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Gustine, a small town in California’s San Joaquin Valley, 1949. My uncle Richard is about 2, my mom Kate just about one year old. The film was shot by my maternal grandfather Lyman and features my grandmother Lois as a young woman in her early twenties. Photographed in soft focus on glorious black and white 8mm.

Sound is “CountrysideSummerEvening,” posted by pcaeldries at my favorite Creative Commons-based sound repository, the Freesound Project.

One of the things I love about transferring old films is the artifacts that often come with them. This film is in its original box, with its original stamp. I also found crumpled down at the bottom a booklet from Kodak for improving your home movies. It even mentions that you could get detailed comments on the quality of your films by sending them to Kodak for review–and don’t forget to include a three-cent stamp on your letter.

Cheryl Colan, who sent us Of the Earth, included with her package a generous donation of some great Super 8 equipment, my favorite of which is the Butt Splicer.

The Butt Splicer. Ouch.

–Jen