Archive for January 2012
Frank Hardy Studio … Scotland?
Someone ran across my blog from England earlier this month and emailed me asking if I had any relatives in Scotland that were photographers. He then went on to say that he had a family photograph made in Saltcoats Scotland and on the back is a stamp by a Frank Hardy from Promenade Studio, Saltcoats. The photo was made back in the 1940’s and it was from a time that they had taken a vacation trip to Scotland. Then he emailed me the front and back side of his photograph and I want to share them with you below:
As you can see, it is a nice portrait of a family on vacation … I like the painted backdrop that was used to show the ocean in background. These types of portraits were very popular in these resort towns around the world. In fact, it looks as if it could have been in Atlantic City New Jersey or some place like that in America. The man who emailed me this asked if this Frank Hardy could be any relation to me and I told him that I seriously doubt it. If anyone reading this blog ever runs across any other Hardy’s from Scotland, I would be interested in hearing from them, since this is the first time that I have heard of any. When Pam and I went to Ireland several years back, I inquired around, but did not find any.
Thanks again for looking and as usual, all comments are welcome …
The Maestro …
These are portraits of Dr. John Venettozzi back in the 1950’s. Not exactly sure what for … maybe something for Pensacola Junior College or the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra.
He and my father were good friends for many years and I have run across several files of photographs of Dr. Venettozzi that are interesting that I plan on posting in the future. As usual, all comments are welcome … thanks again for looking.
Cal Ripkin, Sr in Pensacola …
This is a photo of Cal Ripkin, Sr that my father made back in the late 1950’s when Cal, Sr played for the Pensacola Dons. If anyone remembers him playing for the Dons, please leave a comment. Thanks for looking …
And Now, A Word From Our Sponsor …
And that would be me … I had these framed images on display in a restaurant in downtown Pensacola that closed recently. There are around twenty of these framed prints and I am looking to sell them. Most are 16×20 prints, matted to 20×24 with a black metal frame and glass. A few are 20×24 prints, matted to 24×28 and framed in black metal. There are also one or two 11×14’s matted to 16×20 and framed the same way. Here is one more print …
These two just happen to be from parades, but some of the others are the San Carlos Hotel, Aerial view of downtown Pensacola in the 1950’s, etc, etc. You can call me on my cell phone at 850-449-1279 or email me at: frankphardy@gmail.com and I will be happy to tell you what I have printed and obviously all of the images shown on this site can be printed and framed. Below, is an example of a print mounted on canvas … I know I have shown these before. but this is one I received back from the lab on Friday that I thought looked very well done. The first is the image that I sent to the lab …
Next are several of the print back from the lab …
And now one of the side showing how the canvas is wrapped around the stretcher frame …
Please note: The image that I sent to the lab was scaled to the dimensions of a 35mm camera and the print is a 16×20. So, when the image is cropped to print, you loose some of the image off the bottom and off the sides. If I would have made the print 16×24, it would have printed to the dimensions of the top image. There always seems to be some confusion when you are enlarging / sizing prints to fit different formats and some photographers do not take the time to explain it to the people purchasing the enlargements … so, if you do not understand this, please ask.
If anyone has any questions or is interested in purchasing any my work for wall decor, publishing. etc … please do not hesitate to get in touch. Thanks again for looking …
Spain …
Here are a couple that were made in over in Spain back in 1972 on a trip my father and I took with a group of professional photographers. The above photo he made of an arch that lead into the town of Ronda. I believe that the Moors constructed it back around 800 AD when then made came through Spain. We also went to the Alhambra and I will have to find some photos from the castle there and post them. Below is the Rock of Gilbralter …
We took a boat over to Tangiers in Northern Africa and I made this on the trip over. We did not climb to the top of the rock, maybe next trip. I have more photos from Spain and Africa that I will post in the future … I do not want to make this into a travelogue for lack of a better term, but some of these images are interesting to me. As usual, all comments are welcomed and thanks for looking.
Votech in Pensacola …
I have never posted these images before … mainly because I did not know anything about the images. My first inclination was to bring up the Ice-Cube movies that I thought were funny, but then I decided against it and just let the images speak for themselves. Below is the other one …
I wish I knew where these were made … school, class, students, etc, but as usual I have no idea about either of the images. If anyone has any information, please share it with us. Thanks for looking …
Los Angeles in the 1950’s …
Here are several photos my father made out in Los Angeles back in the 1950’s … the first two are of the Hollywood Bowl. The image above is pretty much a straight image, except with the Photoshop work to clean it up. The one below has been run through several filters to add contrast and to give it a distressed look, along with the Photoshop work.
I personally like the second one better. It is hard to imagine all the people that have played here from Elton John to the Beach Boys to Frank Sinatra. I am sure that it looks a lot different today than when these were made, some fifty years ago. The photo below is some building in LA, I am thinking maybe a hospital, since that is where my father’s sister worked as a nurse. If you know, please share it with us …
It is pretty obvious that I did some work on this image – the brown tone, a little texture screen was added and I burned in the corners in Photoshop. Like I said earlier, I do not know what this building is, but I think that it could be a hospital in LA, maybe Cedars of Lebanon ( not sure of the exact name, but it is something along that line ). I am waiting for Humphrey Bogart or some other screen star to walk into the frame. As usual, all comments are welcomed … thanks again for looking. I am going to make a better effort to post more often, since I have so many images that I have worked up. One more thing – HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Frank Hardy Made My Photographs Two 
You must be logged in to post a comment.