Levi Bettwieser is an accomplished photographer, and he runs The Rescued Film Project, which aims to restore old photographs from original film rolls.
Most of the film he receives is donated to him through a variety of channels, but he does spend a decent amount of time actually hunting down old film in order to see what can be salvaged and shared with the world. He sees himself as a "rescuer of those images from oblivion."
He recently brought 31 rolls of film back from that very oblivion. The 31 rolls of film all came from same photographer, a WW2 vet who took the pictures as he fought his way across Europe.
Some of the rolls had been subjected to water damage or over exposure to light, but that didn't mean that he wasn't able to save some of the picture that had remained undeveloped for nearly 70 years. The photos are absolutely beautiful, and they give a very open view of what life was like for soldiers crossing the Atlantic to fight their way across Europe.
To think that these pictures never surfaced before is actually kind of sad. World War 2 was a defining period in human history, and any candid photos of the war from a soldier's point of view should be available to everyone.
Just looking at these pictures that have been brought back to life, you can tell that Bettwieser is a master of his craft.
It would be amazing to see what these photos would look like in full color, but even in black and white you can almost feel what it must have been like to be behind the camera for them.
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