Long before PowerPoint® presentations, projected slide shows were a great way for people to enjoy personal photography. From a darkened room, photographic images could be displayed onto a screen from a projector with a powerful light. The thrill of enjoying these photos together is a pastime largely unknown to younger generations.
A Family Tradition
There was nothing quite like an old time family slide show. Everyone had a role. Dad would setup the screen or get assistance placing a white bedsheet across a flat wall. Then, the projector would need to be readied. The high powered bulb would take a while to reach full brightness while the projector fan would cool the bulb. Perhaps you remember the nostalgic smell of dust burning on the old equipment?
Mom would serve snacks to enjoy during the slide show. These after dinner treats would flavor the time, as the sun would set and better prepare the room for the show. With many slides to see, these events could last for hours, especially with the laughter and unending commentary from each person appearing in each of the photos.
Remember the clunking noise as each photo slide was dropped into a slide tray or carousel? They would be loaded into the projector to facilitate switching from one image to another. One family member might have had the distinctive role of loading the slides, sometimes while images from another tray were being projected.
Aaahhh... the slide is upside down! Now everyone would crane their heads to better see the image. Sometimes the slide was flipped, and easily noticed as reversed characters on signs, t-shirts, and other lettering. These analog foibles were but a minor inconvenience to the joy of experiencing life together.
The Slide Carousel
Kodak revolutionized photography with its patent of the photo slide carousel on May 11, 1965. This allowed easy viewing of successive images from a slide projector. Now families could enjoy continuous viewing all of their photos, together, enlarged on a wall or screen in their homes. Some projectors would load slides from a straight tray, but the carousel made viewing these images more fun.
The Photographic Slide
Long before the iPhone, photography film was developed into prints, negatives, or slides. Slides were a plastic transparency mounted inside a cardboard or plastic frame. Some were black & white photography, but most were in color. When held up to the light, your eye could just barely make out the photo. However, pass a powerful light through the slide and project onto a distant screen and WOW!
The 35mm is the most popular type of photo slide. It's a transparent piece of film housed in a 2" by 2" plastic or cardboard mount. So too are the 110, 126, and 127 photo slides. However, miniature 100 photo slides are mounted in a 1" x 1" frame that requires a special adapter for viewing in a traditional projector.
Relive the Vintage
Kodak stopped producing film for slides in the early 2000s, but slides are still popular among photography enthusiasts with a taste for the vintage. If you or your family still have old slides, there is little to stop you from setting up an old time slide show in your home. A screen is helpful, but a bedsheet on the wall will work just as fine. It's also critical to have an old slide projector with a working bulb. Look on eBay or your local thrift store if you don't have one now. Most importantly, go locate those old photo slides!
Digitize Your Photo Slides
Photo slides are easily damaged, so it's critical that you make digital copies of these images. A professional scanning service will digitize your slides with amazing quality, but you could even do this at home if you purchase the right equipment. Be sure to get your slides scanned to a JPG file format with at least 3000 dots per inch (dpi) quality. Once your slides are digital, have fun reliving the good old days!
Heirloom converts slides to JPG for only $0.49 each.
