Aperture Defined!

I have my Dad's old Kodak No. 2 Folding Cartridge Premo camera and decided to try a few shots with it.  It was built in the 1916-1922 period, and although I have the manual, it isn't particularly helpful in setting the exposure.  While the ball bearing shutter has 1/25th and 1/50th settings, the aperture settings are marked "1,2,3 and 4."  Well while thumbing through the latest edition of Art in America magazine, I find a picture of the camera reproduced many times scale - maybe ten feet tall!  The sculptor, Daniel A. Henderson,  must have used a somewhat later model of the camera because the aperture settings are clearly marked "8, 16, 32 and 64!"  Voila!  Now at least I have a starting point.

Herb Garden

After a slow start, our herb garden is doing well, especially the basil.  Mmmmm Bruschetta, pesto... 

Morning walk...

Javelina Attack!

This morning a family of Javelinas invaded our yard, chomping mostly on the more expensive cacti.  They look a bit like pigs but actually are classified in the peccary family.  They are skittish with humans and keep moving, so they're hard to photograph --  but this juvenile lagged behind and was caught in the cross hairs... 

Friend Chick

Chick was a good friend and a good photographer.  Today is his birthday.  I'm sure he's having fun up there photographing the angels.  Hopefully he'll post some for us to see...

Rain Storm

'Big wind and rain storm last night.  Lots of thunder and lightening.  'Wasn't expected, at least at this level.  Our weather station revealed 1.33 inches of rain in about an hour.  Top wind speed 35 mph.  'Wonder where the birds go during this?  So far we've had 3.38" of rain in July -- versus 1.31" last year and 0.19" the year before.  The desert is getting greener...

Dream...

1960s Desert Casita...

This big dead Ironwood tree is in a local nursery and they can't bear to cut it down.  I understand that although a dead tree in a nursery may not be the best advertisement.  The old girl is so graceful and is trying very hard to be beautiful despite losing her leaves and life force. She just begged to be photographed and remembered...   

Contest Winnings!

'Was cleaning out today and found this evidence of very early contest wins and my first revenue from photography.  Five bucks each -- woo woo!  This was a contest that the Detroit Free Press ran in their Sunday rotogravure section.  The snow scene is from Notre Dame, and the dog was in Georgia.  Both were developed and printed in my home darkroom -- 1956 and 1957.  Ah the good old days...

Gambel's Quail Eggs

A couple of weeks ago a Gambel's Quail laid 6 eggs on a shallow nest in a cactus pot.  A few days later there were 14 eggs!  Unfortunately the pot was in the dog run so she didn't stay around long enough to incubate her new brood.  The colorful eggs are still there.  Omelet anyone? 

 

Full Moon

The full moon through the trees - in b&w and color.  Which one do you like best?

Prickly Pear

It's that time of year for the prickly pear fruit to emerge.  The birds have a feast and some people make jelly.  For a recipe see: http://www.rootsimple.com/2010/08/low-sugar-prickly-pear-jelly-recipe.html  I just like making art with them... 

Old Dead Tree

I've walked past this old dead tree for almost 15 years.  It's usually where birds congregate in the early morning to celebrate the emerging day and to look for tasty morsels on the ground.  This day the birds were dining elsewhere...

Walking with the wild ones...

This morning's walk was interesting.  First we ran into three Javelinas which quickly dispersed when Woody lunged toward them.  'Good thing because they can tear up a dog pretty quickly with their sharp tusks.  Then we heard the howl of coyotes and encountered two of them crossing the road.  It's kinda hard to hold a camera and Woody's tugging on the leash at the same time, but here's a shot of the second one to cross. These appeared to be juveniles.  

Desert Morning

From this morning's walk...

Mesquite Seed Pods

This time of year around here the Mesquite trees produce a prodigious amount of seed pods.  Each of six or so species produce different looking pods, but a given tree can deposit several zillion seeds making a mess of the patio or pool.  Why do they need that many?  I'm told some people grind the pods into a non-gluten flour.  I just grind them into an abstract photograph...

Desert Storm

There's something special about rain in the desert...

Rainstorm!

While most don't look forward to a rain storm, here in the desert it's an emotional cathartic.  Waking up in the middle of the night to pouring rain, rumbling thunder and flashes of lightening gives a sense of peace - knowing that the earth is being once again refreshed with the fluid of life. 

And in the morning, there is the sun, burning through the clouds and lighting the rain drops on the windows.  Life is good... 

Polaroid Camera Found!

One day late last summer while rummaging around in a closet, I came across an old forgotten Polaroid Spectra camera from the 1980s.  Hmmm, wonder if it still works?  Sure enough, the battery, which is part of the film pack in this model, still had enough energy to power the camera, but the film was stuck together so no picture emerged.  

I found a supplier on the Internet who still had original ten-shot film packs for about $25.  I bought four packs and then had to decide on what to shoot.  I've had a long time interest in Sagurao cacti, so off I went to find some suitable subjects.  Despite the film's expiration date of 09/2000, it was still fresh enough to produce the typical Polaroid muted "sleepy" colors, giving the prints an "aged" look, corresponding to the old age of these desert giants.  The nine prints spent a few months in a folder and this week I finally got around to mounting them.  Here's a snapshot of the result. 

Now I have to decide what to do with the remaining three 10-packs.  Any suggestions?  Now that the price of film (still outdated) has gone over $40, I don't think that this will be a long-time effort.  However, a group in New Zealand called "The Impossible Project" has developed a number of modern-day films for Polaroid cameras, for about $25 a pack.  See: http://www.the-impossible-project.com/ 

Ed

My Pal Woody

It's about time...

I've put this off long enough.  It's time I started sharing my thoughts and activities and hopefully it will help get me going in taking more pictures!