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[Gloria Walker Burger]

Paul Parsons wrote:

the earlier orthochromatic films were sensitive to blue and maybe green light only. Thus features reflecting light at the blue/green end of the spectrum will appear "light", while features reflecting light at the yellow/red end of the spectrum will appear "dark". The later panchromatic films were sensitive to all light, and thus more closely matched the spectral sensitivity of the human eye. The switch from orthochromatic film to panchromatic film seemingly occurred between the 1920s and 1940s.

Monty, does this change anything??

[Gloria Walker Burger]

Monty, does this change anything??

I mean if AE sent up a "red" flare?

[Gloria Walker Burger]

Paul Parsons wrote in "1938 Aerial Photos" posting:

If the black and white film was orthochromatic then yes: red light will not affect the photographic emulsion and will thus appear dark on the resulting print.

This is so interesting! I wonder, though, if the dot is still too big to be a flare or a kite...We need Jeff Glickman to look at it and see whether it is an "artifact of the image process" or a real picture of something. And he is so busy...

[Monty Fowler]

I'm sorry, Gloria, but for me it doesn't. Maybe it IS a flare, but if it is, it's an awfully, awfully big one. Think Fourth of July "mortar" style fireworks, not something coming out of a Very pistol (which used shells not much bigger than a 12-gauge shotgun shell).

I am not a photo expert. Jeff Glickman is, and right now he has other things to devote his considerable attentions to. My suspicion is that the "dot" is nothing more than either a) A glitch in the developing process, b) Crud on the negative (ask me how I know after years in a newsroom darkroom) or c) A fault on the photographic paper (much less common but known to happen).

LTM, who lets things develop naturally,
Monty Fowler, TIGHAR No. 2189 CER

[Gloria Walker Burger]

Thanks, Monty. I'm starting to think your suspicions may be right (notice I do just say 'may').

By the way, love your "sign-offs"!