I just received this today from Les' son. Les was one of my favorite photography friends. He lived a great life and had a wonderful wit.
I am writing to let you know that my father, Les Gediman, passed away very peacefully on July 31, 2021 after having been in hospice care for about six months due to heart failure. We have put together a memorial website for him at https://lesgediman.com, which includes a guest book for friends and family to leave any thoughts about him. I am sending this out to everyone that was in my Dad’s email contact list. If this is getting to you in error, please disregard.
I have the following enquiry from Dan Gediman, I quote from his e-mail:
My Dad left behind easily hundreds of thousands of negatives, packed in many, many boxes. To my knowledge, they go back as far as the late 1940s, possibly earlier. I have no idea what to do with them and would greatly appreciate any ideas from you and the rest of the Nelson Foto community. Dad has wanted to give them (and some of his prints) to some archive that might like them. I was going to approach the two art schools he went to, at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, but I’m entirely open to other ideas.
Lastly, what is the state of the art right now for what can be done with negatives. Is there a way to digitally turn them into positives and enlarge them, as we once did in a darkroom? If so, that would be Godsend.
I have replied that I will post his query here for suggestions; I have recommended that Dan contact Fototrove at Getty Images, with the view to offering them Les' archive. However, other ideas will be welcome.
GrahamS
Age brings wisdom....or age shows up alone. You never know.
Lastly, what is the state of the art right now for what can be done with negatives. Is there a way to digitally turn them into positives and enlarge them, as we once did in a darkroom? If so, that would be Godsend.
Well, of course it can be done. However, with hundreds of thousands it becomes a large job. Are there providers for these services?
I have a similar problem with my late father negatives.
I have the following enquiry from Dan Gediman, I quote from his e-mail:
My Dad left behind easily hundreds of thousands of negatives, packed in many, many boxes. To my knowledge, they go back as far as the late 1940s, possibly earlier. I have no idea what to do with them and would greatly appreciate any ideas from you and the rest of the Nelson Foto community. Dad has wanted to give them (and some of his prints) to some archive that might like them. I was going to approach the two art schools he went to, at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, but I’m entirely open to other ideas.
Lastly, what is the state of the art right now for what can be done with negatives. Is there a way to digitally turn them into positives and enlarge them, as we once did in a darkroom? If so, that would be Godsend.
I have replied that I will post his query here for suggestions; I have recommended that Dan contact Fototrove at Getty Images, with the view to offering them Les' archive. However, other ideas will be welcome.
If you can't fix it with a hammer... you got an electrical problem
even duct tape can't fix stupid.... but it can muffle it (SilentObserver) My Flickr -ipernity
Thanks CE Nelson
I am deeply saddened to hear of Les's passing. Were were mostly online friends, but I did get to visit with him a few times to do some picture taking. The photo above was taken in 2009. We were visiting an Audubon refuge in Natick MA and he had two rather small cameras around his neck and was complaining that they were uncomfortable to use because of his large hands. I must have said something like "show me" and he struck this pose. What a great guy!
I had the great pleasure of knowing Claudia and Lester. We met online and only got together in person twice, both times during a single visit I made to Mass in October of 2010. They were amazing, wonderful people.
Claudia made chicken marengo for dinner. Lester just plain entertained non-stop. See the attached images to share in my memory of these wonderful people, including Les’ impression of Albert Einstein.
I am so happy to have gotten to know them, at least a little.