Halfway Home

Photographs & Memories

Post-Script: Tomorrow we drive halfway back and stay the night in Kingman, Az., where it's slated to be a bit warm. We'd rather stay in Flagstaff, but it's more like 3/5ths of the way back, making for a longer driving day. We'll miss the coastal climate of San Diego, but alas, reality sets it!

Typecast via Olivetti Lettera 22, images via Lumix G5.

Über-Tourist

Post-Script: We're really liking our little cottage in Mission Bay. Too bad we can't stay for ever. All we'd need would be several million dollars, or more. I can really see the appeal of being a beach bum. But alas, we have to return to New Mexico in a few more days, where we'll return to our desert-rat-like existence. I can see why So Cal is so popular, the climate is really ideal, one just needs to cope with the cost of living and the traffic. Typecast via Olivetti Lettera 22, photos via Lumix G5.

Observing

Post-Script: I've had a long and storied past with binoculars, my interest waxing and waning over the years. I had a very nice pair of Bausch & Lomb 7x50s, with an Insta-Focus lever, that we took to California on our honeymoon, but lost after our vehicle was broken into. Then I had a cheaper set, which I disassembled and used the front objective lenses as makeshift camera lenses for my Speed Graphic 4x5 (makes for a very nice portrait lens, BTW). Then last year the intermittent astronomy bug bit once again and I acquired a monster-sized set of Zhumell 20x100s, for which I have yet to find an adequately strong mounting support, weighing in at over ten pounds. And finally (for now) is this set, acquired for about $20, manufactured sometime in the 1970s, which makes for a nice travel binocular, being equipped with lens caps and carrying case.

Last night I did not take any photos during our bay-watch session, having neglected taking a necessary tripod along for the trip, so your imaginations will have to suffice.

Typecast via Olivetti Lettera 22, photos via Lumix G5. I shot the typed piece in bright shadow at +0.6 stops over-exposure, then processed it in Filterstorm on the iPad2, where I pulled in the light and dark limits and applied a slight S-curve. And there's some spot of goop either on the inside of my lens or on the sensor, as evidenced by the dark smudgy spot in the corner, only visible at close-focus. You'll also notice most of the corrections are on the left side of the page, caused by the Olivetti's intermittent skipping problem that happens mostly at the beginning of a line, something I'll have to address when I return home.

On the Prowl

Post-Script: I hope the typecast image is legible enough, as I continue to struggle with getting a uniformly illuminated image via my handheld digital camera when on the road. Olivetti Lettera 22, Lumix G5.

Ocean Breeze

Post-Script: Typecast via Olivetti Lettera 22, photographed using Lumix G5, imported to iPad2 and adjusted using Filterstorm.

Go West, Old Man

Historic Flagstaff Alley



Post-Script: We had a nice, informal dinner at the Flagstaff Brewing Company. I spotted this scooter in a nearby alley. Very interesting part of this town, the old historic district; tourists (like us), along with college kids and mountain bikers, very eclectic.

Typecast via Olivetti Lettera 22, photo via Lumix G5.

Morning at the Frontier

Post-Script: I've taken a number of photos in and around the Frontier over the years, and normally don't like to post images that might be interpreted as being exploitative of the down and out, but this image, taken Monday, portrays this area of town in all of its gritty reality.

Part of the appeal of the Frontier for street people are not only the obvious reasons like folks with money readily available but something many of us who've never spent a night on the streets might take for granted, which is a public restroom made available by the management, who have made a conscious choice to walk a fine line between catering to their paying customers while being conscious of those in need round about them, not wishing to alienate either demographic, which is a major reason why the Frontier continues to be a destination of choice for folks from all walks of life. The next time you're in Albuquerque, you deserve to stop in and have a bite.

Typecast via Corona 4, photo via Lumix G5.

Fathers

My Dad, Chester Van Cleave, on the right, in Egypt during WWII

Not Just Another Camera Bag

(Sitting at the ready)



(Fully Deployed)



Post-Script: I wonder if people interested in other specialty fields obsess over gear the way that photographers do. Like, do painters have bare-knuckle brawls over the merits of red sable versus Siberian Lynx brushes (I made that up), in the same way that photographers (and mere gear fondlers lacking actual talent) fight over the bokeh quality of seven-bladed apertures or rare, exotic Japanese rangefinder lenses from the 1950s?

In the grand scheme of things, this field bag purchase was a modest investment, and nothing more. But as an item to make more functional the tools of one's craft, it becomes a big thing to the insider specialist craftsman.

Here's a link to Fox Outdoor's complete selection of tactical-style bags. Enjoy.

(Typecast via Corona 4, photos via Lumix G5)

A Day of Video

Post-Script: The Lumix G5, though not the top-notch video-shooting camera in the micro-4/3 lineup, did admirably well. It helped to have the camera secured atop a heavy tripod, and as I hinted at in the typed piece, manual focus is the only way to shoot video if you want it to not distract the viewer with the constant "breathing" of an auto-focus lens constantly hunting.

Once again, the little Corona 4 performed admirably well, again used atop the lap desk in the cool evening air of the back porch. I think she's starting to get under my skin, the little vixen!

Allowances Must Be Made

Post-Script: I was surprised to find the Staples brand Okidata printer ribbon didn't fit properly over the Corona's ribbon spindles, as these ribbons work fine with all my other old manual typewriters. I had to shim the spindles with a couple turns of transparent tape, to make them large enough to grip the ribbon spools properly, otherwise the spindles will turn and the spools will slip. Not an ideal solution, which I'll have to find a better way of resolving.

For the first time since I've been its caretaker, I felt the Corona 4 performed flawlessly. I really enjoyed typing this piece in the fading light of evening, on the back porch, with the Corona 4 perched atop my lap desk. I could barely see well enough to use the correction tape.

Regarding how the girl looks "topless," those black plastic ribbon spools look rather nice. The original metal spools are a bit bent and scratched, with peeling paint, but I've saved them anyway. I might in the future respool one of these new ribbons onto the old spools.

Conversations With Dave

Post-Script: Dave doesn't like this photo of him, taken with the iPad 2's barely adequate camera, using the Hipstamatic App's Tintype effect, but I think it reveals something of his inner character, even though it makes his hair look gray and skin a bit wrinkled, which it's not, really. Not that he's vain, but everyone wants to be flattered, which is why I'd never make a successful portrait photographer, as I'm too bent on being a documentarian and am not interested in the least bit at flattering someone. I'd shoot portraits like I do street photography, seeking out the most gritty, grungy aspects of the subject and reveal all in shocking detail, I would.

Regarding the typecast, I've retired the Olympia SG9 for a while, returning once again to the Corona 4. Now, here's the thing: this particular Corona 4 is a whore. I'm serious. She has all the looks, but where it counts, she's woefully lacking in fundamental character. What I mean is, if the Olympia were a wife, she'd be all practical and get things done and you could rely on her 110%, though not be the most outstanding in appearance; while the Corona 4 will flatter you with her charms but can't type a straight line without the characters being all jiggle-jaggle and the ribbon become folded or shredded, and the type slugs ink-clogged. She's high-maintenance, she is. Needs her little slugs cleaned out after every type session, needs the ribbon covers removed when typing else the ribbon gets stuck and a hole gets shredded through it, gets the edge of the ribbon all snarled with little hanging threads that dirty the paper. But she's a charmer, she is. A whore. But I still love her, I does.

Errata: "tounge" should read "tongue." But at least I included all the correct letters, just in the wrong order. Obviously one of the risks of typecasting without a net (or first draft) is to reveal one's lack of education.