Levi Bettwieser runs the Rescued Film Project, which salvages undeveloped rolls of film from around the world, all shot somewhere between the 1930s and the late 1990s. They have the ability “to process film from all eras. Even film that has been degraded by heat, moisture, and age. Or is no longer manufactured.” And why do they take on these projects? Because, at some point, every image was special for someone. “Each frame captured, reflects a moment that was intended to be remembered.”
Above you can watch Bettwieser processing 31 rolls of film shot by an American soldier during World War II. According to Petapixel, the rolls were found at an Ohio auction in late 2014, and they “were labeled with various location names (i.e. Boston Harbor, Lucky Strike Beach, LaHavre Harbor).” But other than that, Bettwieser knows nothing more about the vet who took these shots.
The rescue operation and the photographs it yielded are all featured in a nicely crafted, 10-minute video.
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So interesting. I shot mainly black and white for nearly thirty years, and still do. I presume film mentioned here is b & w,or Kodachrome transparency. I still shoot out of date b & w and colour negative film and get it processed commercially here in Colombo.
Look forward to more of these discoveries.
I have some original 35mm b&w film my uncle shot in WWII. My mother showed it to me about six years before her death. She had no idea what was on the film. Turns out he shot pictures of some of the bombing destruction.
I had prints made and have since had the negs scanned. Since I have pretty good scans, should I be concerned about keeping the negatives. I offered them to the Smithsonian, but they didn’t want them. Any advice would be appreciated.
Terry Sherman