Lita Ford and Queensryche

Lita Ford and Queensryche at the Knitting Factory in Spokane 2009-11-05

Winter Break

I just got back from taking a little winter break in San Diego.  The main purpose of my trip was to take a class from Kristina Logan on metalworking.  My goal is to incorporate my glass beads into silver jewelry.  The other reason for going was to get out of this cold weather for a while.  Here are some pictures from my wanderings around San Diego.  Here are some other pictures from the class.

Aero Ektar

I finally won an eBay auction to get one of these classic lenses which led to the second problem. How do I mount this beast on my Graflex Speed Graphic. I considered a few options but decided to go with a custom manufactured option from Jo Lommen. I am impressed with the quality of this lens board and worked perfectly with the lens and camera. I got my son to sit for the first test shot, on Fuji fp-100b, with this winning combination. Unfortunately 1 shot is all he could give me before he headed off to work.

For more information visit Jo’s web site and learn more about this historic lens.

Here is a picture of the lens so you can get an idea how large this beast actually is (compare it to the nickel right beside it).

Meko doing what he likes best

Here is the pooch doing what he likes to do best….

Old Metal Things

The Renton Gates

The famous Renton Gates leading to the underworld. I entered through the gates once in 1979 and did not re-emerge until the mid 1980′s. It was only by reading the Book of the Dead backwards was I able to retrace my steps leading me back to Renton. Unfortunately while I was gone, the Renton loop had been closed down and most of the hot chicks left with it.

Speed Graphic

My first step into large format photography.  This is Graflex Speed Graphic and was manufactured from 1940-1946 and was a very popular camera for many years.  This camera takes sheet 4×5 inch sheet film and the process is very slow and time consuming.

This is not the camera you want to take if you are one of those “click-click-click” types.  You must consider each and every shot you take.