San Francisco California-1952: Taking Pictures Of Trees In The Dark For

$149 · CommercialDirect license: commercial and editorial use. $149 flat from Stockfilm. Royalty-free worldwide license for commercial and editorial use, delivered as the restored 4K master.

Year1952
Decade1950s
LocationSan Francisco, California, United States
Duration5s
Price$149 USD
Collection1952 San Francisco California

$149 · CommercialDirect license: commercial and editorial use

$149 USD flat · royalty-free worldwide · 4K restored master (MP4)

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Stockfilm licenses the rights identified in the applicable agreement. Additional use-specific review may be required. See the Licensing Guide and Archive Integrity.

Taking Pictures Of Trees In The Dark For — Clip Details

Shot on 8mm film in 1952, this dark, atmospheric home movie captures a nighttime scene in San Francisco, California. The frame is dominated by deep shadows and a grainy texture, with faint light filtering through trees on the right, creating a mysterious, almost abstract composition. Occasional specks of light and subtle film damage add to the vintage, archival quality. The footage evokes a sense of quiet solitude and nostalgia, perfect for historical documentaries, ambient projects, or retro-themed content.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Shot details: Night
Resolution: 4K restored master (MP4)
License: Direct license: commercial and editorial use
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 5s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 123342006

Rights & Clearance

$149 · Commercial Direct license: commercial and editorial use. $149 flat from Stockfilm. Royalty-free worldwide license for commercial and editorial use, delivered as the restored 4K master.

No recognizable people, logos, or music are flagged. Lower-risk for commercial use, subject to your own review.

People visible: No
Logos / trademarks: No
Audible music: No

Flags come from automated catalog metadata, not a legal opinion. The source is an original 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie reel. For high-stakes commercial use, request a full rights review.

Source & Documentation

Source reel: Reel 1234 · 8mm · 5″ reel
Original reel label: miss universe
Reel-level year note: 1952
Reel-level location note: california
Date: 1952 Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Date evidence: Catalog estimate. A reel-level note shows the same year, but the clip-to-reel link is itself a catalog match, so this is not counted as independent confirmation.
Location: San Francisco, California, United States Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Location evidence: Catalog estimate. A reel-level location note is linked, but the clip-to-reel link is itself a catalog match, so this is not counted as independent confirmation.
Licensing route: Direct license available from Stockfilm

Confidence labels are defined on Archive Integrity. Fields without a recorded value are shown as not recorded rather than assumed.

View source reel context Open Clip Documentation Record Request source information

Topics & Keywords

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Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit: 1952 San Francisco 8mm night footage suited to archival requests for dark urban nature, memory passages, or abstract midcentury home-movie atmosphere.
Period detail: The frames show no clear period markers beyond the supplied 1952 8mm metadata, with trees and low light obscuring clothing, vehicles, signs, or architecture.
Home-movie behavior: The clip preserves an unstaged home-movie attempt to film trees in darkness, where limited exposure becomes part of the viewer's encounter with the scene.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include dark tree trunks, dense shadow, patches of light through foliage, greenish-black underexposed areas, film grain, and frame-edge darkness.
Film character: The 8mm image has heavy grain, low exposure, muted green-black color, soft focus, and a handheld archival texture consistent with night home-movie filming.
Edit role: An editor could use this as a short insert, transition, or memory beat suggesting nighttime trees, obscured vision, or quiet archival unease.
Historical context: As home-movie footage, it may reflect casual outdoor filming in San Francisco rather than a documented public event or identifiable landmark scene.
Research note: No people, logos, or private property are visible in these frames, but copyright status and any broader reel context still require separate review.
Research search match: Researchers might search for 1950s San Francisco 8mm night trees, dark home movie footage, abstract tree shadows, or vintage underexposed film.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with adjacent shots from the same reel, then other 1952 San Francisco material, then related nighttime trees or abstract 8mm nature footage.

Still Frames From This Clip

Underexposed 1952 San Francisco 8mm frame showing a dark tree trunk, shadowed foliage, and faint light in a nighttime outdoor scene. — A dark tree trunk and dim foliage fill the first nighttime frame.

Underexposed 8mm view of a vertical tree trunk with small bright foliage patches, supported by 1952 San Francisco metadata. — A vertical tree trunk interrupts a mostly dark field with faint foliage highlights.

Grainy 1952 San Francisco home-movie frame with dim tree shapes, scattered light, and heavy green-black underexposure. — Scattered light catches foliage against a largely dark nighttime view.

Low-light 8mm frame showing dark tree forms and blue-white highlights on the right, within the supplied 1952 San Francisco clip. — Blue-white highlights appear through dark tree forms near the end of the clip.

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