I appreciate the convenience of digital photography, but I do miss the thrilling feeling of going to pick up the photographs after the film had been developed. Often, I'd forget about a roll of film for months, or even years, so when I'd finally see the results, I would love reminiscing about when the photos were taken.
The Rescued Film Project rescues never-before-developed film, freeing the images from their canisters to share with the world. Many of these images might never have seen the light of day if not for this passion project of professional fashion photographer Levi Bettwieser.
Bettwieser was gracious enough to share some of the archive's images and speak to LittleThings about an especially interesting, recently rescued film discovery.
Over 70 years ago, an unknown World War II soldier documented his journey and story with over 31 rolls of film. These pictures of his story have never seen the light of day…until now.
To learn more about the Rescued Film Project, visit their website. If you have any old, undeveloped film, they will process it for you 100-percent free of charge, place it on their archives with your credit, and they will even send you a digital copy of the images.
Please consider donating to their project if you would like more photo stories like this one. As Bettwieser told LittleThings in an e-mail, "The Rescued Film Project is operated primarily by myself. I have a few amazing volunteers that help with promoting the project in our social channels. They share the same passion and dedication for the project as myself."
Please SHARE these amazing links to the past with friends, especially if they remember World War II. It would be thrilling to see if someone knows the original photographer.
Undeveloped World War II Film Discovered from The Rescued Film Project on Vimeo.
Bettwieser tells us, "We acquired the film from an auction in Ohio. We have no idea of [its] origin."
All they knew about the canisters of film is that they were from the World War II era.
There were 31 rolls in total, and all have been processed except one.
What was actually photographed was a total mystery.
"Many of the rolls had handwriting of locations such as Boston Harbor, Le Havre Harbor, etc., but there was no way to know exactly what was on the film until they were developed."
The film was old, and great attention to detail was necessary to process it without causing any damage.
He explains, "Film that's 70 years old requires a different approach than modern film. Often the paper backing is stuck to the film, so that has to be carefully removed. The film is very stubborn and can take much more time to load onto the film developing reels."
"And usually the film types are no longer manufactured. So we have to do research to figure out the best possible processing methods in regards to chemical temperature, developing times, etc."
These images are totally different from his professional photography, though he still uses film.
Actually, it was his career and passion for photography that first led him to finding old rolls of film.
He tells us that he started acquiring various film cameras and would find unprocessed rolls of film inside. The mystery of these unseen photos peaked his curiosity.
He started collecting more and more of the untouched film. He writes, "Once a I had acquired a large enough batch, I processed them all and it took off from that point."
These World War II images are probably the most historical, but the archive is filled with hundreds of fascinating photographs that were almost never seen.
Some are hilarious, some are moving, some are eerie, but they're all fascinating. The archive encourages readers to reach out if they recognize anyone in the photos. They'd love to see these images reach their original owners.
So far, most of the photographs' subjects remain completely anonymous, though he tells us, "We were able to reconnect a roll of images with a woman in Portland who was the subject in many of the photographs."
If you enjoy these fascinating photos, there are dozens more World War II photographs on his website.
See the archive at work in the video below. Please SHARE these incredible photographs.
