USC Libraries Amass World’s Largest Collection Of Digital Images Documenting SoCal History

USC Digital Library Represents Collaboration Among Historical Societies,

Newspapers, And More

Organizations Work Together For Preservation And Accessibility

The photo seen here was taken at the 1951 tree lighting ceremony at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and scanned to digital for inclusion in the University of Southern California’s vast Digital Library. The USC library system has set out to “select, collect, preserve, and make accessible” an enormous collection of unique materials, including high resolution digital photographs, oral histories and sound recordings, moving images, maps, documents, physical objects, and more. This wealth of media is organized within the USC Digital Library, which includes metadata to support research. The digital collection helps fulfill the university’s mission to provide an online gateway to research resources about Los Angeles and Southern California.

Some of the high quality digital images accessible from the USC Digital Library website are “on loan” from collaborating institutions that have agreed to share their collections. Together these institutions have contributed to the creation of the largest and most valuable archival collection of digital media related to the history and culture of Los Angeles and the surrounding areas. The USC Digital Library provides a powerful infrastructure to create the host environment for these collaborators, all of which benefit from working toward the common goals of preservation and accessibility. The digital collections comprise a host of materials from the USC Libraries, as well as from various historical societies, other libraries, newspapers, and other organizations with rich collections of historical artifacts relating to the Southern California, the Western United States, and the Pacific Rim. Particular emphasis has been placed on artifacts from these regions, though the collections are by no means limited to this part of the country.

The USC Digital Library spans a wide range of media, including audio and video recordings, but visual media compose the bulk of the collection. The digital archive includes thousands of photographs, drawings, illuminated manuscripts, posters, prints, maps, rare illustrated books, and more – all scanned to digital at high resolution to capture every detail. The USC Digital Library continues to grow as navigation is enhanced and the collections evolve.

Visit the USC Digital Library to explore this amazing collection.

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Customer Testimonials: “I was very happy with my order.”

To assure we’re doing our job right, we follow up with every customer after their order is complete. If there’s ever any issue, we address it immediately. Most of the time however, we receive rave reports. On behalf of the ScanDigital team, I’d like to say “Thank You” to our amazing customers. We’re truly flattered to know you are happy and honored to have been trusted with your family’s precious memories. Please find a sampling of the testimonials below that we’ve recently received.

If you’d like to hear more from our customers, you are welcome to visit our Testimonial page. If you have any questions or would just like to chat, you can always find us here on Twitter and Facebook, by email at info@scandigital.com or by phone at 888.333.2808 if you have any questions or just want to chat!

“I have had a great experience with ScanDigital, receiving my first shipment of DVD’s several weeks ago.  Our family has enjoyed watching our old home movies of when the kids were babies/toddlers on the DVD player in our living room.  It had been quite a while since we had watched any since not using VHS anymore!” Sue – MN

“Overall, my experience with ScanDigital was excellent.  The online ordering process was simple.  The pricing options were simple and straight-forward.  The best part of the service was the acknowledgment emails, i.e. letting me know what phase of the process my order was in. Especially, notification that the tapes were received by ScanDigital which relieved my mind.” Sandy – OR

“Good service. Many thanks!” Dorothy – CA

“I am impressed with your service, and have already recommended it to others. I expect we’ll be using it again. In particular, I’m impressed with the amount and detail of information provided on your website, both in advance of using the service and the status reports that happened during processing. I think you guys are deserving of your success, and I wish you all the best.” David – CA

“Great experience and a great job!!! Thanks!” Molly – OR

“The final product is great.” Scott – SC

“I did have a very good experience with your service. Thanks again.” Gretchen – NY

“I found your customer service to be great and particularly appreciate your flexibility on timing.” Paula – NC

“I have nothing but wonderful things to say about your company. The customer service is superb. I have told several people about ScanDigital. Pricing is very easy to understand. I am very likely to use your service again. I have just a few more tapes that need to be converted. You have done all of mine so far and expect to use you to finish them.” Susan – FL

“Great customer service! I was very happy with our results since we had so many pictures of varying sizes, etc. I was very satisfied with the pricing options. They seem comparable to others. I like the website and how easy it was to use and see where my order was. Customer service once again has been above par. I’ve referred friends and family. Thanks so much!” Rebekah – TN

“The cards I received are lovely and yes, I would use and recommend your services again.” Ada – FL

“I am a multiple repeat customer of ScanDigital. I have consistently received very high-quality service from them and recommend their services. I have tried on my own to scan images (slides and photos) at home and found it was well worth the savings of time and money to have ScanDigital do it for me. The results have been excellent. My slides and photos were returned with my order exactly in the order I sent them.  Recommend ScanDigital! Keep up the good work!” Robert – VA

“All I can say is I was very happy with my order. I would definitely recommend your services. Your quality, service and efficiency are very good.” Mar – CA

“I was very satisfied with the service and quality.” Ed – MA

“I thought the quality of the DVDs of our films were great. Some of those home movies on the VHS tape were originally done in 8mm and 16mm and the earliest one was 73 years old!! I was truly amazed at how good they looked and I know my family will be very pleased to have them on DVD now.” Cindy – OH

“Your customer service and personalized contact and updates were the most appreciated!” Dotti – TN

“I loved getting my DVDs back and having usable media from my old photos and videos.
Thank you.” Keri – KY

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Manhattan Beach Historical Society Hopes To Digitize Historical Newspaper Archive

Local Historians Hope Digitization Will Make Newspaper Archive

Accessible To All

Archive Documents A Century Of Local History

Meet Gary McAulay. As a board member of the Manhattan Beach Historical Society, Gary is one of the lucky few who currently have access to the Society’s small storage space, which is nestled between the men and women’s restrooms at Polliwog Park and filled with a century’s worth of Manhattan Beach history. The newspapers are kept in bound archives on three small bookshelves, each one four rows tall. The old papers document Manhattan Beach history, starting with the city’s founding in the year 1912.

In the photo seen here, McAulay sifts through the papers, stopping at the headline “Rain storm of week un-paralleled in beach history,” on the front page of the March 1, 1913 publication of the Manhattan Beach News. Another day’s top story simple led with ““Popular girl will soon be married.” McAulay and his colleagues at the Manhattan Beach Historical Society hope that the collection of historical newspapers will soon find a new home, as plans for the new Manhattan Beach library continue to develop. Local historians recently met with representatives from the Los Angeles County library to discuss the feasibility of bringing the collection to the new library, and digitizing it via a type of photo scanning technology.

The collection was moved about two years ago from its former home in the Historical Society’s cottage museum to its current, less prestigious and less accessible spot in the park bathroom storage space. This move was decided upon by the members of the society, who feared that a fire or other natural disaster affecting the cottage museum might destroy these precious articles of history. The papers have been “sadly inaccessible for some time,” said McAulay. “We have a history in this town. When you put it out there, people say, ‘Hey, that’s pretty cool,’ and become more interested.” Even when the papers were in the Historical Society’s museum, they were only accessible to regular folks during the museum’s six hours of public access each week.

Ultimately, the Historical Society would like to use digital photo scanning technology to preserve the papers and make them available to the public on a website, but the funding just isn’t there, McAulay said. Each of the historical society’s 150 members pays $20 each year in dues. Scholars at Cal State Dominguez Hills have expressed interest in obtaining the archives to keep in the university’s regional history collection. But local historians are hesitant to let go of the collection, fearing that that they would be too far away for Manhattan Beach citizens to see and enjoy. “I’m concerned that once it goes away from town, the only people who would ever go out there are the most dedicated of historians,” said McAulay.

Some have suggested that the collection could be housed in a glass case in the new Manhattan Beach library. Visitors could sift through photocopies, or view the actual collection with assistance from a librarian. County librarian Margaret Todd said she’d ask her staff to look into grant opportunities to fund digitization of the archives. “I’d rather digitize them and have them available that way,” said Todd. “Newspaper is fragile, once it’s gone, it’s gone.”

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Salem Public Library Revamps Technology Learning Center

Oregon Library Offers Free Service To Help Patrons Digitize Photos

And Video

Salem Public Library’s Technology Learning Center Includes Equipment For Preserving Old Photos, Video, And Audio

Preserving your family’s priceless photos, videos, and audio is a terrific idea for a holiday gift. These precious moments can’t be bought at any department store, and they don’t have to cost much if you have some time to spare. There are a few ways to go about digitizing your memories. If you have lots of photos and a bit of money to spend on the project, you’ll get the best results using a fast and professional photo scanning service. But what if you just want to digitize a few photos, or few clips of video, or an old audio recording? If you have the tools and the know-how, you can do it yourself. And if you live in Salem, Oregon, you can get the job done even if you aren’t a computer whiz with a bunch of gadgets at your disposal. Just in time for the holidays, the Salem Public Library has revamped its Technology Learning Center with equipment to copy photos, slides, documents, records and audio and video tapes onto a DVD, CD, or thumb drive. You’ll have to pay for the blank discs or storage devices (or bring your own) but use of the equipment is free.

Reference librarian Janet Baker is one of the staffers available to help visitors use the equipment. She has step-by-step instructions for each machine, so that anyone can use them without difficulty. “A lot of people have photos at home that are lying in boxes,” she said. “It’s a great way to get library patrons involved so they can stay current with the fast-changing technology world.” The library’s adult and youth services manager Karen Fischer calls the Technology Learning Center “a great equalizer.” First and foremost, the library is a community center, said Fischer. “We try to reach out and provide what our community needs,” she said. Fischer pointed out that professional photo scanning services are a great options for those who can afford them, and who don’t have the time to scan each photo by hand. “But others can come here, learn about the technology, and gain new skills for a future job or hobby. We level the playing field.”

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Importance Of Film Digitization Discussed At eDIT Filmmakers Festival

IMAGO President Nigel Walters Urges For Mass Film Digitization

To Protect European Film Heritage

Lack Of Action Could Cause ‘Disappearance of Newly Produced Films’

Cinematographer Nigel Walters, who is president of International Cinematographers Federation IMAGO, spoke about the costs of, and pressing need for, film digitization at the recent eDIT Filmmakers Festival. “Unless there is serious money invested in the digitization of the European film heritage,” said Walters, “a lack of action in eight years’ time will result in the disappearance of newly produced films. If we do not digitize the danger is that even film archive will be useless if the technology to preserve on film becomes obsolete.”

According to Walters, there is a need for widespread film digitization, but the funds aren’t there. Even after a complete digitization of Europe’s film heritage, preserving such a colossal collection would cost an estimated 290 million Euros (roughly $410 million) annually. But the first hurdle is funding the process of digitization itself, which Walters reports would cost between 500 million Euros (about $707.5 million) and 2 billion (about $2.8 billion). Walters said that the undertaking is “rather like a bank crisis with black holes for endless pits of our money.”

Though Walters is clearly a proponent of digitization as a method of preservation, he does not suggest that filmmakers abandon the use of film when making movies. After giving his thoughts on the importance of film digitization to the future of the European cinematic heritage, Walters discussed the use of film in current movies. “Film is far from dead,” he declared, “as witnessed by the use of Super 16mm on The Hurt Locker and Black Swan.” Walters also noted that cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel is in the process of doing Super 16mm tests for a new movie by the Coen Brothers, who have helmed such acclaimed projects as Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother Where Art Thou?, No Country for Old Men, and True Grit. “The final decision will be made after the testing by Bruno and discussions with the directors,” added Walters.

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Customer Testimonials: “I am a satisfied customer.”

We love our customers. That’s why we follow up with everyone after their order is complete to assure we’re doing our job right. If there’s ever any issue, we address it immediately. Most of the time however, we receive rave reports. On behalf of the ScanDigital team, I’d like to say “Thank You” to our amazing customers. We’re truly flattered to know you are happy and honored to have been trusted with your family’s precious memories. Please find a sampling of the testimonials below that we’ve received recently.

If you’d like to hear more from our customers, you are welcome to visit our Testimonial page. As always, we’re always here on Twitter and Facebook, by email at info@scandigital.com or by phone at 888.333.2808 if you have any questions or just want to chat!

“The service was excellent and everything turned out well. Yes, I would recommend this service to others and right now I am compiling more images to be scanned.” Jen – MA
“I was very satisfied with my ScanDigital order – the scanned copies of photos are excellent, and the originals were returned in the same packaging and condition I sent.  Thank you for helping me to preserve these family photos and memories.” Kathleen – NJ

“Our experience with ScanDigital was excellent.  I will highly recommend your service.” David – MA

“I’ve been very happy with you services and would recommend them to anyone. Your staff have always been very helpful and polite.” Denise- TX

“I was very happy with the quality of your product, and I have sent additional films to be digitized.  You are the answer to my prayers.  I would definitely recommend you to my friends and family.” Candace – CA

“I thought ScanDigital did a wonderful job organizing my pictures.  The fact the process is so hands on I was comfortable sending my family photos to be scanned.  Because I used the Groupon I was able to access a discount, but I thought the original pricing was reasonable.   Even if it was a little higher it is worth the money to get the personal attention and feel comfortable the pictures will come back in the same shape as when you shipped them.I have already recommended you to friends and hope they follow up.” Kim – CA

“ScanDigital was professional in every way. No problems.” LeRoy – IA

“I was very pleased with the DVDs and I’m sending a few more videos to be copied.  I would definitely recommend your services.” Joyce – IN

“I loved the job you did and will use you again.” Stacey – TX

“I like the quality of your service, much better than one of your competitors.” Cindy – CO

“I had a very positive experience with your company. The continuous process from order entry, status of order to delivery kept me informed each step of the way. I certainly value that level of communication with a company which I am putting my trust in with my family memories. I am very likely to use your services again and wouldn’t hesitate recommending ScanDigital to any of my friends. Thank You!” Rick – RI

“I used ScanDigital recently to have several hundred slides scanned.  I was pleased the service and will use again (just got the box for a new order). I have recommended to friends already and mentioned your company on my google+ page.” Ann – NJ

“My experience with ScanDigital has been excellent.  My top priority is high quality scans of my color slides and negatives.  You provided that at a very reasonable price. I have a large collection and will continue to send for scanning as time and budget allows.” Jesse – OH

“I love looking at my old photos now online and being able to share them with others in emails. I would definitely recommend your service to friends. Keep up the good work.” Karen – MA

“I had a wonderful experience using your service and would recommend it to anyone.  I will likely use you in the future.” Isabel – CT

“I will definitely use your service again, and am gathering another box together. I am thrilled to have my old video footage preserved, and am going to try old photo negatives next.  I would absolutely recommend you to others. Thanks.” Judy – MA

“Thank you for your services. I am a satisfied customer. Your company was good at keeping me informed on the status.” Ann – CO

“Overall the quality of the service was good.” Arthur – DC

“Could not have been happier with the service. The care taken with the transfers, chaptering, capturing of dates and the date ranges and index pictures on the covers were amazing. I would highly recommend the service to friends and family.  Little things like a free shipping label and discounts help a lot.” Kevin – MD

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New Service Uses Meta-Data On Images To Track Stolen Camera

CameraTrace by GadgetTrak Lets You Search The Web For

Images Taken On Your Digital Camera

Benefits From The Digital Age Yet Again

Last summer, photographer John Heller made headlines when he recovered his stolen camera and lenses using a new technology from GadgetTrak, a company based in Portland, Oregon that specializes in theft recovery and data protection solutions for mobile devices such as laptops and cell phones. While on assignment for Getty Images, Heller had lost his prized Nikon D3 digital camera and several lenses (valued at over $9,000) to a thief at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. Using GadgetTrak’s new CameraTrace service, then in a beta testing phase called Camera Serial Search, Heller searched the web for images embedded with a digital serial number that matched his stolen camera. He found several digital images that had been recently posted to the online photo-sharing site Flickr, and gave this information to the police. The police tracked the images via Facebook, to another professional photographer who had unwittingly purchased the stolen gear. The gear had actually been sold twice, first on Craigslist and later on e-Bay.

GadgetTrak has recently announced that CameraTrace is now available to consumers who want to safeguard their digital cameras. The service uses the meta-data attached to digital images to tag the photos with the camera’s serial number. By creating a digital “identity” for your camera, CameraTrace allows you to search the worldwide Web for any image captured on the device. If your camera has been stolen, you can even use the system to file a police report. The GadgetTrak service even includes individual help throughout the process of finding and reclaiming your equipment. The company will even speak with local law enforcement to plead your case and explain the use of its technology.

CameraTrace users pay a one-time fee of $10 per camera for registration in the service. All Web searches and subsequent services are free, including an image-monitoring service which scans photos Facebook, Flickr, etc. to see if anyone is using your copyrighted images without permission. For serious photographers, this added bonus might easily be worth the price of admission for CameraTrace. But even if your camera cost only a few hundred dollars, CameraTrace may be a cost-effective form of insurance against loss and theft.

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Customer Testimonials: “I had a very good experience with Scan Digital…”

To assure we’re doing our job right, we follow up with every customer after their order is complete. If there’s ever any issue, we address it immediately. Most of the time however, we receive rave reports. On behalf of the ScanDigital team, I’d like to say “Thank You” to our amazing customers. We’re truly flattered to know you are happy and honored to have been trusted with your family’s precious memories. Please find a sampling of the testimonials below that we’ve recently received.

If you’d like to hear more from our customers, you are welcome to visit our Testimonial page. If you have any questions or would just like to chat, you can always find us here on Twitter and Facebook, by email at info@scandigital.com or by phone at 888.333.2808 if you have any questions or just want to chat!

“Great price, great product.” Felicia – CT

“The work your firm did was first class.”  Mary Ann – GA

“ScanDigital is great! The work was wonderful, service was very good, and the price was right.  I will certainly recommend it to my friends.” Lee Ann – NC

“We are extremely happy with your service.  We would certainly recommend your service.  All pricing options, etc., were very easy to understand.  We are most likely going to use your service again.  Thank you for the wonderful service.” Marjorie – CA

“I would (and have) recommended ScanDigital to friends because I was impressed with the level of communication and confidence you gave me during the entire process.  The results were great!” Dara – MA

“I am using your service again and am very happy at what I received earlier.” Susan – SC

“I was pleased with your service and am happy to have photos from childhood in a “safe” place.  The CDs arrived earlier than promised, which was a plus.” Catherine – IL

“I am happy with the service and the final product. I am happy that I now have these digital photos to pass on to future generations.” Lisa – MD

“I was very pleased with your service. I will use it again and recommend it.” Nicole – VA

“The quality was great, the value was good for the price, and that I will refer friends (an already have). Also the music videos where a very nice touch!” Connie – KY

“Very likely to use again.  Your service people were excellent. Anyone who helped me with emails/calls was of top-notch customer service excellence.”  Patty – IN

“I had a very good experience with Scan Digital and have already sent 5 more tapes to be put on DVDs.  I had a couple questions and called the phone number.  Someone called back and answered my questions.” Marsha – GA

“The people I dealt with were courteous and professional.  The quality of product was excellent.” Bob – CA

“I purchased Groupons to digitize my photo albums from the pre-digital age and revisiting them all was like opening a time capsule.  I’ve surprised lots of friends and acquaintances with photos from over 20 years ago and the feedback from them alone made the investment worthwhile.  I can’t wait to turn these old photos into coffee table books.   Photo albums are a thing of the past thanks to ScanDigital.” Greg – CA

“My experience with ScanDigital was very positive. The quality of the end product was excellent. Also, I had to contact customer service twice and both times my problem was solved quickly. The email response was great…it made it easy for me to communicate. I will use this service again. And recommend it. My project was to get my 90 year old mother’s slides made into a DVD. She has trouble seeing so I needed the transition time between slides to be slow so she could have time to pause each one. You were able to do this for me and she has thoroughly enjoyed viewing her slides! I’ll definitely use your service.” Janet – RI

“I have been very impressed with your service – from start to finish.  Clearly, our memories (in form of photos and videos) are precious and I feel that ScanDigital understands that.  I have received timely feedback to questions and emails providing me status of my order – unheard of in this day and age. I will be sure to recommend to others.” Sarah – IL

“Your service is great! I have already recommended ScanDigital to several friends.Yes, I will use ScanDigital again!” Don – MA

“I just want to thank you for being such a good company.  I researched your company online to pick the best one for my clients and friends and have never been disappointed. I will continue to recommend you whenever possible.  Your ways of communicating about what stage one’s order is at and being very clear about your pricing etc. is also really important.  I am always preaching simplicity and clarity to my clients, and you all fit the bill perfectly. So thanks and keep up the good work.” Jemi – RI
“I had a pleasant experience with your service and have recommended it to others.” Scott – AZ

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Customer Testimonials: “I was very satisfied with my purchase.”

To assure we’re doing our job right, we follow up with every customer after their order is complete. If there’s ever any issue, we address it immediately. Most of the time however, we receive rave reports. On behalf of the ScanDigital team, I’d like to say “Thank You” to our amazing customers. We’re truly flattered to know you are happy and honored to have been trusted with your family’s precious memories. Please find a sampling of the testimonials below that we’ve recently received.

If you’d like to hear more from our customers, you are welcome to visit our Testimonial page. If you have any questions or would just like to chat, you can always find us here on Twitter and Facebook, by email at info@scandigital.com or by phone at 888.333.2808 if you have any questions or just want to chat!
“I am definitely going to use your services again!  I will have no problem recommending your company to my friends and family. Thanks!” Micki – MN

“I would like to say that I am very impressed with ScanDigital.  Your system worked very well, I was pleased with the updates you gave me along the process and next spring when I begin to have my photo albums digitized, ScanDigital will be the company which I will choose. Thank you for your efficiency.” Beryl – Ontario

“I had a wonderful experience using ScanDigital. I had dozens of slides to be scanned for a film project and needed them in just 2 – 3 weeks. He listened patiently to my panicked plea and made the deadline. Thank you!” Faith – WI

“Over all, it was a very good experience. Growing up, some of my childhood was recorded on 8 millimeter reels which when my parents would show us, they would always break. I knew that this quality wasn’t that great, but what ScanDigital did was superb with what you had to work with. You put the reels into chapters, and the first time I watched the DVD, by the time I got to Chapter Three, was in tears from the memories, I had recently lost my dad, and it was happy tears just recalling the memories. Your company did a wonderful excellent job! Thank you again over and over!” Ronnie – MD

“I was very impressed with the frequent communication from ScanDigital regarding receipt of the order and progress to completion. The DVD was just as I had hoped. Now I can be assured that my images will be safe for a long while and in such a compact fashion. I still have more photos to transfer so will be sending another. I am also excited about sharing info about this transfer service with family and friends because it is such a great service. I am pleased and most certainly will be using ScanDigital again.” Kay – WA

“I was very pleased with your service.  I had a large number of super 8 home movies from childhood transferred into digital format. Your web site was very clear and easy to work with. I definitely have and will continue to recommend your company to my friends.” Jim – OH

“I was very satisfied with my purchase. I would definitely use your company again and refer others. Your staff did a great job.” Christine – ME

“I was pleased with ScanDigital. I appreciated the updates on the status of my order, as well as the pricing information.  It is difficult to trust a company with your one and only documented memories, but ScanDigital did a fantastic job of reassuring me.  I will use this company again.” Stephanie – IN

“I thought the quality was great!” Kathy – MN

“We had a great experience and our videos turned out great!  I’ve recommended you to all my friends!” Shari – GA

“Really like your service, especially the good quality of scans of older, non-standard size photos. Great to now have them digitally. I definitely will use your service again and have already recommended it to others.” Jennifer – MA

“Overall the process and quality was very good. The images I received on the DVD are excellent and I have already burned multiple copies and sent them to my family. I would use your service again and I will recommend this to my friends.” Jesse – DC

“I love how you package the DVDs, absolutely love it.  I was not expecting that, I was pleasantly surprised.  I have only watched one so far and the quality was very good.  I will be ordering again soon.  I wish I used you first because I would want my DVDs to be alike, and like I said your finished product was far better than the other company!” Tammie – RI

“I love the quality of the ScanDigital end product .Also appreciate that our pictures came back so well packed, in the same exact order as they were sent. Made us feel that the photos were handled very well during the processing.” Helen – NY

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Broadway Photographer Leo Friedman Dies

Leo Friedman Dies At 92

Broadway Photographer Was Known For Capturing Movement In Still Photos

Photographer Leo Friedman, who made his career capturing Broadway stars in action during the golden age of the 1950s and 1960s, has died. He was 92. The photo seen here, which was scanned to digital by the New York Times, is one of Friedman’s most famous snapshots. It depicts the effervescent Carol Lawrence and Larry Kert as lovebirds Tony and Maria in “West Side Story.” Taken on a street near Friedman’s New York studio, the photo became the enduring emblem of the musical after having been chosen to appear on the covers of the playbill and original cast recording. It remains a signature image of Friedman’s impressive career.

Friedman’s career was at its height during the peak period of Broadway glamour. The 1950s and 1960s were also significant in the history of photography, as the expanded professional use of 35 millimeter photography allowed photographers to capture a sense of motion in their still pictures. Friedman was a ubiquitous presence in and around New York theaters during this time, photographing more than 800 shows including “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Cabaret,” “My Fair Lady,” and more. His photos show Lucille Ball marching with a bass drum in “Wildcat,” Laurence Olivier hoofing in “The Entertainer,” and Barbra Streisand making her Broadway debut in “I Can Get It for You Wholesale.” Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Bob Fosse, Sammy Davis Jr., and Lena Horne were just a few of the stars immortalized on stage by Friedman’s uniquely in-the-moment photographs.

As a freelance photographer, Friedman made it his specialty to capture actors in motion, both in rehearsal and during performance. He was hired by all the top magazines and newspapers, press agents, and producers, all of whom appreciated his ability to depict the movement of acting. When hired by a producer to take official photographs of a show, he would photograph a show scene by scene, but going backward from the end after a full performance. Friedman often attributed his success to his ability to work with high-maintenance stars. Many stars, such as Katharine Hepburn, developed personal friendships with Friedman after working with him professionally.

To see a gallery of Leo Friedman’s photos that have been scanned to digital by the New York Times, go to LA Times.

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