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August 19, 2016

BRIGHT SKIES & DARK SLIDES

... we took a little early morning wander down to the coast to meet up with timothy, a young friend of john's ... timothy's learning to use a large-format camera, one for which the negatives are 4"x5" in size ... a long, long time go i worked with such, and it was rather pleasing to see that there are still those who find virtue in a technology that has been almost completely displaced by modern digital devices ... i'd a "classic" canon 200mm lens which wouldn't focus to infinity, and i took the opportunity to find out if my repair/modification efforts had been successful ... before i fixed the lens the trees on the horizon would've been blurred ... clearly a couple of sheets of 120 grit carbide abrasive paper, jewelers screwdrivers, and, on my part, a bit of patience, did the trick ...

... each with a lens, a light-tight box, a shutter, and a medium to record light ... actually these two mechanisms are more similar than most would think ...

... it was so much fun to meet a young person who knows what an incident light meter does, and is aware of the double meaning of the term "f64" as well as who turned green peppers into art ...

... bright-bright sunlight, i wasn't much enthused about taking pictures until this sea-weathered section of tree trunk captured my attention ...

... a quick snapshot of the marshall point light ...

... another "stacking" experiment ... this photograph is composed of 15 separate images, each focused at a different point along the trunk ...

... we stopped on the bridge in south thomaston to watch a family enjoying the "reversing falls" being created by the incoming tide ... while his daughters watched their father was shooting beneath the old bridge on the wicked fast current ...

... then it was time for a bit of daring ...

... one of the girls asked me, "why aren't there more people here" ... i thought of my own little girls, learning to swim at the wire bridge, smalls falls, and coos canyon, but even so still i'd no answer to her question ...

... i noticed the bridge's dedication plaque ... oscar a. hix was the only south thomaston native to die in world war one ... although they were most likely completely oblivious to the presence of this bronze tablet, i like to think that oscar would have enjoyed listening to the joyous laughter coming from those who where so enjoying this beautiful spot ...

... before heading back we stopped at a little shore diner, where i decided that since contributing to the local economy is always a good thing it made sense for me to order up "twofers" ... [for those from away, that's two direct-from-the-sea-into-the-kettle one-pound maine lobsters] ... after eating we wandered a bit along the shoreline ...

... very quickly i reverted back to being a six-year old ...
COURTESY JOHN MEADER
... i found myself disappearing into a miniature landscape ...

... this special place, both land and sea, provides definition to "fascinating" ...

... great company, a fabulous lunch, even a few pictures to share— for sure another very successful wanderabout ...