Why aren't my photos EXACTLY the size I ordered...
Historical Photo 101 -- Historical photos
were taken with a large assortment of primitive cameras -- some photographers
actually considered a pinhole camera and counting to "20 Mississippi"
as hi-tech! Watch a western -- the guy with the huge wooden box on a tri-pod
and flash powder is accurate! Some of these old style cameras used obscure
(even for then) negative film sizes.
Then primitive cropping and exposing
techniques were used in the darkroom. Sometimes make shift darkrooms were
"MacGyvered" in the back of a covered wagon or the closet of a
hotel room. As another example, one of the 1890s-1900s photographers that
roamed this area was hired to take photos of the coal camps, but he would
cut out the railroads or a competing coal company's town that appeared off
on the side. This would cause some uniquely sized panoramics.
Unique sized panoramics were also created
by some of our famous local photographers by projecting the image on to
the bottom of 14 x 20 inch photo paper creating an 8x20 panoramic. Then
he would be able to get two approximate 5 x 7s on the photo paper scraps.
Which also leads to other things -- yes
we can take a 6.3 inch tall by 22.8 inch long panoramic and make it fill
an 8 inch x 10 inch piece of photo paper. BUT what happens is that you end
up with the "fun house mirror photo effect." In this example
people are tall, but have the thickness of a broomstick. See an example
below.
We strive to get photos as close as possible
to the size ordered with out "fun house mirroring" them. Our first
priority is the quality of the reproduction. Be aware, you may have a border
of white edge -- but the photo will be clear and proportional to the original.
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Why are my photos blurry or have dark spots...
Historical Photo 101 (Redux + some) --
Historical photos were taken with a large assortment of primitive cameras
-- some photographers actually considered a pinhole camera and counting
to "20 Mississippi" as hi-tech! Unfortunately, looking at your
environment and thinking, "it's a bright day -- I'll only count to
'9 Mississippi'" was a wild shot in the dark.
Then primitive cropping and exposing
techniques were used in the darkroom. Sometimes make shift darkrooms were
"MacGyvered" in the back of a covered wagon or the closet of a
hotel room. A smudge on the lens, an improperly aligned lens or old developer
fluid improperly stored at the wrong temperature could also add to the problem.
Also keep in mind that photos keep developing
through time. Even though the chemicals were washed off -- you can't get
all of them. So old photos tend to darken or lighten through time. While
exposure to the elements can be a reason, a lot can also be blamed on the
darkroom process. Either the photo was exposed to too much developer fluid
and not enough rinsing or just kissed with a "stop bath." And
don't forget to also add in "damaged" fluid into the mix. You
have to realize that unlike today, a photo was a "special occasion"
or a "news/event documentation" and people were impressed with
one photo and a lot of people could not afford a second photo.
Here's a fun fact that I accidentally
discovered -- if you improperly mix the developing chemicals you make a
thick yellow smog that was better known as "mustard gas" -- which
killed many soldiers in World War I trenches. However, in modern day times
it causes the entire buidling to be evacuated of choking and coughing and
wheezing people (who tend to glare a lot and threaten your first, second
and possibly fifth born children) while the building is forcibly vented
for the next 4-6 hours. All in all, it really makes you appreciate modern
day digital photography
Also count in things like "preservationistas,"
"obliterationists" and "rabid croppers" and a historical
photo can rapidly end up as a "bookmark" or as a "myopic
fuzz fest!" Except for the obvious differences in paper -- it takes
a professional to identify the original.
All of our photos are duplicated to Smithsonian
Institution & Library of Congress Digitization Standards which means
in layman's terms "if it's that way on the original it's that way on
the duplicate." A good rule of thumb is that a reproduction is only
as good as the original that it is made from.
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Really, how good are the quality of your photos...
We use museum quality 100 year archival
inks and premium luster photo paper. All photos for both Image Replicas
Mercantile and the Western Mining & Railroad Museum are duplicated to
Smithsonian Institution & Library of Congress Digitization Standards.
Example #1: Teply Graphic Arts
& Publishing, LLC prints museum promotional posters using this method
and they are taped on the outside of the building in an alcove and they
have remained usable and readable for over a year while indirectly exposed
to the elements. We don't recommend that you do this with the photos you
purchase, but it's nice to know. Example #2: At an auction for the
Crandall Mine Victims' Families, we donated a series of 8x10 photos in frames.
An area "expert" pronounced them as authentic and that we had
screwed up and put the originals in the frames and not replicas. The "expert"
ended up paying $750 total for 5 of our photos... and then gloated afterwards
about our imagined "screw-up." SueAnn and I just stared at each
other... at least our photo replicas went to a good cause. You can buy the
photo reproductions here much cheaper.
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About your shipping & handling rates...
I could rant for days about the Postal
Service and its short comings and its needing to be run like a business.
In short blame the U.S. Postal Service. In addition, we add in Delivery
Confirmation on every order.
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Why do I get a "Teply Graphic Arts & Publishing"
when I call your phone number...
This is the phone number for Teply Graphic
Arts & Publishing, LLC. Image Replicas Mercantile is a division of Teply
Graphic Arts & Publishing, LLC working in co-operation with the Western
Mining & Railroad Museum's director and the museum's Board of Directors.
More information about these
entities can be found in our "About Us" page.
We also receive calls at the 435.472.6666
number about the Balanced Rock Regulators, LLC, Destination Helper and the town of Helper, Destination Diversions,
the Western Mining &
Railroad Museum and this area's history, Goblinhost, Heritage
Week, Carbon County Tourism, the North Springs Shooting Range and a
whole bunch of other things in addition to the marketing, tourism, printing,
video and audio assistance, graphic design and web design services that
Teply Graphic Arts & Publishing,
LLC offers.
Technically, people call us up and ask
for Bobcat or Kitty (and I'm not sure that they know our real names) and
we automatically know that the call involves Cowboy Action Shooting in Carbon County. Anyone who
answers a phone at Teply Graphic Arts & Publishing knows what's going
on... and will have an answer... or be able to direct you to someone who
does!
The Teply Graphic Arts & Publishing,
LLC phones are answered in the evening and mornings too. However, don't
be surprised that if I do answer the phone at 3AM we are less than coherent
and mildly irritated and expecting a good reason -- "just getting off
work" does NOT qualify -- and all lines do have Caller ID!
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