Why I Keep Negatives And Contact Sheets Forever

[Al Kaplan]

A lot of people kid me about all of the boxes and boxes of old negatives and contact sheets that I have, going all the way back to 1961. The contact sheets are numbered to match the negative sleeves, everything is dated with month and year, and often I have names and notes writen on the backs of the contact sheets. I wish that my slides and color negatives were as neatly filed but so many of them have faded into obscurity.

The local Historical Society loves my collection though, and people will often run across a published shot of someplace or somebody and google me. A month or so ago I got an email from somebody who'd run across one of my photographs of his wife as a 15 or 16 year old girl back in 1967. They only live a couple of hours drive from here so I told him that I'd try to hunt down the B&W images. PAY DIRT! We just exchanged emails! They want some of those old pix and I want to do some current shots of her in the same locations as back in 1967. It should be a fun shoot!

Share your story.

 

[Dave Wilkinson]

Should be interesting......but don't ask for a repeat of the bikini shots Al! 😉

 

[jfretless]

Al,
I'm relatively new here and browsed your blog earlier today. I was "inspired" by the body of work you have created over the past forty years. I couldn't but help wonder how many images I will have in the next thirty years. It was cool to say the least. I don't know you or the people you have photographed, but I appreciate what you have documented on film.

John

 

[Al Kaplan]

They emailed me a recent shot in skirt and blouse. She's really very attractive and not the least bit heavy, although she doesn't look 16 anymore (but neither do I). What's really neat is that womens' looks and fashions seem to run in roughly forty year cycles. They said that she'd grown her hair long for awhile but it was now bobbed again. That dress she wore back then would be the right length, pattern, and style these days. Bikinis have gotten a bit skimpier though.