Apropos to the title, all photos on this page were found—in my case in a drawer in a crafts thrift-store. All are mounted slides, all are at least a half-century old, and almost all are faded, dirtied, and scratched. Color-positive film, often called slide film, loses its color and contrast within fifty years, though it depends on film emulsion and storage conditions. Most of the images I found were heavily red-shifted, dirty, scratched, and occasionally stained. I scanned these slides, corrected the colors as best I could, and cleaned the resulting images to produce the final restorations.
The below image, taken in the Ivory Coast, is an example of an original, un-edited scan. The reddish haze shows the natural fading of the film, most likely Kodak Ektachrome E-3 or E-4 (not the current E-6 emulsion), which had a reputation for aging quickly into reds. Hover over the image to see my digital restoration. Though still faded, we’re left with clear hints of the colors that the unknown photographer saw.
I bought these slides because they seemed culturally and historically interesting. Lost to the years, hidden in a closet or drawer or box, these slides leave little information beyond a few notes handwritten on the mounts to indicate time and place. Click on the images to see the captions, which include the notes and any other information I have figured out. I hope you enjoy this small archive of forgotten photographs.
Africa
Europe
Asia
