Personal Interest …..
Although I’ve tried to keep my posts strictly focused on my father’s photography, I’m going to occasionally start putting up some of my personal work. I’ve always considered myself a generalist. I feel I can do it all from photographing your dog to your family to your home to your business. In the fifty years plus that I have been in the photography business I’ve literally done it all. So if you have a question, please don’t hesitate to ask. Or if you have a comment about something that you have seen here, please post it! Thanks for looking …
Thanks for taking the time to look. Hard to believe I haven’t done anything with this site in so long but hopefully that is going to change. Happy belated Earth Day! And pick up your trash and throw it away. Don’t leave it for the next generation!
I’m BACK!!!
Greetings from Paradise!!! No, no not from Hawaii but the Panhandle of Northwest Florida! As the former Major of Pensacola used to say “ Welcome to Pensacola! The Western gate to the Sunshine State. Where thousands live and millions wish they could…” . There are a few more lines but couldn’t remember them and couldn’t find his saying when I tried to Google it. Sorry I haven’t posted any new material but that is going to change. One reason is that I use Instagram and you can find me @frankphardy .
I have a Facebook account but haven’t posted to it in years. I do check it periodically. So if anyone has sent me something and hadn’t responded is because I never saw it. Nothing personal, just don’t care for the way it is setup. I use Instagram because it is primarily set up for photography and other visual mediums.
Next is I am posting this from my iPhone. Post all my Instagram images from my phone and I don’t like typing on a phone. But figured I could try a few and see what happens. Hope to hear from you. I enjoy all the comments and questions. With that said, it’s good to be back….
Thanks again. One reason for coming back is that I am starting to sell my work more aggressively than I have in the past. People are purchasing and inquiring about my photography now more than ever. If interested in anything please inquire and I would be happen to explain them. Thanks again and hope everyone has a great weekend
Clubbs Junior High Homerooms …
These were taken back in 1957 at Clubbs Junior High School on 12th Avenue in Pensacola. I know that I have posted other photos from Clubbs before, but I just ran across these negatives the other day. I still have boxes of negatives to go through and decided that 2018 was the year to finish that project. Whether I will or not, we will just have to wait and see. There is no information on any of these groups other than they were ” homerooms “. I guess if someone has a yearbook they might be able to go through it and see if they were used. However, I do not know if they were taken in 1957 for the 1958 school year or just happen to for the 1957 year. There are around fifty or so groups, but I only cleaned up a handful of them. Mostly the ones that required the least amount of Photoshop. The negatives are not in the best condition … sixty-one years have not been kind to them. I really have no comments about any of them, since I was only four in 1957 and did not know any of the kids. One of the male teachers looks familiar to me, but other than him all of the others are complete strangers. With out further ado …
The man in the top row, far left of the last photo is the only person of all of the photos that even looks remotely familiar. This photo was taken on the north side of school next to the cafeteria I believe. Some of the other groups were taken on the front steps of the school that faced 12th Avenue. They tore this building down and replaced it with the N B Cook School for Performing Arts or something to that effect. So if you are driving around East Hill on 12th Avenue looking for this old building, you are 15 or 20 years too late. If anyone went to Clubbs in 1957 or 58 and recognizes anyone, please feel free to comment. I would be interested in hearing from you personally, so please speak up. I plan on getting back into the swing and posting here a regular basis for 2018 and the future. I still have a lot to share. I just apologize for not having any information to share about any of these photos that I post. Well, not any information but just a little. I also found some Clubbs sports teams that I will scan when I get a chance and post so please check back. Happy New Year ….
Colorizing Black and White Images …
This image is an uncropped scan of a glass negative that I have. As usual, I have no clue who the children are or where this photo was taken or the year. Next image is the cropped image.
Here is my first version of the image after I cropped the image and then worked it up in Photoshop. I flipped the image before I started coloring the image …
There still are a lot of areas that I need to improve and I plan on doing some more in the future. I plan on colorizing a few of my father’s old photos, especially the one of the old San Carlos Hotel in downtown Pensacola, but that will is going to take some time to do. The cars, people and details of the building will have to be done individually and those will take time. The next image that I am doing is another glass plate that I have scanned of an unknown baseball team from back in the early 1900’s. Thanks for looking. As I have mentioned before, most of my posts are to my Instagram account so please go and check it out – @frankhardyphoto I believe is how I have it listed. If not, just search Frank Hardy Photography and my account will pop up. Thanks again for taking time to look and please feel free to comment and ask questions.
Random Images ….
Here are several images that I might or might not have posted before. The first one of the ribbon cutting at the Bay Bridge entrance is new, I believe. The rest I might have posted along time ago, but I had just run across them again and thought that I might post them again. Here we go …
The top photo of the ribbon cutting is new and if anyone recognizes any of the people, please comment. I have no clue who any of the people are, as usual, but I am interested in knowing who they are. The aerial photo was taken before the Municipal Auditorium was constructed, so that must have been around 1954 or so. I think that the auditorium was completed in 1955, but that is just a guess for me. This Dons group was 1959 I believe…how about that Hopkins Boarding Sign on the the back fence wall? If anyone knows anything about any of these photos, please comment. Thanks for looking and please check back … Frank
Blue Angels Group Photos …
The date on the back of the photo is 6-29-59. Not sure that this is the date that my father made this photo or just a random date assigned by the Navy. I only have prints of these images. The Navy purchased the negatives and they in turn made press releases and publicity photos for autographs. That is the reason for no lettering on the prints or that is what my father told me. Back then the Blue Angels did not have a staff photographer or publicity officer for the team. In fact, from what I have learned, those two jobs were not added until many years later. It would be interesting if anyone seeing this post might be able to enlightened us with any details on any of this. Below is one other group photo of the Blue Angels that my father took at this same time …
The third man kneeling from the left is Lt. Robert ” Bob ” Rasmussen who is a Pensacola resident and it is his jet in the background. I guess that this group includes the two alternate pilots that fly with the group, but that is just a guess by me. If I am wrong I apologize in advance and like I mentioned before, if anyone has any stories to share about this group from 1959, please feel free to comment. I probably should have done some ” googling ” on the 1959 Blue Angels before I created this post, but as usual I did not. Like I have said before, I am just a photographer and not a historian and I leave the important information gathering to others. Thanks again for looking and please check back.
PS – I will most likely be adding to this post when I do some ” googling ” … Thanks – Frank
PPS – OK, I went to the official Blue Angel’s web site and their official photo is not one of these images. The image that they show is one of the pilots wearing their leather flight jackets and not just in their flight suites as the photos here that my father took. Maybe these were just too informal or something along that line. But for whatever reason, these were not used. I did google around and neither of these images popped up on the internet anywhere, which to me is something of a surprise. At least I feel that I am adding something relevant that people have not seen before when I post to this blog. Again, please feel free to comment and share any of your Blue Angel stories …
Miscellaneous Photos from the 1950’s …
Here are a few random photos from the 1950’s that I have not posted anywhere yet. They are from other groups or sets that I have posted somewhere – on my blogs or Instagram – but have never posted these exact ones. I will try to add what little I do know about each photo, so if anyone has anything to offer or remember being around when the image was taken, please feel free to jump on in and comment. Here we go …
This photo and the next are from the Fiesta of Five Flags Parade from 1955. I am sure this that the sponsor of this float was Coca-Cola, but I do not know who any of the people on the float are or what the theme of the float. Other than that is one huge Coke bottle! The buildings in the background are what draws my attention … the old San Carlos Hotel, the A&P Grocery Store on the left side of the frame and then the miscellaneous businesses in the buildings on the right. The photograph / scan is from a 4×5 negative, so you can read all the names of the businesses on the building. I just can not put that large of a file up on my blog for you read. Next …
This photo shows the Davy Crockett Foods push cart in the same parade. I guess that ol’ Davy had not sold enough “BearBurgers” or “CoonDogs” to justify springing for a parade float, so they opted for a push-cart that resembles an ocean liner. Or that is what it looks like to me. I like the little boys in the background following along with fishing poles trying to snag a bearburger or a coondog. Also, how about those to urchins that climbed up on the building above the Acme Stores sign for a better look? I wonder if this Acme Store sells the same Acme anvil that always flattens Willey Coyote in the cartoons? You have to have grown up in the fifties and watched cartoons on a b&w tv, kiddies, to get that reference. Next up is a celebrity photo …
This, boys and girls, is Denise Darnell, who stared in the classic 1950’s movie, The Strip Tease Murder Case. On my favorite app, IMDb, a fan – the only one posted, by the way – claimed that this movie is his nomination for ” Worst Movie Ever Made “. I won’t boar you with the rest of the revenue, you can go look it up yourself and read what John Howard Reid has to say in his post. In fact, I do not know why I even bothered to mention his name, since his review is the only one! One more interesting tidbit … the advertising poster claims that Denise Darnell is ” 6’7″ of Amazon Beauty “. And to be perfectly honest, this poster might be the best thing about the movie! But for those interested, you can go search for it yourself. Ms Darnell shows up in several of the photos that my father made and for some reason, I want to say that she might have been the “chaperone” for this group of celebrities that included Doc and Miss Kitty from Gunsmoke and Michael Ansara who played Cochise in the tv show ” Broken Arrow ” from the 1950’s. I only use the word chaperone very loosely, because I could not think of a better word / term – tour guide did not really seem appropriate. I am hoping that someone out there might remember seeing Ms Darnell here in Pensacola and will make a comment. I am not really holding my breath on any comments for The Strip Tease Murder Case, but who knows, all we can do is wait and see.
That does it for me. I am sorry that I missed posting something in December and that made the first month that I missed making a monthly post in years. I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season in 2016. We got to travel to Seattle to spend time with Lauren, Lukas and Travis, whom we had not seen since Christmas before last in Southern California. I have posted some photos from this years trip over on my personal blog, Frank Hardy Photo Blog .
Thanks for looking and please comment regardless whether you know something or not … I just like hearing from you. I know that people are looking because I see the stats, it just does not tell me whom, but I do know where. Also, don’t forget that I post fairly regularly on my Instagram account: @frankphardy .
That’s all Doc … ( one more feeble reference to 1950’s b&w cartoons that I grew up on ).
Pensacola Pier ….
I ran across this negative years ago and just set it aside. Someone had brought me this print to copy back in the 1980’s and I made me an extra copy. This is the end of Palafox Street and I want to say that this is taken in the 1930’s. The strip of land on the back side would be where the Port Royal Development is built today. No idea who took the photo, but if anyone has any information on this image, please feel free to comment and share anything that you might know. Thanks for looking and please check back. One of my New Year’s resolutions for 2017 is to try and post several times a month. I have been busy with other ways to share my photography ( Instagram is the main one ) and have sort of ignored my two blogs. But no worry, I still have thousands of images to work through and post, so don’t give up on me yet.
Delchamps in Downtown Pensacola Florida …
I posted over on my personal blog about this image if anyone is interested. A link to my blog is listed over in the right side margin. Thanks for looking …
New York City Harbor …
This is the New York harbor and I am not sure the direction or where this photo was taken. I want to say that the island in the top right of the frame is Ellis Island, but that is entirely a guess. The tip of land to the right of the island is where the Statue of Liberty is located and I am sure of that. The sign in the foreground reads ” Great White Fleet ” and ” United Fruit ” . United Fruit Company has had an interesting history, which would take too long to go into here. Two of it’s products were Chiquita Bananas and Dole Pineapples. Here is a link to United Fruit.
The Great White Fleet was the name of the shipping company that United Fruit owned and operated to transport their products around the world. The link above will also give you some information on the fleet and it too has had a very interesting history. If you like international intrigue, corruption, and the take-over and control of small Latin American countries by the United States and it’s corporations, you are at the right place. These buildings in the foreground are the warehouses of United Fruit in New York / New Jersey. If anyone recognizes any of the areas in the photos, please feel free to comment. Thanks again for looking …
Frank Hardy Made My Photographs Two 
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