This week’s roll of “found film” came to me from near Binghamton, New York, where the Ansco company was located from the mid-1800s to around 1980. The spool was covered in rust, and the backing paper was stuck to the film so badly that I was unable to remove large strips of paper. So I loaded it on the spool and let it soak in water for a bit, then was able to remove most of the bits of paper and fibers that were stuck to it so I could develop it.
The only real clue to the age of this film – other than its size (116) – was the expiration date printed right on the box – June 1958! So we can guess these photos were shot in the mid-1950s. 116 size film is 70mm wide, and a roll like this would provide eight 2½×4¼ exposures. These are tricky to scan because of their size, but with a bit of patience and some Photoshop enhancement to bring out some of the amazing detail on these large negatives, I think these 60-year-old photos, never seen by the photographer, turned out pretty well! Most of the white areas are from fibers that I was unable to remove.
That is the roll you got from me. The swimming hole looks like it could be Robert Treman State Park or Buttermilk Falls both in Ithaca NY.
Thanks a lot for checking it out and taking a stab at the location! If you come across any more, I’m always game 🙂 Incidentally, that looks like a pretty cool park. Here’s the other photo from the swimming hole: