Beach Scene
From the photography collection of Tatsume Iwate. Photographer, camera, film and location are all unknown. Scanned from a black & white negative.
I love this photograph. I have no idea who it is but it’s very iconic in their poses, dress and location. I’m not sure if it was taken in Japan or in San Francisco. The only note that is present on the negative are the numbers “8 8” which might mean August 8th?
A technical sidenote is that I had to crop the image because of my scanner. The negative itself is from roll film about 4 1/2 x 2 3/4 inches so I’m wondering what camera it’s from.
Almost sounds like 70mm film to me. 2.75inch = 69mm. Anyways, this is a great image for so many reasons. The looks are of course, how they are, but I wonder what they’re thinking. I’d be inclined to say this is SF.
Christopher Layne September 3rd, 2009 at 11:39 pmJohn, these photographs are great and I’ve been enjoying the series – keep them coming. I especially like the back-story (from a previous link) on how you came about them and that Iwate was a member of the 442 combat regiment during the war.
Brad September 4th, 2009 at 6:14 amBeautiful shot. The sand does remind me of Cali. It seems as if the subjects know the photographer each in a different way.
Michael James Slattery September 4th, 2009 at 6:49 amThis is wonderful, John. Except for the man’s swimwear it has a timeless feel. The serious looks really pull you in. Great find.
Nancy Chuang September 8th, 2009 at 5:24 pmJohn, thank you for publishing these. You did a wonderful service in rescuing these photos. When I read his family was going to throw them out, along with other items, I literally gasped! Anyway, the photos are beautiful. Yes, “keep them coming.” I’m captivated by this stranger, Mr. Iwate.
Pinky September 16th, 2009 at 6:26 pm