Photographer Mike Bedford is now offering his ENTIRE historical Butler, NJ area photographic collections in HIGH-RESOLUTION as a 7-gigabyte set of downloads to anyone who is interested, at a price of your choosing! These collections feature Mike’s own unique Butler area photos taken between 1974 and 2008, Old Butler printable artwork sourced from historical photos and copies of unedited turn-of-the-century post cards, hard-to-find photographic prints gathered in person from local sources in the early 1980s, and BHS Class of 1980 candids, classroom and group photos.
There are over two thousand separate images plus PDFs in this collection, the majority scanned from the original negatives and individually post-processed in Photoshop for the best presentation. No one has ever viewed the material at this quality before.
(Scroll down for more background info and details about the contents of this collection. Download a sample pack.)
The vast majority of Mike’s own Butler area images are not currently online and will not be posted online in the future, except for low-res examples on occasion. So this downloadable collection is the best means to keep and enjoy them all for your personal (non-commercial) use in the best quality available. If you’ve got nostalgia, this is the cure!
Access to the entire collection is the same at all donation levels. Future updates are included.
Just choose your donation price from the pulldown menu below, then click Pay Now:
Your PayPal or credit card payment via PayPal is processed through Mike’s “Plugs ’N Pixels” PayPal account.
Upon completion of your order, you should automatically be directed to a web page with a list of download links for any or all image sets you want. If this does not occur, email Mike for the information.
JUST ADDED! Old Butler Artwork
Created from iconic turn-of-the-century Butler postcards and photos, these 49 images incorporate a pencil sketch style that helps maintain a feeling of Old Butler nostalgia. Colorization of the originally black-and-white images also brings the past right up to the present.
The original image sources were digitally retouched, restored and enhanced to maintain a high degree of clean detail. All are presented in high-resolution JPEGs (300ppi), the majority about 21” wide, suitable for printing and framing.
Below is an overview of the collection plus extremely-cropped detail samples at actual size (open each image in a new tab or window to view at 100%).
In the mid-1970s, Mike was taking his own photos of the Butler area (example above). These 900+ images have recently been scanned from the original 126 and 35mm negatives and each has been manually digitally restored, as shown below.
The example above is a scan of a print made in 1975 when Mike was 13 years old. Notice the print is washed out and cropped severely.
At right is a recent scan from that same original negative, with the details much more balanced and the entire frame visible.
Above left: 13-year old Mike making his way around town, camera in hand (1975).
Above right: Mike’s homemade picture book about Butler gets him a meeting with Mayor Monahan and Claude Post (Feb. 1975).
Below: Mike meets the Mayor and Council with his Butler book (Feb. 1975). The book is included in this collection as a PDF.
In the early 1980s, Mike scoured the Butler, NJ area in search of historical postcards and photographs, copying and archiving the results (example above). The results of this effort are nearly 1000 images preserving local landmarks as they were before modern changes.
Mike returned to the Butler area for visits in 1986, 1990, 1992, 1994 and 2008, each time taking more photos. These are also included.
Here is what is included in this set of downloads:
49 historic Butler scenic images, retouched, colorized, enlarged and artsified
*Old postcards and historical photographs collections
These are B&W photographic copies of turn-of-the-century postcards and other historical images
Bloomingdale: 65 images
Boonton: 20 images
Butler: 337 images
Kinnelon: 49 images
Lincoln Park: 12 images
Oakland: 35 images
Pequannock (Pompton Plains): 71 images
Pompton Lakes: 111 images
Ringwood: 10 images
Riverdale: 68 images
Sussex area: 9 images
Wanaque: 80 images
Wayne: 40 images
West Milford area: 65 images
Your PayPal or credit card payment via PayPal is processed through Mike’s “Plugs ’N Pixels” PayPal account.
Upon completion of your order, you should automatically be directed to a web page with a list of download links for any or all image sets you want. If this does not occur, email Mike for the information.
NEW! We have reached the 40th anniversary of the BHS Class of 1980!
In addition to his Butler area photos described below, Mike Bedford is also making available for download (on a choose-your-own donation basis) over 900 Richard Butler and Butler High School-related photos from 1974-1980 (2 gigs of hi-res scans)!
In these unique image sets from Mike’s personal collection, our class is still together, no one ever ages and there’s still a test to study for!
Subjects include:Candids, class group photos, in-classroom scenes, class projects, contemporary classmates, events (including concerts, plays, graduation, class trips), memorabilia, portraits, indoor and outdoor school scenes and teachers/admins.
Your PayPal or credit card payment via PayPal is processed through Mike’s “Plugs ’N Pixels” PayPal account.
Upon completion of your order, you should automatically be directed to a web page with a list of download links for any or all school or Butler area image sets you want. If this does not occur, email Mike for the information.
