Introduction: I am 57 years old and have lived in
California for most of my adult life. I have worked in many different fields
with modest success in most. I am and have been married to an incredible women
for the last 30 years and have 3 dogs 1 cat and a 25 year old Parrot. Until the
economic crash in California about 6 years ago I was a General Contractor doing
mainly single family home remodeling. Right now I am driving a semi-truck and
48 foot trailer hauling steel coil. I hope that changes soon. 
About
12 years ago my mother who was about 72 at the time decided she wanted a
web-site where she could record our family photos as well as family genealogy.
She asked my help with searching some of the genealogy information she
required. While involved in this project I became aware of how much data was
available but how little visual material could be found. Even when it was found
is was generally a very poor image that was horribly pixilated when you tried
to enlarge it. Anything worth viewing generally cost money or you had to suffer
some internet indignity such as massive spam attacks or a pornographic add
running on the page you wanted to view and a virus to boot. I decided with my
web-site I would change that. Totally free, no advertising and photos you can
download, view or print to your heart's content. http://officeofimagearchaeology.com/
1.
How and/or when did you get you hooked on history?
My
interest in history and particularly photographs started very early in life.
My Grandmother was an
antique dealer in Pennsylvania. We lived there when I was about 5 years old and
I remember a panorama photo of Old Ironsides she had above the sideboard in her
dining room. My father sat me on his lap and told me all about it. That image
has stuck with me all the rest of my life and today I own 11 panoramas dating
around the turn of the century with the longest being 8 feet. The second
pivotal moment in my life and what truly got me hooked was a history lesson
about the Maidu Indians in Central California. It was a sixth grade school
lesson where we learned about them from vintage photographs and more current
printed materials and then got to build models of what we saw in the photos. I
built a small section of a village that appeared in a cardboard mounted photo.
The photo was very old and mostly destroyed so I could only see the portion I
was to build. My imagination ran crazy while I tried to see in my mind the part
that was missing. I was hooked forever.
2.
What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?
I scan
old photos, photo albums, negatives of ever type and all types of home movie.
Then the fun begins as I research as much information as I can about what is in
the image. Negatives and film are the most interesting because I sometimes see
things that have not been seen since the day the image was taken.
3.
How is/How was history a part of your professional life/career?
I have
only a GED with no college so blue collar was pretty much what I have done all
of my life, so my interest in history was not a factor at all. As a side
business I am currently doing work creating family documentaries from old
photos, film, documents and memories. I hope by this time next year to be able
to rely solely on this as a permanent source of income.
4.
Why is studying/knowing history important?
Without
getting into the politics of it I would have to point to our current administration
for a lesson on the importance of both World and American History. Forgetting
your history and doomed to repeat it and all that, (George Santayana,
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" )
never were more true words spoken.
5.
What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why?
I am most
taken with history starting about 1840 to 1960. Photographs began to be fairly
common about 1840 with the daguerreotype and 1960 is still early enough for me
so much of it is new and not everyone had a movie camera yet or carried their
camera with them every place they went as is done now. When you use film
chances are that one print was generally made. So you had a negative and a
print. While more could be made they generally were not. So unlike today where
you have the option to create multiple thousands of digital images and send
copies to a the world at the push of a button with film the photo becomes
precious and few. Hmm, (loved that song).
I am very visual and I love a good mystery. Researching photographs
fills the bill quite nicely. daguerreotype
6.
What is the mission of the Office of Image Archaeology?
My mission
is very simple. To provide vintage amateur images for everyone to see and use
freely without advertising. It is our heritage and needs to be preserved. The
films I provide on YouTube do have advertising on them in hopes of getting a
little help with the cost of preserving new films and photos.
7.
Why is your mission important for the sake of history?
When
something notable in history has happened we know of it because it was recorded
in some fashion or another. If we are lucky some intrepid professional
photographer was there either because they were hired or they were freelance
and would sell their work to the highest bidder to make their living. We thank
those gentlemen because without them much of what we see as visual history
would not exist and the world would be a very poor place without it. But while
the professional photographer was doing his work, standing back away and to the
left or right was the guy or gal on vacation or perhaps they just happened to
have a camera handy at the time and took the same photo but from a different
direction or maybe they were the only one there with a camera and got a shot of
something or someone that has never been seen because the negatives and prints
have been in a box or a closet, basement, attic or safety deposit box for the
last 50 or 100 years. That is the photo I want to see, that's the negative or
film I want to expose to light for the first time since the day it was
developed, put away and forgotten. CLOSET MEMORIES AND FADED DREAMS are truly a
heritage belonging to all of us.
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