I used a light box and an app on my phone to quickly - very quickly - make digital photos from old negatives.
Quick Links:
- Light box
- Kodak Film Scanner App Android Apple
- OR Pattern for a reflector to use with your flatbed scanner
Recently I was given an amazing box of memorabilia, including an envelope of old photo negatives from 1936. The envelope told me they were flood photos, but holding them up to the light did not give me much detail. I'm way too impatient to take them somewhere to have them printed, I just wanted to see what was on the negatives! So I asked for suggestions, and did some googling, and found that I could quickly capture photos from these negatives with a simple light box and an app on my cell phone. I'm VERY happy with the results, and it was quick and easy!
The negatives I started with - 1936 photos from the flood in Milton/Watsontown Pa
The negative on the light pad
Simply place the photo on a light pad, or a light box. There are ways to make your own with bright lights and clear rubbermaid style boxes... but I happened to have this light pad already, and it works really well!
This is how the photo looked when I took a photo of it, on the light pad, with just my regular camera. It at least gave me a better idea of what the photo was - but it's not the results I was hoping for. So I downloaded this free app from Kodak:
(There is a version for Apple devices as well)
This is how the photo looked when I used the Kodak Film Scanner app to take a photo of the negative on the light pad.
I did find another method, using a flat bed scanner and a piece of shiny silver paper folded to reflect the scanner light, but for me, the light pad and camera app were much faster. (I already had the light pad on hand) There is a tutorial, and a pattern to download and print to make this reflector, here: https://makezine.com/2011/07/13/how-to_turn_slides_and_negativ/
Another Photo from a 1936 negative, using a light pad and the kodak app.
You can see all the photos from these negatives here:
I do have a bunch of other, not quite as old, negatives that I would like to scan - and I think for those I am going to want this handy little machine.
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