Monday, August 16, 2010

365 Photo Project - Day 228


Taken: August 16, 2010
Location: Healdsburg, CA

This is a first for this project -- an image shot with a film camera. Remember them? A few days ago, I blogged about getting some camera equipment from my Dad, who has been cleaning out a lifetime worth of junk out of his garage in our summer house on Martha's Vineyard. The one diamond in the bunch was the Ricoh twin-lens reflex he got from my Mom as a wedding present in 1959. I suspected it was in near-flawless condition, as he had stored it in its original leather case and with the lens protector. Well, here's the proof. This photo was edited only for size. I did no other touch-up.

I'm way impressed by the deep color and clarity of the image -- I shot this on 400 film which accounts for the graininess of the image. But everything else, pretty much wows me.

The image itself is of our local Healdsburg Post Office, one of my most favorite spots in all of town, more for its convenience and the people who worked there than its architecture. It burned down yesterday in a fire that was initial reported as "possibly suspicious" for reasons that have never really been clearly elaborated to me. The next day, the road was roped off and I walked up to take some pictures. The guy on the left  has "ATF" on the back of his shirt and the one of the right told me he was a federal agent. He came up to chat with me because he wanted to see my camera. Turns out he restores old cameras as a hobby. Funny I write about crime for a hobby. Now that's some very nice symbiosis yes?

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