Most of the photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs, 20 to 200 megabytes in size) from the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) Many were digitized by LOC contractors using a Sinar studio back. They are adjusted by your webmaster for contrast and color in Photoshop before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here.

October 1935. Marysville, California. "Agricultural worker in migrant camp figuring his year's earnings," i.e. a rubber check. Medium-format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size.
All the poor guy's got to show for his labor is spare change.
Today's Top 5