Hampton Hobby House Polaroid 665 Circa 1985

Polaroid Automatic 100 Polaroid 665 Positive/Negative Film - I was rummaging through my photo drawer and ran across this gem. Yes that is me circa 1985, manning the photo counter at the Hampton Hobby House in Hampton VA.. My first real job and the best job a budding photographer could ever have. I would kill to have access to half the photographic artifacts that were hidden in the drawers and boxes of that wonderful store. This was taken by my co-worker and partner in crime Alan Hilliard. We were playing with an outdated pack of Polaroid Type 665 Positive/Negative film. The print of this image was lost long ago, but I tucked away the washed negative in a plain envelope for safe keeping. Ah, the memories, some of the best days of my life. Polaroid recommended fixing the negatives with a sodium sulfite solution if I remember correctly, but we just washed them in water to remove the black backing. The negative held up pretty well over almost 30 years.

Chateau Elan exposure no. 8

Adox Golf  Cassar 75mm f4.5 Fomapan 400 Adonal (Rodinal) 1:50 - Another shot from Chateau Elan, this time the front of the winery and its fountain. Though a modern facility, the Chateau Elan Winery has a great vintage look and Paddy's Irish Pub right next door serves a great Bloody Mary.

Chateau Elan exposure no. 2

Adox Golf  Cassar 75mm f4.5 Fomapan 400 Adonal (Rodinal) 1:50 - Some places are perfect for an analog camera and black and white film, Chateau Elan, north of Atlanta, Georgia is one of the places. Good Food, Good Wine and Great Company. This was shot looking toward the rear of the Winery through the vineyards. Thanks to the overcast sky there were no light leaks from my Golf.

Of Pin Holes, Electrical Tape and the Big Ass Peach

Adox Golf  Cassar 75mm f4.5 Fomapan 400 Adonal (Rodinal) 1:50 - I love my Adox Golf. The Golf is the perfect medium format snap shot camera. It is simple, compact, has a nice lens and an uncoupled rangefinder. I bought mine off eBay in great conditional, the overall appearance is mint and the original leather case is in perfect condition, exactly the day to day shooter i wanted.... or so I thought. On shooting the first roll a discovered a hidden flaw, a pin hole somewhere in the bellows. No big deal, I have dealt with these before, a half an hour in a dark room with a flash light inserted into the back of the camera and the offending leak was found and patched with electrical tape. Problem solved.... I happily headed back out on an overcast day and shot my 2nd roll and it came out fine, but the key word here is "overcast." A few months pass and I had to do some traveling so decided to pack the Golf, again its size makes to the perfect travel companion along side my Nikon P7000. Most of the trip saw overcast skies, but I did manage to shoot most of a roll of Fomapan 400, saving the last few shots for the trip home.

Those of you that have ever driven through Gaffney, South Carolina on I-85 have seen the "Big Ass Peach," apparently also called "The Peachoid," but I prefer Big Ass Peach, it is more accurate, from the right angle it looks like a Big Ass. My plan was to pull off and get a great analog shot of the peach on my way home. I reached Gaffney and merged off the interstate and headed for my target. I pulled into the parking lot of the Fatz Restaurant conveniently located at the foot of the Big Ass Peach and stepped into the glaring Mid Day Sun to take my shot. Well, as you can see above, I missed a pin hole. I got the same result on my shots of the Possum Trot School, located on the same exit. So out comes the flashlight and electrical tape for another round of pin hole finding... Note to self, Test in direct sunlight....

The Post War Dream

Start Twin Lens Reflex Euktar 75mm f4.0 FujiFilm Neopan Acros Arista 76 1:1 - Shot about 3 weeks back on Monument Terrace in Lynchburg Va., this image started the following verse from Pink Floyd's some "The Gunner's Dream" looping in my head.

A place to stay
Enough to eat
Somewhere old heroes shuffle safely down the street
Where you can speak out loud
About your doubts and fears
And what's more no-one ever disappears
You never hear their standard issue kicking in your door.
You can relax on both sides of the tracks
And maniacs don't blow holes in bandsmen by remote control
And everyone has recourse to the law
And no-one kills the children anymore.
And no one kills the children anymore.

© Pink Floyd from The Album The Final Cut

As the Politicians, Spin Doctor, PACs and Talking Heads squabble, prattle and lie to accomplish nothing more than the status quo on either side, I cannot help but think we fail to honor the memory of those who gave some much to insure that we, as a society, would not live in tyranny.