Sunday, August 30, 2015

Unrejected! 1957

It's Sunday, and that means that many GDB readers have found other things to do besides read dumb blogs. They're dusting their shelf of collectible thimbles from the Franklin Mint (one thimble for each of the 50 states!); or trying on old pants to see if they still fit (those velour bell-bottoms will be back in style any day now); or maybe they are curling up on the sofa with The Good Book (and by that I mean "Harry Potter").  So... it seemed like a good day to share some previously-rejected slides. They're not a complete waste of time, but there are problems.

In scanning a series of slides from 1957, it was disappointing to discover that some of them were just a little bit soft, focus-wise. I tried to sharpen this one up a bit using Photoshop's "unsharp mask" filter, and it did a pretty good job; but I very nearly tossed the scan into the trash. Look at how crowded the boat is!


This one would be more fun if it wasn't so dark dark, and if it wasn't so fuzzy. A dark green (pre-1960) Mine Train is leaving Rainbow Ridge, about to pass through the tunnel; before Nature's Wonderland, most of this ride consisted of nothing but scenes from the Rainbow Desert.


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4 comments:

  1. Nanook12:10 AM

    Oh, Major-

    These aren't so bad. In fact, the only thing wrong with the first image is I'm not in it. Perhaps I was in disguise that day and I'm unrecognizable. Or the second one, for that matter.

    Thanks, Major.

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  2. K. Martinez8:05 AM

    The first images isn't bad at all. Were these scanned using your old scanner or new scanner? Thanks, Major.

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  3. Major Pepperidge10:07 AM

    Nanook, it is true, these are not so bad; even more heartbreaking is a series of stereo views that I just scanned. They look fantastic when you just hold them up to the light, but in fact they are ALL blurry. I'm still trying to decide whether to post them or not; some are still fun to see, while others make you want to go to the eye doctor.

    K. Martinez, I used the new scanner! You'll be seeing a mix of scans from the old and new machines over the next few weeks, but I prepared one post to show how well the dust & scratch removal works in some instances.

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  4. Anonymous9:45 AM

    I'm enjoying these, especially the old green mine train. Blurry is fine, it's how the world looks without my glasses.

    Thanks Major.

    JG

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