filmtwit
Desperate but not serious
Photographer Charles Daniels has been photographing famous rockers like Rod Stewart, Jimi Hendrix, The Who’s Pete Townshend, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, and others since the late 1960s. However, tens of thousands of his photos have never been seen — they are sitting in roughly 3,200 rolls of undeveloped film in his Boston home. . . .
https://petapixel.com/2022/03/20/ph...loped-film-rolls-hold-history-of-rock-n-roll/
https://petapixel.com/2022/03/20/ph...loped-film-rolls-hold-history-of-rock-n-roll/
raid
Dad Photographer
This is very important and exciting. Some agency should fund the developing of all rolls.
bluesun267
Well-known
Not sure how I feel about this. Clearly the attention he's garnering is coming mainly from interest in the rock bands he shot. And my initial thought is: really? Are another 100 shots of Keith Richards going to be of pressing cultural import, even if they're really great shots? (And then there's the whole issue of trying to get a decent image out of 50 year old Tri-X but let's not even go there).
BUT, buried way down near the end it mentions the fact that not all of his rolls are rock concerts and that (surprise, surprise) he also was an avid photographer of his own life in general. That has much more potential to me than the rock photos. But it's just potentially interesting and/or historical. It's very hard for me to get behind a photographer who (seemingly) wasn't interested enough in his own work to even develop the film. But again, there's just so little information about why, not to mention a real lack of any sort of deeper insight into the photographer.
Maybe I've just found the key to my own future success and recognition as a photographer. Simply stop developing my film! So damn simple!
BUT, buried way down near the end it mentions the fact that not all of his rolls are rock concerts and that (surprise, surprise) he also was an avid photographer of his own life in general. That has much more potential to me than the rock photos. But it's just potentially interesting and/or historical. It's very hard for me to get behind a photographer who (seemingly) wasn't interested enough in his own work to even develop the film. But again, there's just so little information about why, not to mention a real lack of any sort of deeper insight into the photographer.
Maybe I've just found the key to my own future success and recognition as a photographer. Simply stop developing my film! So damn simple!
raydm6
Yay! Cameras! 🙈🙉🙊┌( ಠ_ಠ)┘ [◉"]
Great read! Thanks for the link. I didn’t see this in the Boston papers today. Hope the story gets picked up for the locals.
I missed that era by about 4-5 years (too young for the clubs) but was fortunate to see concerts in those venues from the early to mid-70’s and onwards. And the club seen in Boston was excellent back then. Harvard Square was a blast to hang out in and the Harvard “Coop” was my favorite place to buy vinyl. And, I still have them all.
So cool he still has all - or most - of his original gear.
Great stuff. Can’t wait to see some images.
I missed that era by about 4-5 years (too young for the clubs) but was fortunate to see concerts in those venues from the early to mid-70’s and onwards. And the club seen in Boston was excellent back then. Harvard Square was a blast to hang out in and the Harvard “Coop” was my favorite place to buy vinyl. And, I still have them all.
So cool he still has all - or most - of his original gear.
Great stuff. Can’t wait to see some images.
DownUnder
Nikon Nomad
Re your last para - the late/great Gary Winogrand beat you to it.
As for the rest, agree entirely. Rock and happy snaps. Woo hoo...
Like me and my several thousand at home cat shots. I reckon I'm even ahead of the legendary Chris Crawford and his Sneaky in this area, having had a much longer lifetime to do it. Thousands and thousands of them. Sadly, scanning about half of them (so far) has deprived me of at least a year of my life.
One thing I am absolutely sure of, is we all wish the photographer, or whoever/whichever takes over the onerous task of souping all that film, the very best of luck in what may well be a lifelong endeavor.
Now I must look up who is most actively producing/selling photo processing chemistry in the USA, and buy a block of shares.
What, cynical, who, moi?!? Ha...
Retro-Grouch
Veteran
Whatever the reasons, if a photographer doesn't care enough about his own images to even process them, why should I care about them? Let them sit and disintegrate. And please, let's not have them "rescued" like Winogrand's work.
DownUnder
Nikon Nomad
Yes to all this. Also a sad thought of silent solidarity to the poor stiff who'll get to do all the scanning...
neal3k
Well-known
There has been a lot of discussion on why Vivian Maier did not show or even have some of her film developed. She must have photographed for the actual love of the shooting experience. I see nothing wrong with Charles Daniels doing it for the same reason. Vivian was on the streets and Charles was around musicians so their subjects were almost pre-defined.
I have fun shooting, even if something happens to the roll and end up with no or bad pictures. (Of course, it's even better when they turn out nice.) The actual act of taking a photograph is a big part of my fun and also many others, I expect. In the case of Charles Daniels, I also like rock and roll photos from the past and hope folks enjoy those that are already developed and those that may still be developed.
I have fun shooting, even if something happens to the roll and end up with no or bad pictures. (Of course, it's even better when they turn out nice.) The actual act of taking a photograph is a big part of my fun and also many others, I expect. In the case of Charles Daniels, I also like rock and roll photos from the past and hope folks enjoy those that are already developed and those that may still be developed.
Guth
Appreciative User
Thanks for sharing this. I found the article to be very interesting. Not only would l like to see more of Charles' images, but I'd also like to learn more about his life. I hope that they are able to raise the money needed to accomplish their goals.
markjwyatt
Well-known
I hope it is not all Kodachrome!
Livesteamer
Well-known
A few years ago I found six rolls of Tri X that had sat in a drawer since the late 70's, early 80's. One came out perfectly, two were visible but not worth printing and the rest were ruined, unable to make out any images. Joe