Way back in 1971 I worked as a b/w darkroom technician for a local Portrait, Wedding and School photographer. I printed all the b/w, I also made frames, sprayed prints (yuck), and generally did whatever was needed. 1971 was my senior year in high school, and this same photographer had the contract to shoot the graduating students cap and gown group portrait. So..here we file out to the bleachers on the athletic field in our cap and gown, and were lined up according to height, several rows on the bleachers. I clearly, absolutely remember the photographer (who worked for the studio) shooting a banquet camera of us. He took two negatives. I clearly remember the cherry wood color of the camera and the shape....but more than that I clearly remember the large negative of the shot that I made countless contact prints in the darkroom including one for myself. Now here is the odd part.
I called the retired studio owner today inquiring about this old banquet camera, and he said he NEVER shot a banquet camera, he never shot the cap and gown photos with anything larger than 4x5. That the image of the students was enlarged onto each print, and we just contact printed the text at the bottom from a litho negative. This is absolutely not the way I remember it. He suggested I call the photographer I remember actually shooting the shot (who worked for the studio) and I did, and HE TOO said he never shot any student groups with a banquet camera, and he never did shoot my school at all. !!!! I am just flabbergasted, that I can remember something so clearly, I can see the camera as if it was today, and yet these non-senile men can't seem to remember. Maybe I am the one that is senile. But I KNOW it was a banquet camera, I just know it, and probably it is collecting dust in some barn.
I called the retired studio owner today inquiring about this old banquet camera, and he said he NEVER shot a banquet camera, he never shot the cap and gown photos with anything larger than 4x5. That the image of the students was enlarged onto each print, and we just contact printed the text at the bottom from a litho negative. This is absolutely not the way I remember it. He suggested I call the photographer I remember actually shooting the shot (who worked for the studio) and I did, and HE TOO said he never shot any student groups with a banquet camera, and he never did shoot my school at all. !!!! I am just flabbergasted, that I can remember something so clearly, I can see the camera as if it was today, and yet these non-senile men can't seem to remember. Maybe I am the one that is senile. But I KNOW it was a banquet camera, I just know it, and probably it is collecting dust in some barn.
