This time, I switched off the room lights and shot the negatives during night
in darkness apart from the lit laptop screen. Someone in flickr suggested that
I used a black box for the purpose but since I didn't have one and didn't feel
like making a DIY box, I simply switched off the lights!
The negatives are totally covered with fungus marks and has lots of scratches so
I didn't know how the results will be. After I converted them into positives in
Adobe Photoshop CS6, I was very excited looking at the results.
The photos my mom have had of those negatives were tiny 2X2 inch squares and the
details could be hardly seen but after I digitalized them, I could see them more
clearly in a better light even after the poor condition of the negatives. I tried
restoring them but but left the most to the age since it gives a unique feel to
it.
I am product of the mid 80s but my childhood photos looks like they are from
1960s since the place I belong to was quite remote and late in catching up with
new technologies. It is not true as of today since we are now well connected
and whatever gets' launched in the world market, we can get it shortly after but it
was not the case around the time I was born and before that. Some of my friends
and seniors have their baby photos in colour but because my parents were technologically
challenged (still are), my toddler photos were taken with Agfa Click III
plastic camera which my father had since he was in college! He took all his college and then the family photos with Agfa Click III with B&W film roll till 90s! Once I resented for not
seeing my toddler photos in colour but I like the B&W and sepia now.
Working on the photos for last 2 nights, I’ve been feeling very nostalgic and also it has been raining since….
Apart from my parent's studio portrait, all the photos were taken with
Agfa Click III with some unknown B&W negatives.
Here are few of the samples. I will get more negatives from my native house
and scan them later.
My parents: newly wed (17 years and 24 years old)
My parents with their first born. My father was the Circle Officer in Pasighat then.
Me and my older sister. Out caretaker- Kali was a Nepali and a Hindu so she used to put those black dots on our forehead. The black dot (bindi in Hindi) is used to ward off evil intentions and protect children from illness.
In Pakekesang: one of the most remote places of Arunachal Pradesh even today. The time this photo was taken, there was no road connection and people had to walk on foot from one place to another. This photo was taken during Independence day (as told by my parents). The field behind is a helicopter field where food supplies used to be air dropped by the Indian Army. I still have vivid memory of the place. My caretaker- Kali used to bring my sister and me here. There used to be these tall fox grasses in this field where I used to play. There was brook nearby and a small bamboo bridge.... I have somewhat clear memories of few incidences even from my toddler time and especially this place...feels like a dream now...
My parents above with their first born. My mother's younger sister is holding my oldest brother and a young caretaker (it is common in these part to have teenagers working as caretakers because of poverty and most of them are from Orissa, Assam and Nepal).
My parents with my older two brothers
In Pakekesang during Independence day.
Tomy- furry companion, Oldest brother, Kali- the caretaker, older sister and second older brother.
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