Really old pictures

August 22, 2013 by Howard Dale Posted in People Tagged gallery Leave a comment

During our recent garage cleanup we came across three apparently exposed films in a box that clearly had not been opened in years. I had them processed and scanned. Two of them were completely blank – I guess that somehow the leader had been wound back into the cartridge before they were exposed.

The third roll was a surprise though. I recall the event: we were living on Long Island, NY at the time and a group of us went to Robert Moses beach. We are still in touch with some of the people in the pictures e.g.the woman on the far left of the first picture and her husband, the Adonis in the third picture. Some of the people we were close to (the guy with the mustache carrying the baby in the first picture and his wife and kids in the second and fourth pictures) but long ago lost touch with. We remember the woman second from the left in the first picture but don’t recall that she ever came out to visit us. We don’t remember the people in the fifth picture at all. The guy waving in the first picture is me.

How old are these pictures? On the same roll were some pictures of the Hague, Netherlands where my wife worked around 1986. These would have been earlier. It might be that these pictures are around 30 years old.

Of course they’re not as old as they look. I converted them to black and white and added the vignettes, partly because I like the way they look and partly to cover up some of the problems arising from processing a 30 year old film (extreme color shifts and lots of grain).

I’m not even sure who took the pictures. I don’t think it was me.

Sue and Son

Dave

Hard to believe that the baby might now be in his/her thirties

Unknown couple

North Salem, NY

August 22, 2013 by Howard Dale Posted in Places Tagged gallery Leave a comment

The Housemaster site has this to say about North Salem:

North Salem is somewhat of an equestrian’s dreamland. The town’s farming history paved the way for plenty of open spaces and a rural setting, attractions that draw residents who enjoy the serenity and strive to maintain North Salem’s country qualities. With old churches and barns converted into houses lining the windy roads, horse-crossing signs are nearly as necessary as stop signs. Lean, strong horses can be seen grazing on the lush lawns of horse farms or behind fences close to the road, and are as common a sight in North Salem as squirrels or deer…North Salem’s history, dating back to 1731, resonates through the small town, which has a population of about 5,200. Delancey Hall, one of the three buildings that comprise Town Hall, is on the National Register of Historic Places. Driving along Route 116, also known as Titicus Road, one can view historical sites and structures, such as The Cable Barn, circa 1869, and Balanced Rock, a 60-ton mound of granite that rests on five smaller rocks. The rock does not match the make-up of typical rocks found in the area, so its placement remains a mystery. It is thought to have been left there during the glacial period…The eccentric characters that have come through the town over the years remain alive through storytelling, such as the hermit Sara Bishop, who supposedly lived in a cave and eventually froze to death there. In her spirit, people generally like to keep to themselves around town. The town has become a get-away for the rich and famous, including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, David Letterman, Alan Menken, Stanley Tucci and others.

There’s a cluster of buildings around what in England we would call a “green”. It’s quite picturesque. This one is the Court House.

I believe this is Delancy Hall, which as mentioned above is on the National Register of Historic Places

Another of the Town Office Buildings

View across the green from the Court House pillars

The balanced rock. A sign next to it says:

The balanced rock is estimated to weigh 60 tons. Geologists refer to it as an “erratic”. The boulder is composed of a type of granite that does not match rock normally found in ths vicinity and is thought to have been deposited here during the glacial period. It has been suggested in recent years that this may be a dolmen – a celtic ceremonial stone used to memorialize the dead.”

The Cable Barn

Purdy’s Farmer and the Fish. Strangely for a resturant near the border of Westchester County, NY and Connecticut it specializes in fish. We had a very pleasant lunch in this 1775 building, also a landmark. “Don’t Miss” New York Times Review here.

I don’t know what this house is (seems to be a private residence) and I don’t even remember if it’s in North Salem. If it’s not it’s certainly close by. UPDATE February, 24 2017. I’ve now discovered what this house is (see: A Mystery Solved)

More scans: Eirah

August 20, 2013 by Howard Dale Posted in People Tagged gallery Leave a comment

By the window

Continuing the scanning project – after the wedding album the next album that came to light had some old pictures of my wife, Eirah. Even though over 30 years has elapsed since these pictures were taken she still looks the same to me.

Sitting on a cushion in the living room in our house in Dix Hills, NY

More scans of old images: Egypt

August 20, 2013 by Howard Dale Posted in Places Tagged gallery Leave a comment

Giza: Camel and Pyramids

During the late 1970s to early 1980s I spent quite a bit of time in Egypt on business. Here are a couple of pictures from that period. I don’t recall exactly what camera I used, but it would have been either a Minolta Hi-Matic 7sii or a Canon AE-1.

Feluccas on the Nile at Aswan

Wedding Pictures

August 20, 2013 by Howard Dale Posted in People Tagged gallery Leave a comment

The invitation

We recently had a water leak at our house in Westchester County. We rescued a number of old pictures; family albums etc., which luckily had not been damaged. It did make me realize, however, that I should do something about the pictures before they deteriorate any more (even though undamaged by the water a number of the pictures were fading as a result of age). So I decided to start scanning them. One of the first albums I picked up was of our wedding. Clearly I didn’t take the pictures as I’m in many of them. Unfortunately I now longer recall who did take the pictures. At first I though it was our old friend the late Shamsus Zaman (Pappu), but I think Pappu was a better photographer than this. So I really don’t know.

It was with mixed feelings that I looked back on the pictures. On the one hand I still remember it as such a happy occasion. Maybe the most memorable event in my life. On the other hand there was sadness. A number of of the people present have since passed away: my parents in the mid 1990s; more recently my mother-in-law just a couple of months ago; most tragically my sister-in-law Lisa (My brother-in-law Efren’s wife) passed away in her thirties. Over the years we’ve lost touch with the best man, Alfred and his wife Sue. We no longer know how to contact them.

The years really fly by. Now retired, grey haired and overweight I find it hard to believe that I once looked like I do in the pictures.