Here’s a small gallery that illustrates some of the monstrous loads that they are delivering throughout the country.
As a youngster I caught the photobug early. I took loads of pictures and used my modest allowance and money gifts to buy darkroom supplies and equipment.
In high school I was thrilled when Mom helped me find a part time job working for a local photographer (a schoolmate of Mom from her earlier years). John taught me the ins and outs of the photography profession and later helped me land several jobs at high end photo labs in the Park Ave area of New York City where many large ad agencies were based.
In the 1960s these large ad agencies and their clients were requiring top notch photographs for their advertisements in the colorful gloss magazines and newspapers. Many of them insisted on dye transfer prints. These were photographs that had “exacting” contrast and coloring to make them pop on the publication pages.
The process to make a dye transfer print is quite involved. The original transparency is dissected into the three component colors and photographically transferred to dye-absorbent matrices – often referred to as a “mat”. The mats are bathed in three different color dyes and deposited one at a time onto white photo paper. The resulting print is a high quality reproduction of the original transparency. The intensity and brightness of the scene can be precisely adjusted at each step of the process allowing for the extremely fine quality prints demanded by the clients.
For those techies who are interested in the dye transfer process, you’ll find a short description here.
Below are a couple of sample dye transfer prints used in the advertising industry from the 1960s that I helped to produce. Both of these prints are approximately 20″ x 24″ in size.
 a dye transfer made for an airline circa 1969 |
 a dye transfer print made for a cigarette company circa 1968 |
The popularity of this form of photography especially in the advertising industry stems from the extensive precision the user has in controlling the individual colors, saturation, shading, contrasts, etc. This precision was not possible with any other process at the time.
However the arrival of digital photography changed the print processing landscape and dye transfer lost many of its advantages. By the early 1990s Eastman Kodak decided to stop making the dye transfer chemicals which portended the end of its run as the high quality king of prints.
While dye transfer is no longer a viable way to produce high quality prints, I thoroughly benefited and enjoyed learning in-depth photography from my several jobs making these photographic relics.
Written by: Arnie Lee
The May calendar had only a few days left to fit in a visit to two of my favorite places – Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks so it had to be a quick trip. I initially thought about flying to nearby Jackson and renting a car but instead I decided to drive the 3000+ miles lugging a small satchel of clothes and a bunch of camera equipment.
While the drive is long, I totally enjoy the fast changing vistas traversing our impressive interstate highway system and then the spectacular mountains and landscapes of rural Wyoming.
You can read about my six day cross country drive from Grand Rapids by clicking here. Otherwise continue on for the small scrapbook of my visit to the parks.
After 1500 relaxing miles on the lightly traveled highway I arrived at Jackson Hole and the Tetons. I immediately went into visitor mode and armed myself with a couple of cameras to record this quick visit. Following are some of the highlights.
Grand Teton National Park |
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 This is an area of the Tetons settled in the 1890s by Mormans from Utah |
 The iconic T.A. Moulton barn with low clouds obscuring the Tetons |
 Here you can see the low water level in Jackson Lake |
 The water flows from Jackson Lake Dam into the Snake River |
 This is the Snake River at Oxbow Bend with Mt. Moran in the background |
 I tried to duplicate this familiar view at Snake River Overlook made famous by Ansel Adams |
 Another picture of the T.A. Moulton barn after the clouds have lifted |
 This furry marmot is a resident of Mormon Row |
 Chapel of the Transfiguration is an Episcopal church in the Tetons |
 This is the picturesque interior of the church |
 From a distance the Tetons remain an impressive backdrop to the valley |
 The popular Jenny Lake is still covered with ice in early May |
Yellowstone National Park |
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 This is the iconic Old Faithful Inn |
 The interior of the Old Faithful Inn is simply breathtaking |
 A huge crowd of visitors are awaiting the eruption of Old Faithful Geyser |
 As expected the Old Faithful eruption happens right on time |
 The Grand Prismatic Spring one of Yellowstone’s most colorful thermal features |
 Here is some of the hot runoff streaming from the Grand Prismatic Spring |
 This bison is strolling along the pathway at one of the geysers |
 I was surprised to find sandhill cranes in Lamar Valley |
 This herd of bison is relaxing in the Lamar Valley |
 Here is a lone bighorn sheep near Slough Creek |
 This is a newborn bison calf |
 This Yellowstone tour bus is easily identifiable |
 The Roosevelt Arch marks the North Entrance to Yellowstone |
 This is the roaring Upper Yosemite Falls in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone |
The Yellowstone River is pouring over the Upper Falls |
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You can see that I packed quite a few activities into a few short days in these two national parks.
Can you tell that I thoroughly enjoyed the mini-vacation?
Written by Arnie Lee