The LOST "ART" of Double Exposures: More Ghosts

Did they love their vacations at the old log cabin so much that they haunted it for years to come?



Click on "Double Exposure" in the labels to see more.

More of the LOST "ART" of the Double Exposure

I found a site last night that purported to explain how to create double exposures. It was utter nonsense. It had nothing to do with a real double exposure and was nothing more than explaining how to do layers using photo editing software. Though many of the images were striking, they weren't double exposures. This sits in the craw of old timers like me. Don't use old terminology to explain something you're doing today that has no similar reference point.

Generally a real double exposure was an accident, but not always. Some people did successfully find ways to make film not advance or go back so that they could create a double exposure. They were still at the mercy of the camera and had no idea what they would get until they processed the negative and print.

double exposure  noun      the repeated exposure of a photographic plate or film to light, often producing ghost images.

• the photograph that results from such exposure.

Obviously this is not the same as placing layer after layer of images into one document in Photoshop where you're in control every step of the way.

Before computers you could play in the darkroom with multiple negs and create all sorts of wonderful images. I did it myself and recall an especially odd print of Mick Jagger with a fern sticking out of his nose. Oh to still have that odd print. And no, it wasn't a real photo of Mick. It was a shot I'd taken of an album cover and some tropical ferns in the backyard. I'm sure it was funnier at the time, thanks to the overwhelming smell of developing chemicals, than it would ever be if I saw it today. Best to keep it as a vague memory.

I continue to search for double exposures, but the pickin's now are pretty slim. I believe most people tossed them with disgust when they got their prints.

One of the joys in this category are ghost people. Don't believe in ghosts? Really? What more proof do you need?



This is the happiest group of ghosts I've ever seen. A ghosts day out at the lake. I believe they might have been institutionalized ghosts.

Have some double exposures you'd like to share or links to images? Let me know and I'll include them in this post. It's a category!

Here are a couple links to images I've posted in the past, including yesterdays post:

The LOST "ART" of the Double Exposure
DOUBLE EXPOSURE Rosa and Rodrique
CATEGORY and SUBCATEGORIES GALORE!

Here's a grouping at another site:
House of Mirth

And here are two submitted by online friends:

From Nancy at Nancy's Family History Blog

From Jim at DullToolDimBulb.

The LOST "ART" of the Double Exposure

It's sad to think that the surprise and mystery of double exposures will now be a thing of the past. No more surprises when you take your photos to the drug store for prints; you'll have already seen what you're going to get long before you have prints in hand. And henceforth, images that look like double exposures will simply be someone with Photoshop, or one of it's lesser imitators, using layers. Happenstance won't happen anymore.

I guess this is progress, though I will miss seeing the creations made when errors are in control.

Click on image to see it larger.

One of my favorites in my collection is of a group having a picnic. The double exposure is of the same folks standing on steps which overlays the picnic shot. You can see it in the slideshow to the left in the book Telling Stories.

Have some double exposures you'd like to share or links to images? Let me know and I'll include them in this post. It's a category!

Here are a couple links to images I've posted in the past:

DOUBLE EXPOSURE Rosa and Rodrique
CATEGORY and SUBCATEGORIES GALORE!

Here's a grouping at another site:
House of Mirth

From Nancy at Nancy's Family History Blog

From Jim at DullToolDimBulb.

School DAZZLING!

Click on image to see it larger.

SCHOOL DAZED PRINCESS with Court

No idea what's going on here. Appears to be a queen with her royal court of farmers and farmettes. The shot was most likely taken in Ukiah, California.


Click on image to see it larger.

...SCHOOL DAZED boy

...and more SCHOOL DAZED

More SCHOOL DAZED 1931

SCHOOL DAZED 1931

THE SAME but different: Part 2

THE SAME but different: Part 1

A pox on DESIGNERS OF BRIDESMAID DRESSES...

who make women look like fools. I know, jokes about bridesmaid dresses are easy because the dresses are usually so hideous. I don't know if it's the designer's intent to make the women look bad just so the bride looks good, but I can't come up with any other reason as to why so often the dresses are over the top. Useless fluff creations that look like cake wrecks.

How many times did this poor woman wear this dress after the wedding? I'm guessing never. I'm guessing just packing it up was enough of a chore.

And oh how I'd love to see the full line up of all the bridesmaids in these too precious creations!

Click on image to see it larger.

GETTING SHOT by a stranger

Personally, I'd find it unnerving to have someone jump out and take a photo of me walking down the street and then hand me a card telling me where I could buy the photo. If you didn't buy it what did they do with it? And how many people actually bought the photos?



These type of shots are pretty easy to find when you're sorting through bins at antique stores and flea markets; usually they're pretty bad. I had a stack of them a few weeks ago that I considered and then realized they were only worth it if I was crazy about the "walking down the street getting shot by a photographer" category. Often they're of really poor quality. I like to imagine the photographer backing up...backing up...backing right into a light pole. It had to be a crummy way to make a living.



These days we have little control over who is taking our photo or how they'll use it. Whether it be surveillance cameras, street photographers, or just people with iPhones snapping away, you could end up on some photo sharing site without your permission. I have been known to do some serious ducking and weaving to avoid having my photo taken.



I had a drunk sitting next to me on a flight who kept trying to take my photo with his cell phone. If he'd succeeded it would have been an even more unpleasant flight. The thing is, he probably had the law on his side.

I imagine some of the photographers who took shots like these had the law on their side, but how many of them took a photo they soon regretted? I mean, you wouldn't want to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and shoot maybe an image of a mob guy or gang member, would you?



Be careful where you point that camera. It's loaded.

This is my Sepia Saturday contribution this week.

TUMBLING fences

I have no information about this photo. On the back is printed by hand "Jenni Woodall." It was in an envelope of items from my friend Bert.

Click on image to see it larger.

Beware of CHILDREN IN WICKER!

Once upon a time there was a little girl who was far too old to sit in a wicker buggy, but sit in it she did. She’d pout and fume and fuddle the day through as the talking tree, who didn’t make the cut for the Wizard of Oz, stood by her side. As people walked by she’d stare and glare and give them a Bronx cheer then act like she’d never even noticed them.


Click on image to see it larger.

As she grew older she continued to sit in the buggy, always refusing to accept the fact that she’d outgrown it. Little is known of what became of her, but eventually her legs dangled over the side and she’d pull the hood up while she smoked cigars. A child gone bad all because of wicker. Let this be a lesson should you decide to give a newborn wicker. Their fate is in your hands. Their fate is in your hands dude.

A man's home is his CASTLE...

but a comfy room will do nicely for a woman. I think most women want a nest. It could be a sparse nest or one brimming with treasures, but not a castle. A castle is too much to clean. A castle is for a bloated ego. A quiet room will do quite nicely, thank you.

I have no information on this image. This woman has her treasures nicely arranged. This room was important to her. I wish all women had a room that was important to them where they could feel safe being themselves.









This is my submission for this weeks Sepia Saturday.

Be careful if you MAKE A SILLY FACE...

because you may be stuck with it forever.