Thinking about Wilbert Montgomery lately. You know, the old Eagles running back. It’s funny how certain players stick in your mind. I wasn’t even that big into football back then, but I remember seeing highlights, especially that one game, the NFC Championship against Dallas. That touchdown run he had, cutting through the snow. Just pure grit.
It got me thinking about a project I tackled recently. Not quite the same stakes, obviously, but it felt like a similar kind of slog. I decided I wanted to finally digitize all my old family photo negatives. We’re talking boxes and boxes of them, going way back.
Getting Started
So, first things first, I dug out all the boxes from the attic. Dusty as hell. Then I bought one of those little negative scanners. Not the super expensive kind, just a basic one. Figured it would be straightforward. Plug it in, feed the negatives, save the files. Easy, right?
Wrong. The setup itself wasn’t too bad. I installed the software, which looked like it was designed back when Montgomery was still playing, honestly. Clunky interface, weird options. But okay, I could live with that.
The Grind
Then came the actual scanning. Oh boy.
- First batch: The colors were all wrong. Everyone looked like a smurf or like they had a terrible sunburn.
- Second batch: Dust spots everywhere. I mean, everywhere. Even after I tried cleaning the negatives carefully.
- Third batch: The scanner kept jamming on the slightly curled negatives.
I spent hours fiddling with the software settings. Brightness, contrast, color correction. Nothing seemed to work consistently. Each strip of negatives needed different adjustments. It felt like I was wrestling with this cheap little plastic box. I got really frustrated. Felt like just tossing the whole project.
It was slow going. Like, really slow. Feed a strip, scan four frames, adjust, save, repeat. Box after box. My back started hurting from hunching over. My eyes felt strained from staring at the screen, trying to get the colors right. It was just tedious work, hour after hour.
Pushing Through
There were a few times I almost gave up. Just put everything back in the boxes and shoved them back into the attic. But then I’d find a picture of my grandparents when they were young, or me as a little kid, and I’d think, “No, I gotta get this done.” It felt important, somehow. Preserving these memories.
So, I just kept at it. Like Montgomery pushing for that extra yard, I guess. I developed a little system. Clean the negative strip, scan it with basic settings, then do a quick color correction later using different software. It wasn’t perfect, but it was faster and less frustrating than trying to get it perfect in that terrible scanner software.
The Result
It took me weeks, doing a bit each evening or on weekends. But eventually, I got through all the boxes. Thousands of pictures scanned and saved. They’re not professional quality, some are still a bit off-color or dusty, but they’re digital. They’re safe. I can actually look at them easily now, share them with family.
Looking back, it was a real grind. Sometimes things are just hard work, you know? No magic solution, just putting your head down and pushing through the muck. Kinda like football in the snow, maybe. Anyway, the job’s done. And I have a newfound appreciation for Wilbert Montgomery’s kind of effort.
