Detail
I shoot a lot (of images). Most are duds. Some images strike me when I edit. The good news is that there are many more good images. So, my edits have been more gestalt. I look through the images about 28 at a time. There are standouts that get another look. And then, another pass; maybe something will still catch me and I’ll pull the image. It’s nice to have a lot of choices. Who shoots grapefruit? Hey! It’s a Longaberger pie plate! …and stand. They go for big money these days. My artificial flowers are a mixed bag. You don’t put orchids with geranium. Fiber ready to be woven, the finished product is in Colleen’s imagination and skill.
Doldrums
It’s leap year! Leap day!
How do you get out of a rut? Huh? I’ve been in the camera doldrums. Eh? I’ve been just doing the same old… We’re planning to travel again. Ah! Photo ops! But… Shake things up. I’m fortunate to be able to shop cameras. Anything new? Any new ideas? Ah! Well, I’m looking to lighten the load I carry. The big old DSLR is weighty – mighty! I’m ditching my big 80-400mm zoom on the next trip. …too much weight. Mirrorless – ILC (interchangeable lens camera) – lose weight. I’m not yet ready to give up a camera for the ubiquitous iPhone shot. That tiny iPhone lens can’t compete with a dedicated lens/real glass. So, I got one. It was $$ but not $$$ or $$$$.
And, I got a series of shots I would not have bothered to shoot a few days earlier. Yeah, fun again. It’s good to have fun.
I read (still). Ha! Photography! Still. And sometimes you learn something. After all these years… Simple. Pose. Those selfies….? Nah! Try turning your heads together. Wow! What rock have I been under? Yeah, yeah, someone needs a haircut.
Just for fun. It was a rare time when Colleen was driving. I was sleepy. That darned vintage car followed us right to our destination! … and parked in the driveway two houses down. It followed us home!
Graphic
We were stopped in a coffee shop Colleen adores. Turmeric latte. What can I say? It’s good for you/her. I deferred. I sat and took in the ambiance. We were also here for the ambiance. A graphic image caught my attention. Drat! I almost had a great shot. It’s okay but it could have used a bit better focus.
Meanwhile, I noticed a family moving about, ordering, and eating. It took me a while longer to realize that there was a sleeping child on the table. I mistook the shoes for mittens and hats. There were two kids not one. Consider it an optical delusion.
Pottery
Still life. I think I don’t sit around long enough to really have interest in non-moving objects. My interest is more photojournalism. Or, sunset. So still life is an occasional subject. But I am always on the lookout for good light. And still life is more patient than humans – sometimes. When it works, it’s a good thing. Right!
Thaddeus
It’s not a popular name.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaddeus
Thaddeus (Greek Θαδδαῖος, Thaddaios, from Aramaic תדי, Taddai / Aday) is a male given name. It means a heart or courageous heart. As of the 1990 Census, ‘Thaddeus‘ was the 611th most popular male name in the United States, while ‘Thad’, its diminutive version, was the 846th most popular.
I recall the name. I recall Thaddeus Potgalki. I have misspelled it. He was a hippie in my high school class. Mid 1960’s – duh! He had a beard before I had arm hair. I recall my chemistry teacher Mr. Schindler slowly savor his name as he pronounced it. He next appears in my memory in my high school English class when he gave a thundering delivery of a poetic piece. He was destined for drama as I was for science and medicine. I hope he did well.
Baby
Oakland, Maryland. Junior was tucked in a corner and had been marked down three times. “Lightbulb!” Look up the brand to find it’s provenance and worth. Ah! The price is less than you can get on eBay. It’s not pretty. It runs. The key!? No key! I need to get one. Surprisingly, most clocks and keys are separated from one another. It’s not a universal key. But one can be had on Amazon. Is there anything they don’t stock? Yes, parts for my Kieninger movement clock! Yes, the grandfather now has a grand baby. It’s a New England Clock Company steeple clock… just like the picture on the internet. ….needs work…right, twice a day.
Repair Job – Yes! Did it phewf!
It’s sad. My grandfather clock was an hour fast per day. When it broke down, it was correct twice a day (old joke). I suddenly had a very expensive paperweight in my living room (true life). That would never do. I had turned a working clock into trash. eBay! The replacement part retailed for $649. No!! I did not pay a fraction for the used works. Auction, bidding, success! (Long story short) $10.50 and postage was paid by the seller!
It did not fit. “Shit!” Oh, well, despair again! (Hey! I’m trying to fit a long story into a paragraph or two.) Old adage – in brain surgery – “if it doesn’t fit, …force it.” At the end an extra screw is not what you want to be seeing. I bet that makes you happy you asked? Nope, I finally used the auction part to tell me where all the gears went and in what order. Voila! Yes!! Really!!! I fit all those pieces and gears back in and I got it to work. It needs fine tuning. And in the course of things I found out why the clock doesn’t work right in the first place. Unfortunately, there was a piece broken before I ever messed with it. But now I’m ok to take a Kieninger clockwork apart. I can reassemble it with a little help. It’s mechanical. No jewels. No quartz. No springs. Hey, it’s not brain surgery!
Switch
The things I see; the things people collect’ the things that show up as “rescued;” the things someone will try to sell…oh my!
It’s an old telephone switchboard. Don’t ask. I don’t know how to work it. I know what it’s for. I grew up with a phone that you picked up the receiver and spoke to the operator who then put you through to your party. Yeah, they called it a “party.” Don’t ask. Back then I had a phone number with four digits. They added the three number exchange later. In West Virginia, we got 636-xxxx. It was quite a surprise to see that exchange is the most common even now. This all happened in the ‘60’s when I was a kid. Yes, ancient times.
Old
The really old one does not have a “QWERTY” keyboard. And it’s missing a key? I never would have looked…but (OCD) – “H” – it’s replaced by ‘tel.’ Oh well, go figure. They must have lost one. If I had to drop a letter it would be “Q.” Oh no! Not “Q.” I’m not saying I would. But if you had to lose a letter… I’m not implying that I have lost it…
Smudge Pot
You know I would never remember its name unless someone I know (equal age) uttered the words. Of course! Yup! That’s’ what it is. What? It was left beside roadside construction to warn drivers of hazard. They don’t have them anymore. Imagine what people save and restore to display in antique stores. No! I do not want one. Today the blinking yellow warning lights are battery operated and they set off my radar detector too. Yes, the things i will take a picture of…
Cigarette?
Vending machines. No, those are not real (stale) packs of cigarettes. Classic brands! You don’t see these machines around any longer. We regulate and ban just about everything. But you can still legally buy cancer. Then, we have health care to take care of it. There’s one catch. You can’t buy health. And vending machines don’t sell cigarettes any more. Ah! Two…
Signs
Here are some recent signs I’ve run across. Old brands are fun. You may remember some. Or not. If you are certain age, then this is silly stuff. Someday you will have your own history to recall. Hey! These are such old signs that some of them are meaningless to me too.
Flags
I shoot images of the American flag when I come across them. Recently there were a series of patriotic shots in a row. Nice. Yay team! Lately, I’ve wondered which team and whether I support the coach. Sorry, no. Boo, coach!
Typewriter
I go to antique stores. It’s loosely defined as something older than 100 years. Cars don’t often live to one hundred and printed materials are frequently centuries old. I did a typewriter series a little bit ago. Typewriters date back to last century. How quaint! My connection to typewriters is with term papers I typed in the middle of the night. Mistakes were not tolerated (OCD me). Correct tape and erasers were frowned upon. Ah, well, it was an old Underwood for me. You may have used another. There’s a really old one pictured. The label said, “Don’t touch. This is a $500 typewriter.” Ha! Well, I moved the tag. What’s the point? No one uses film cameras any more either. I saw an Argus C3 “brick” for $45 and it’s junk on eBay for $6. You can dream. A treasure is worth what someone else is willing to pay. Anyone want a $500 typewriter?
Grandfather Clock
“My Grandfather’s clock was too tall for the shelf, so it stood ninety years on the floor…” The origin of the term grandfather clock was derived from this song. I bet you didn’t know that. And the Kieninger clock works company has been around for more than 100 years and is still going. It has made the inner workings of many clocks. That’s about what I know now. It’s worth something. It “wirks.” That is to say it ticks. Yes! It tells time. It does not chime…yet. I haven’t trouble shot the issue. The kitties are curious and climbed right in. So far, it’s worth a whole lot more than we paid. But we bought it ‘cause I have been eyeing clocks for a year. Yay! Just luck.
The weights are heavy. Seriously heavy. We saw another clock the very next day. You remember the sewing machine story? Well, the second clock was plastic and the weights were nothing. So, this clock here, was a good bargain indeed. And it has real Kieninger works and it runs great. This kind of clock was very accurate and only supplanted when quartz movements came in the 1980’s. So, it’s not that long since progress changed things. You know, like everyone has a cellphone now….
Guess What?
Without a label I would have been at a loss to guess what this is. It’s birdcage, dish rack, bookcase, book shelf, drying rack. It’s too skinny for a wine rack and too narrow for a clothes rack and too wide and tall for a video/CD storage unit. And it’s old. Ah! It’s a plate rack. Yeah? Yeah. That’s what it is. You never know. And I’m still puzzled after reading the label. But, someone smarter than me wrote the label. So that’s my story and I’m going with it.
Santa
I was wandering another antique store. I’m trying to stay away. (No more sewing machines, please!) And it’s Xmas. And there are a lot of old Xmas decorations. And among them are a lot of Santas. Ya gotta love it!
Pattern
I love patterns…buttons, yarn, whatever. So whenever I wander, I shoot. Buttons usually are not on my radar. I think I’m in a rut since I stopped diving… not!
Dead Things
Seen in a pizza bar – antler light chandelier. I like the light bulbs. The dead antlers are a bit disconcerting when you consider all the dead deer who gave up to make this chandelier possible.
Sewing Machine…another
How many do I need? None. I started with the quest for a key. I had not opened the ancient machine in decades. What was the rush? None. Then in one day I acquired two more sewing machines. These were well built…and heavy! Another? Nope! But low and behold…in an antique shop… a machine was waiting. It’s different yet again…and much the same. And the price …$22. Whoa! A real bargain! Darn! That machine pretty much climbed into the back of the car all by itself.
Chips
I love junk food. It’s a secret sin of mine. Sorry, it’s not a confessional. I’m just someone who loves crunchy snacks. Lately, I discovered deep fried chips can be had for pennies. The chips are largely intact. No crumbs! Really! The idea was in a cookbook for simple party appetizers. The issue is how to get the slices thin enough for the purpose. I used a potato peeler effectively. But a mandolin is far more efficient. So far I have managed to slice fingers with both tools. Ouch! And yes, blood! Sweet potatoes and white potatoes work well. Beets do not. I’ve done kale too. But with kale there was a bit too much splatter. I also like neat food. Simple snacks, bad for you, made easy, and low budget too. Mmmm…
Odds and Ends
So, my journey through stores makes me pause to wonder. People own stuff that they don’t throw away. Instead they sell it and there’s someone out there who considers trash treasure.
Yup, I got up this morning and thought about getting an old Elvis record. So many years later there are still Elvis impersonators who make a living at it.
Dogs can’t read. I can promise I won’t poop in your yard.
And what may I ask is a turkey grabber and how do you do it? Grab it where? Dead or alive? Don’t bother to answer. I did not buy it. And I don’t get it either. Or would that be that I didn’t get it?
They made it. Someone bought it. And now they want to sell it to you. You gotta love free trade…
$120 key
Years ago in Seattle we bought a Singer sewing machine – an antique? It cost an arm to ship it to the east coast. It had a wooden cover that locked down. My mother used this machine when I was a kid (not the exact same machine, silly). So, it was okay with me to spend the considerable sum at that time. I’ve been looking at machines off and on since that time. They are all expensive (relatively).
Of course, we lost the key. The machine sat locked and unavailable for decades. Yes, decades! Then, I chanced upon a beat up machine in the basement of an old dingy store. The price was right! Gotcha! Into the car and onward. The very next stop (on the same day!) – oh my! There was a nearly mint sewing machine. …with a key! Aha! Does it fit mine? Who can know. It’s not a complicated key. I took pictures of the key. Oh well! The price was not out of reach. I tested this machine. It ran off a knee switch. Yup, never heard of such a thing. The second ran on electricity and used a foot switch (like mama’s) The first one was a hand crank! Wow, all different and of different ages but of similar design and appearance. What to say? …got three of them. The best news of the day… the key fit. So I got two for the price of that darn key. Yay! Now go make a copy of the key, dummy.
For Fun
I don’t own these… We do antique stores. Marching around and peeking in the booths… well you see my point?
I have a couple of old typewriters. It’s sentimental. I got the first when I dropped Dave off in Wisconsin for his freshman year of college. The Goodwill has really great stuff. Ha! Old typewriters! It sat in his dorm room all year and he paid a fortune to have it shipped home to me. The second was an impulse purchase. It is the exact model Underwood I slaved over to complete my term papers. Correct type and erasers, oh my! Old typewriters are not so old. They have been around for a while and of course of no more since the computer age. Tra la! La!
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