Rearrangeing the Deckchairs

 

 

A rainy weekend  here at the World Headquarters Today's Image which meant it was a fine time to rearrange the deckchairs.

 

The return to more film requires that the darkroom be in working condition. This was quickly done. 

 

The lightroom was not quickly brought up to speed.  Computers, scanners and printers were scattered about the room and needed to be relocated for an efficient workflow. 

 

Problems right away.  Scanners are not the latest and they only work using Windows XP, not Windows Vista, 7 or 8.  This meant that a Windows XP computer dedicated to scanning needed to be in the mix. The XP machine uses a CRT monitor.  This monitor has a rather large footprint.  Added to this, scanners work best when located as close as possible to the computer - short connecting cables help  in a quick transfer of data. 

 

Post processing the scanned images will be done using a Windows 7 machine.  Since the Windows 7 computer is an all in one, it needs only a comfortable working location.

 

Finally, the printers operate on any of the Windows systems and  they too work best when placed as close as possible to the computer. Since the post processing is done on the Windows 7 computer, it would be best if the printers were connected to that computer.

 

Spent much of Saturday, moving, locating, placing various pieces of equipment only to move and place again and again. Finally finished late in the day.

 

Early Sunday morning, selected a few film negatives to scan, process and print. After a couple of hours, gave up.  Computers, scanners and printers were not in useful efficient working locations. 

 

Time for coffee and looking out the window - still raining, so no walking.  This time put a chair in the middle of the room and considered various solutions.  Added to problem was the overnight decision to include audio - notebook and speakers.  Realized that work best with music in the background.  Arrived at a solution late Sunday afternoon, after a few hours of mental and physical work.

 

Monday morning tested out the latest arrangement and it works. 

 

First from Richmond, Indiana.

 

                   
and from Farmland, Indiana.

MainSouce Bank

                Williamsport, Indiana.

A small community of less than 2000 in West Central Indiana..

Empty with Wall Art

                Richmond, Indiana.

Busy Times Ahead

                London, Ohio.

With large corn and bean crops being harvested, long days are ahead for operators of grain elevators.

Tender Touch

                 Sherwood, Ohio

TGIF: Returning

 

This has be a busy and productive past few weeks here at the World Headquarters of Today's Image.  Thanks to David an Olympus OM 1 camera body and lenses have returned. 

 

 

Purchased new - believe sometime in the 80's - appeared to be in good condition. However, the light meter was not working. Now, with a camera of this age, this not  a surprise.  After much Internet/web searching, found a former Olympus camera repairman willing to work on the body and return it to working condition. Sent it off to him and hoped for the best.  Problem with older cameras that involve electronics are parts.  After receiving the camera, he contacted me and said that he had a used light meter assembly that worked and offered to install it.  Also suggested  improvements that - among other things - would allow the use of modern batteries. Yes!

 

The repaired and updated Olympus OM 1 arrived and was used  on the Ride About this past weekend. 

 



 

The above photograph was taken with the repaired and updated Olympus OM 1.  Indeed, all seems to be working.

 

With the OM 1 camera taken care of, the next bit of time was spent in deciding what to do about several other cameras. 

 

Keep saying that wish to return to black and white photography, so now is the time to do it or forget about it.  After much coffee, looking out the window and walking about the neighborhood, decided that yes, will do it.  Not completely giving up color photography, intend to seek subjects that would profit by black and white images.

 

The Olympus is a SLR camera and quite useful for the majority of subjects.  There are often times when such a SLR appears to stand out and sometimes prevent capturing a moment.  SLR shutters can be a bit loud and if you attempting to be unobserved or heard, then it is not the correct tool.

 

The other choice is a rangefinder camera with no moving mirrors or loud shutters.  Have used rangefinders in the past and found them to small, light, easy to carry and quite.  A combination of a rangefinder and the Olympus OM 1 would be the best of all worlds. 

 

O.K. - Rangefinder here we come!  Gathered up four cameras -three digital and one film - along with lenses and headed to a camera store to see about a trade-in for a rangefinder system.  After reviewing the choices, left the stuff in the camera store, told them I would return in a while and went for a walk and coffee.  Coffee turned into lunch and lunch morphed into another walk.  Returned and selected used Zeiss Ikon rangefinder camera.

 



 

Small, light, easy to carry and uses lenses that I have.  After leaving the store, attached a lens to the body and loaded a roll of film.  Driving home, stopped in Farmland, and photographed the Goodrich Bros. grain elevator which is now the home of several retail stores.  

 

 

Rangefinder camera is as promised - small, light, easy to carry and quite.  

Digital cameras, computers and ink-jet printers are all well and good but returning to black and white film photography at this time just feels right.

 

Ballet School - Who Knew?

                Lebanon, Indiana.

Tyler's is Gone

                Lebanon, Indiana.

 Lebanon is a city located in central Indiana, with a population  of less than 1600.   It is the county seat of Boone County.

The city was named Lebanon because a stand of hickory trees on the site that reminded one of the town's commissioners of the Ceders of Lebanon .

Rainy Day Along US Route 6

                Sherwood, Ohio

Sherwood is a village in Defiance County, Ohio with a population of less than 850.

Parking

                 Napoleon, Ohio

As always, click on image for a larger image.

Once Here and Now Gone

                 Napoleon, Ohio

In the past, home owned retail stores were often were in business for generations.  Ownership was passed along to family members.

Today, big box stores, and national chains have done away with the small, but personable, family owned business.

I like to think that Gottschalk's had a long history of serving the local area, but today nothing remains except the writing on the tiled floor.

Words

                Napoleon, Ohio.

Monday Morning Coffee: Rainy Ramble Northward

 

Up early Sunday morning, quick breakfast, loaded the cameras, along with some coffee, in the car. Off for a long drive to Northwestern Ohio.

A bit of fog in the area, but should clear up as the day moves along. Headed straight north along a blue highway headed for US Route 6 that crosses Northern Ohio.

For most folks, Route 6 has been pretty well replaced by the Ohio Tollway with the towns and cities along 6 left behind. My kind of environment.

As I traveled northward, the fog changed to mist and then became a light rain. Not your best photography weather. Pushing on and stopping a couple of times to collect a few images, finally arrived in Napoleon.

Now the City of Napoleon is the county seat of Henry County with a population of less than 8500. On this day the streets were empty. Rain seemed to have kept folks indoors.

First stop a building with attention to detail that is just fantastic.

                          Napoleon, Ohio.

Another discovery, in an alley, was an orginal wall sign.

 

While the weather was not the greatest, the images more than made up for the lack of sunshine.  More to come in the next few days.

 

 

TGIF: A Reason

 

I live in the rust belt. In 1976 a steel worker made about $16 per hour here. They built new homes, bought new cars, paid taxes and contributed to the local community in many ways. Today, if those jobs still existed, the same steel worker would be making about $54 per hour and enjoying a good lifestyle. Instead, that person is probably working in a big box retail store making $12 per hour with little or no benefits. Does anybody have to wonder why our standard of living continues to erode?

                                                                       AL

 

AL provides a reason why the communities here in the Midwest are having hard times which helps to understand the empty buildings and unused storefronts.

Parting view of Attica, Indiana.

Doorway

                                           Attica, Indiana.

A bright spot in the middle of row empty store fronts.

Closed / Open

                Attica, Indiana

Something, I rarely do is to face a subject straight on.  While a traditional composition for documentary work, find it produces a closed image.  No way for the viewer move, kind of a "in your face" way to present a subject.  

Here a viewer can "escape" by using the right side of the image.  Appearing closed, it is actually open allowing for the movement beyond the surface of the frame.

A closed image provides answers, while an open image will raise questions.

Prefer to challenge with questions, than provide answers.