USS ASTORIA CA-34
The Official Home of 'Nasty Asty'
About the Photography on this Site
For any photo reproduction use: Please provide a credit for the original photographer (where listed) and www.ussastoria.org. Most of these images qualify as Public Domain, but they are only in the Public Domain in a remastered digital format as the result of my efforts and personal expense with this project.
Thank you for your cooperation.
-Brent
A hidden world awaits... The camera equipment of the WWII era was capable of capturing amazing detail. Using light meters, large negative sizes, and good optics, the photographers of this period brought art to their craft.
Much of this art has been lost over the decades. Most photographs remain tucked away in private collections or public archives, rarely seeing the light of day. They fade, crack and deteriorate even as they lay dormant in storage.
Of the images that are published, most are reproduced in books and online as grainy copies of copies. Detail is lost, taking with it the grounding in reality that makes these images poignant reminders of a period when the world caught fire.
The mission of this website is to inform, but also to restore and preserve these images while making them accessible to a worldwide audience for the first time. This page illustrates the painstaking process involved in the restoration effort.
Private Collections
Japanese and American scrapbooks of the WWII era, comprised of high-detail original contact prints.
-from Brent Jones collection
Many of the images included in this website come from contact prints, original photographs reproduced from negatives. These are often found loose or in scrapbooks. They do not age well, as they fade, curl, and the emulsion cracks with age.
Using a professional scanner, I create an electronic copy of these images at the highest possible resolution. They are then remastered using Adobe PhotoShop Elements. This process involves several steps, including:
-leveling and cropping -restoring true grayscale -adjusting contrast
-reducing noise -removing blemishes -sharpening the final image
Above: An original 2.5x4.25" contact print of USS ASTORIA CA-34. The image has badly faded with age. Below: The restored image as shown on this website (click for larger size). Note how much detail emerges.
-U.S. Navy photo from Brent Jones collection
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Above: An original contact print of Diamond Head, Oahu taken from aboard ship.
Below: The image has been leveled and restored to true grayscale (click for larger size).
-U.S. Navy photo from Brent Jones collection
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Above: An original contact print of USS ASTORIA CA-34 amidships.
Below: A scan of the print from high-grain film reveals remarkable detail (click for larger size).
-U.S. Navy photo from Brent Jones collection
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Restoration of a 1936 Imperial Japanese Navy sailor portrait.
-from Brent Jones collection
By pulling these photographs out of attics and closets, scanning and restoring them, we can provide a much richer insight into World War II history for generations to come.
National Archives
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) facility in College Park, MD is a large repository for photographic still and moving images. This includes records groups 19-LCM and 80-G, WWII-era photographic records of the United States Navy. These records can be accessed and scanned free of charge, a process that requires patience and determination.
Using a laptop and portable professional scanner, I am digitally imaging U.S. Navy photographs during a trip to the NARA College Park facility in 2010. White gloves and patience are required.
-Brent Jones photo
Above: Even images in the National Archives collection can be severely damaged.
Below: My restoration of this image of USS ASTORIA CA-34 and Cruiser Division 6.
-U.S. Navy photo in NARA Collection 80-G-456499. Brent Jones restoration.
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If you have WWII photographic images or negatives that you wish to have restored or submitted for inclusion in this website, please contact me at brentj@mighty90.com.
Sources
Jones, Brent. Private photo and document collection.
National Archives and Records Administration. http://www.archives.gov/research/.
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