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Photographic Negatives as Evidence—A Case Report
3. Forens. Sci. Sac. (1981), 21, 3.50
Received 25 February 1981
Photographic Negatives as Evidence-A Report
Case
S. K. GUPTA, D. R. ROHILLA and S. K. DAS C U P T A Central Forensic Science Laboratory, R.K. Puram, New Delhi-110022 India A case is described where Jive negatives were physically matched with the help of numbers printed on the top of the negatives as well as by the presence of a thin strip of overlapping frame image. Introduction Photographic negatives have been known to form a n important source of evidence in work involving questioned documents, and according to Lucas (1969), stolen cameras may be identified and returned to the owner by a comparison of negatives exposed prior to the theft with a test negative. He goes on to say that if the irregularities on the film border, which are caused by the black paint around the film gate of the camera, match, one can be certain that the two pictures were taken on the same camera. Negatives can sometimes also be linked as a constituent part of a completely exposed roll of 120, 620 and 35mm film. The correct sequence of the negatives can give an important clue to the sequence of events and presence or absence of certain individuals and/or objects at a given time and place.
The Case A bank official travelled by train from A to destination B in a first-class compartment with his wife, parents and eight children, to attend a wedding a t B. He claimed first-class return fares for all his eight children and the bank duly reimbursed the cost of the tickets. It was alleged, however, that only five of his
Figure 1. Alignment of the two negatives to form the "physical fit" of the number 2. The negative on the left was produced by the studio and the other by the bank official.
355
eight " children had accom~aniedhim. The bank official denied the allegation " and produced a photograph, along with its negative, of the wedding ceremony showing his entire family and his eight children standing alongside the bride and bridegroom in the church. The bank official maintained that the photograph was taken on the wedding day and during the marriage ceremony at B. A studio photographer at B also confirmed that the photograph produced by the official was actually taken along with other photographs in connection with the wedding ceremony, and produced four negatives of the same ceremony.
Examination and Discussion Photographic transparencies of these five negatives were made and on careful examination of these transparencies it was revealed that the disputed negative contained a number 3 in the middle of its upper edge, and half of the number 2 in the top left-hand corner. One of the four negatives produced by the studio
Figure 2. The right edge of the bank official's negative aligned with the left edge of a negative from the str~dio.'rhr vrrtical whit? strip is the line of demarcation of the two photographs.
also contained a part of the number 2 in its top right-hand corner. O n careful alignment of the transparencies of these two negatives the number 2 was completed (Figure 1). The contention that the two negatives were part of the same film was further reinforced by the presence of a strip of exposure from the succeeding negative, produced by the studio, which has been aligned with the right edge of the negative produced by the bank official (Figure 2). Thus the negative produced by the bank official was linked on both its edges to two negatives produced by the studio, providing conclusive evidence to substantiate his claim.
Conclusions The case illustrates how useful the determination of the sequence of exposure of photographic negatives in a roll film can be and how such documentary evidence may be very important in settling a dispute. Acknowledgement Thanks are due to Dr. H. L. Bami, Director, C.F.S.L. for guidance and encouragement. References L u c ~ s D. , M., 1969, Optics and Instrumentation in Forensic Science, Applied Optics, 8, 15-20.
Received 25 February 1981
Photographic Negatives as Evidence-A Report
Case
S. K. GUPTA, D. R. ROHILLA and S. K. DAS C U P T A Central Forensic Science Laboratory, R.K. Puram, New Delhi-110022 India A case is described where Jive negatives were physically matched with the help of numbers printed on the top of the negatives as well as by the presence of a thin strip of overlapping frame image. Introduction Photographic negatives have been known to form a n important source of evidence in work involving questioned documents, and according to Lucas (1969), stolen cameras may be identified and returned to the owner by a comparison of negatives exposed prior to the theft with a test negative. He goes on to say that if the irregularities on the film border, which are caused by the black paint around the film gate of the camera, match, one can be certain that the two pictures were taken on the same camera. Negatives can sometimes also be linked as a constituent part of a completely exposed roll of 120, 620 and 35mm film. The correct sequence of the negatives can give an important clue to the sequence of events and presence or absence of certain individuals and/or objects at a given time and place.
The Case A bank official travelled by train from A to destination B in a first-class compartment with his wife, parents and eight children, to attend a wedding a t B. He claimed first-class return fares for all his eight children and the bank duly reimbursed the cost of the tickets. It was alleged, however, that only five of his
Figure 1. Alignment of the two negatives to form the "physical fit" of the number 2. The negative on the left was produced by the studio and the other by the bank official.
355
eight " children had accom~aniedhim. The bank official denied the allegation " and produced a photograph, along with its negative, of the wedding ceremony showing his entire family and his eight children standing alongside the bride and bridegroom in the church. The bank official maintained that the photograph was taken on the wedding day and during the marriage ceremony at B. A studio photographer at B also confirmed that the photograph produced by the official was actually taken along with other photographs in connection with the wedding ceremony, and produced four negatives of the same ceremony.
Examination and Discussion Photographic transparencies of these five negatives were made and on careful examination of these transparencies it was revealed that the disputed negative contained a number 3 in the middle of its upper edge, and half of the number 2 in the top left-hand corner. One of the four negatives produced by the studio
Figure 2. The right edge of the bank official's negative aligned with the left edge of a negative from the str~dio.'rhr vrrtical whit? strip is the line of demarcation of the two photographs.
also contained a part of the number 2 in its top right-hand corner. O n careful alignment of the transparencies of these two negatives the number 2 was completed (Figure 1). The contention that the two negatives were part of the same film was further reinforced by the presence of a strip of exposure from the succeeding negative, produced by the studio, which has been aligned with the right edge of the negative produced by the bank official (Figure 2). Thus the negative produced by the bank official was linked on both its edges to two negatives produced by the studio, providing conclusive evidence to substantiate his claim.
Conclusions The case illustrates how useful the determination of the sequence of exposure of photographic negatives in a roll film can be and how such documentary evidence may be very important in settling a dispute. Acknowledgement Thanks are due to Dr. H. L. Bami, Director, C.F.S.L. for guidance and encouragement. References L u c ~ s D. , M., 1969, Optics and Instrumentation in Forensic Science, Applied Optics, 8, 15-20.