Then and Now

Then and now . . .

Douglas A2D Skyshark – photographed at Pacific Fighters, Idaho Falls, Idaho on 01 August 2006. Only twelve of these beasts were ever made. Imagine a Douglas Skyraider on steroids . . . This is (SFAIK) the sole surviving example and is not airworthy. When I asked if they think they’ll ever get this into the air, the folks at Pacific Fighters just laughed good-naturedly. “Far too complex a machine. . .” Nikon FE2 w/Sigma 35-70mm zoom lens and 400 ASA Fuji color negative film.

Bookends

Bookends - January 2009. Driving down a ranch road west of Browning, MT I caught sight of a few horses betwen the mounds of plowed snow. Stopped and climbed up on a mound. Shot four images in rapid succession and stitched them together after the fact. The sky still has some stitching artifact - so this image is heavily cropped. It was only after the fact that I noticed the horses on each end of the spread. PANASONIC LUMIX DMC LX2. Double click on the image.

After the Fall - Clifton Gorge, Ohio

After the Fall - Clifton Gorge Ohio - November 2008. This year I missed my pilgramages to Hocking Hills and Glen Helen Nature Preserve in Southwest Ohio. I missed the spectacular leaves on the trees. By the time I got there - they were all in the water. . . Shot with a Nikon F3HP w/Sigma 35-70mm zoom. Double click on the image.

Southern Ohio Panorama

Southern Ohio Panorama – December 2008. I’ve driven past this sorry collection of human detritus a couple times. It never ceases to amaze me how folks living in otherwise beautiful surroundings choose to trash things up. Double click on the image. Nikon F3HP w/50mm F:1.4 Auto Nikkor

Sunrise on East Glacier - 20 November 2009. One of the few perks of doing locum tenens in some parts of Montana is the scenery. This panorama was stitched together from five images shot looking west from about 4 miles east of East Glacier. One doesn't get to see this sort of thing drving home from work in Ohio . . . anwhere in Ohio. Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX2 - multiple images stitched together.

Technics RS M224 Cassette Deck

My example died today. The last time it had been to my repair guy in Columbus was in January 2005. He advised me that the component that had failed would fail again - and there were no replacements available. Years of manufacture for this model were 1982-83. Back then their list price was $180.00.

By way of contrast - a less than 6-year old Sony TCW - WHO the Devil Cares went belly up today. The last time it was in the repair shop was January 2008. The logic circuit that controls the fabulous autoreverse mechanism went crazy and wound about ten feet of tape around a spindle. I never liked this unit with its' manual the thickness of a Phoenix Metro phone directory and its legion of nested functions - any one of which could go south in an instant. It was an exercise in cold technology.

I'm replacing the Technics RS M224 with another Technics of slightly older design - a Technics RS M24. It was made in 1980 and listed at $260(!). I aso note that it weighs 11-lbs vs the 8.75-lbs of the just retired deck. I'm looking forward to this machine.

Yeah - I'm old school.

Red

Red - Columbus, Ohio

Red - Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Garden Columbus, Ohio - 03 January 2009. Canon Digital SLR. I borrowed a fellow photographers' camera to make this shot. I had my Leicas with me - but as anyone who even remembers what rangefinder cameras are about - close-ups like this on the fly are impossible.