Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego
A Selection of Vintage Photos from the '70s and '80s
In the early 1970s and mid 1980s I visited the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) in San Diego, California. As I have been going through my vintage photographic files (vintage meaning images taken on black and white film and color transparencies), I’ve come across images such as the ones from MCRD and some Amish in Kalona, Iowa, I thought I’d share. Since I haven’t come across the entire collection of each subject, I’ll be adding to these as I come across more images to scan. I’ll start with the MCRD photos.
(A Note Here: If you went through boot camp at MCRD in San Diego in the '70s or '80s, and either recognize yourself or anyone else in any of these photos, I'd like to hear from you and find out what you have been doing after your military service. Please go to my "About" page to respond. Thanks)
After scanning, I did some post scan work in Photoshop, adding more contrast than normal. I’ve always appreciated the work of English photographer Bill Brandt and his use of high contrast. I wasn’t trying to emulate Brandt however, but trying to match my impression of the serious training the marine recruits go through via the high contrast treatment.
This was in the pre-digital camera days, so a technical note here:
All the images shown here are scanned from 35mm black and white film negatives. The scanner I own and use isn’t ideally suited for slides or negatives. It does a better job with things like photo prints. The scans aren’t as sharp as the originals and if one tries to sharpen the images up (because they loose some sharpness and quality of the tonal range in the scanning process) it adds an undesirable amount of grain (or “noise” to those familiar with digital terminology). Consequently I find myself apologizing for the scans because they don’t match the sharpness and image quality of the original prints.
OK, enough of the technical stuff, on to the photographs.
(A Note Here: If you went through boot camp at MCRD in San Diego in the '70s or '80s, and either recognize yourself or anyone else in any of these photos, I'd like to hear from you and find out what you have been doing after your military service. Please go to my "About" page to respond. Thanks)
After scanning, I did some post scan work in Photoshop, adding more contrast than normal. I’ve always appreciated the work of English photographer Bill Brandt and his use of high contrast. I wasn’t trying to emulate Brandt however, but trying to match my impression of the serious training the marine recruits go through via the high contrast treatment.
This was in the pre-digital camera days, so a technical note here:
All the images shown here are scanned from 35mm black and white film negatives. The scanner I own and use isn’t ideally suited for slides or negatives. It does a better job with things like photo prints. The scans aren’t as sharp as the originals and if one tries to sharpen the images up (because they loose some sharpness and quality of the tonal range in the scanning process) it adds an undesirable amount of grain (or “noise” to those familiar with digital terminology). Consequently I find myself apologizing for the scans because they don’t match the sharpness and image quality of the original prints.
OK, enough of the technical stuff, on to the photographs.
To contact Bob Eckert for assignments, consultations or workshops, please email bobeckertphotography@yahoo.com
or use the contact form on the About page
or use the contact form on the About page
