out what, exactly, he is doing to the fixture.

>>>They are all processed (by me)

So is that a straightforward process, or is it lots of careful optimization that differs for each picture, to make them look so good?

[They're all different. There's a lot of futzing around. The older black-and-white glass negatives take the most time. - Dave]

My Dad was working for Columbia Steel at the time this photo was taken, in their Los Angeles mill. Columbia was later bought out by Alcoa.

I am looking for a photoshop plugin to achieve the amazing 40's Kodachromes we are seeing here at Shorpy.

[You don't need a plug-in. Just use the filters that are already there. - Dave]

Another great photograph. You can see the photographer in the reflection of the bulb reflector! Neat!

I would love to know where you get these filters from! I am a new-ish photographer, and I work with cheapie equipment. It seems this may be the trick to add that extra "oomph" to what can be a dull photo. (My all too common result of cheap lenses and cheap cameras!)
Thank you ^_^

Beffy

[The filters come with Photoshop. - Dave]

Re the comment below, the Kodachromes on the LOC website are raw tiffs right off the scanner, not corrected for color cast. They are all processed (by me) using the various filters in Photoshop CS3. Most of them have a greenish-yellow cast probably due to aging of the film, characteristics of the scanner (Sinar 54) or a combination of both. Below is a before-and-after example. Click the image to view full size.

Another example (underexposed, strong blue color cast):

That's it, I'm buying some Kodachrome right now. I haven't shot 35mm in years (though I do continue to shoot 120 in a twin lens camera). Unfortunately, modern lens coatings give colors that can be immediately distinguished from those of earlier generations. I will have to pick out an older lens to have any hope of images like the one above.

Perhaps somebody smarter than I am can explain the focal plane in this image -- how can the man's face be in focus, and the bulb, but not his hand?

[The bulb is at the back of the reflector, a few inches closer to his face than his hand is. - Dave]