Kodachrome slide taken on a dreary Dec. 1966. ?Unbelievable
>> (if you saw the original Kodachrome) ?
>>>>> ?
>>>>> ????????????????? ???????? ? ???????????????? ?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was
>>>>> scrubbed...
>>>>> URL:
>>>>> http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachme
>>>>> nt s/20130808/6a4b5a4a/attachment.html
>>>>> -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was
>>>>> scrubbed...
>>>>> Name: 1986-May.jpg
>>>>> Type: image/jpeg
>>>>> Size: 1305802 bytes
>>>>> Desc: not available
>>>>> Url :
>>>>> http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachme
>>>>> nt s/20130808/6a4b5a4a/attachment.jpg
>>>>> -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was
>>>>> scrubbed...
>>>>> Name: img002.jpg
>>>>> Type: image/jpeg
>>>>> Size: 868544 bytes
>>>>> Desc: not available
>>>>> Url :
>>>>> http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachme
>>>>> nt s/20130808/6a4b5a4a/attachment-0001.jpg
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Pittsburgh-railways mailing list
>>>>> Pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org
>>>>> https://mailman.dementix.org/mailman/listinfo/pittsburgh-railways
>>>> ????????????????? ???????? ? ???????????????? ?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was
>>>> scrubbed...
>>>> URL:
>>>> http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachment
>>>> s/
>>>> 20130808/64c35ae9/attachment.html
>>>> -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was
>>>> scrubbed...
>>>> Name: img013.jpg
>>>> Type: image/jpeg
>>>> Size: 1483348 bytes
>>>> Desc: not available
>>>> Url :
>>>> http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachment
>>>> s/
>>>> 20130808/64c35ae9/attachment.jpg
>>>> -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was
>>>> scrubbed...
>>>> Name: 1974.jpg
>>>> Type: image/jpeg
>>>> Size: 2038858 bytes
>>>> Desc: not available
>>>> Url :
>>>> http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachment
>>>> s/ 20130808/64c35ae9/attachment-0001.jpg
>>>> -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was
>>>> scrubbed...
>>>> Name: 1973.jpg
>>>> Type: image/jpeg
>>>> Size: 1644167 bytes
>>>> Desc: not available
>>>> Url :
>>>> http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachment
>>>> s/ 20130808/64c35ae9/attachment-0002.jpg
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Pittsburgh-railways mailing list
>>>> Pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org
>>>> https://mailman.dementix.org/mailman/listinfo/pittsburgh-railways
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was
>>>> scrubbed...
>>>> URL:
>>>> http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachment
>>>> s/
>>>> 20130808/bdba9373/attachment.html
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Pittsburgh-railways mailing list
>>>> Pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org
>>>> https://mailman.dementix.org/mailman/listinfo/pittsburgh-railways
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Pittsburgh-railways mailing list
>>>> Pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org
>>>> https://mailman.dementix.org/mailman/listinfo/pittsburgh-railways
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was
>>> scrubbed...
>>> URL:
>>> http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachments/
>>> 20130808/01f116a3/attachment.html
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Pittsburgh-railways mailing list
>>> Pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org
>>> https://mailman.dementix.org/mailman/listinfo/pittsburgh-railways
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Pittsburgh-railways mailing list
>>> Pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org
>>> https://mailman.dementix.org/mailman/listinfo/pittsburgh-railways
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was
>>> scrubbed...
>>> URL:
>>> http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachments/
>>> 20130809/79d62731/attachment.html
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Pittsburgh-railways mailing list
>>> Pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org
>>> https://mailman.dementix.org/mailman/listinfo/pittsburgh-railways
>>
>>
>>
>> -------------- next part --------------
>> An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
>> URL:
>> http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachments/201308
>> 09/37c55b32/attachment.html
>> -------------- next part --------------
>> A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
>> Name: img018.jpg
>> Type: image/jpeg
>> Size: 2408418 bytes
>> Desc: not available
>> Url :
>> http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachments/201308
>> 09/37c55b32/attachment.jpg
>> _______________________________________________
>> Pittsburgh-railways mailing list
>> Pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org
>> https://mailman.dementix.org/mailman/listinfo/pittsburgh-railways
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Pittsburgh-railways mailing list
>> Pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org
>> https://mailman.dementix.org/mailman/listinfo/pittsburgh-railways
>
>
>
> -------------- next part --------------
> An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
> URL: http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachments/20130809/79c97dd9/attachment.html
> _______________________________________________
> Pittsburgh-railways mailing list
> Pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org
> https://mailman.dementix.org/mailman/listinfo/pittsburgh-railways
More information about the Pittsburgh-railways
mailing list