New Etsy site

 I enjoy shooting with antique cameras, and also have a variety of cameras that I have in my office to inspire me in my creative endeavors. I also like to find obscure cameras and photographic items and second hand stores, antique stores and in unexpected places. I end up with a lot of different models, and figured it was time to thin out the collection and start selling some of my antique cameras and accessories.

I started an Etsy site to sell some of my cameras, and also begin to showcase some of my handcrafted photographic images. I started working on this a few years ago, but other things prevented me from completing my task.

I will be listing different cameras, camera accessories and ephemera. New items will be added each week so stop by to see what I have to post and sell. Soon I will be adding some of my handcrafted photographic images.

If you stop by, thanks for looking!

10,000 hours

Last weekend I made some wet plate images at the David Davis Mansion in Bloomington.  It was a hot weekend! Saturday was in the upper 90's with a heat index of 110. Sunday was a bit cooler, in the 80's with a heat index in the 90's. It was a challenging day, but I was able to make quite a few nice images despite the heat and humidity. Luckily I was able to tap into my "wet plate knowledge bank" to correct for a few errors here and there, and keep the process moving along both days.

Author Malcom Gladwell wrote in his 2008 book titled "Outliers: The Story of Success" that one needs 10,000 hours in order to be successful. This "10,000 Hour-Rule" describes practicing a craft until you have mastered the task.

One place where I have had my practice time is in wet plate collodion photography. It has been a fantastic journey of learning chemical compounds, the art of pouring plates and also making adjustments on the fly for variables in the process.

The back of my dark box I made in 2007. A big wind storm picked it up and flipped it over a few years back and I lost all the chemistry (including the silver bath all over the place, hence the stains). A lot of plates have come out of this dark box over the years.

I've taken wet plate images in 100+ degree heat and in below zero temperatures. At living history events, on the side of road, in a few cemeteries and inside historic homes. Even with all this experience the process can go from stable and perfect to out of control and crazy at the drop of a hat. Sometimes multiple issues happen at once and shooting needs to stop while diagnosing the issues.

I'm not writing this to talk about how fantastic I am, I am writing this for those out there that are in the beginning or middle of your own 10,000 hour journey. Maybe you are just starting in a new career, or learning a new skill set at work. Of course this may seem daunting at first; just keep working at it and learning a little bit at a time. After a while some of it will stick, the newer stuff will make sense, and you will become an expert in your area.

Photos of Alex Timmerman taken about 20 minutes apart in Bloomington. He moved slightly in the first image so we took another 1/6 plate in the same location. A 2 second exposure in semi overcast open sun and 14 second developing.

I look back on the plates I made 12 years ago and the images I am making today. The learning curve has been steep at times, but so rewarding now that I can make wet plate photographs the way I always wanted to. Stick with it! It will be o.k. Make mistakes, learn lessons, try something new. We are only on this planet once, why not go after those things you always wanted to do and try them out!! 

Day 9 Home at last

We woke up early in St. Louis to get our last two sites in before heading home. We also woke up early because of all the hotels we stayed at -this one was simply the grungiest, scariest most awful place in the three years we have been traveling for family vacations. I could write a lot more about it but I will not let it overshadow the great time we had in St. Louis.

Our first stop was the St. Louis Zoo. We got a tip from the hotel clerk (see silver lining) to park on the street to avoid the parking fee. We found a spot about two blocks from the entrance and made our way through the gate and into the park.

We made it early enough to feed and pet the sting rays. It was a fantastic experience! The rays are in a shallow pool and you can gently pet their backs or feed them shrimp, fish or squid. The kids had the chance to feed them and it was great watching their faces when the rays took the food from their  hands. The outside of a stingray feels like slippery leather as they pass gently under your hand.

We walked the zoo and visited the insect house (of course Kalli's favorite) the Herpitarium (snakes and reptiles Logan's favorite) and other indoor and outdoor exhibits. I had the chance to see my favorite animal, the okapi in the Red Rock exhibit. 

We had lunch at the zoo and then drove over to the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (The St. Louis Arch). We purchased tickets online the night before and this guaranteed we would have a spot. This was through the recommendation of my friend Doug Harding who is a park ranger at the Arch. I had a chance to chat with Doug as we waited in line to go to the top.

We took the north tram up to the top. Four of us in a round pod straight out of the 60's with swivel plastic chairs and a clear door to view the superstructure as we made the four minute journey to the top. Cool to me, a bit disconcerting to Kalli and Logan. 

The top was crowded, but we had a chance to take some photos from the apex 630 feet up. We made a selfie and transmitted it through Facebook while at the top. The technology we have is amazing btw, to capture images and trainsmit instantly. We returned on the south tram on a three minute trip to the bottom. 

We walked to Arch visitor center which is also the Old Courthouse. A beautiful building which started construction in 1816 and was completed in 1864. Can you imagine what this building would say if it could talk after viewing all the change in downtown St. Louis?

The Courthouse was decorated in bunting and 33 star flags in the rotunda and it was an amazing site to see. A perfect ending to our family vacation.

We were so close to the 4000 mile mark we drove a bit past our house to get the even number on the odometer. The car pulled in the driveway with 4000.1 miles. We visited eight different states  from the plains to the mountains, arid desert and back to the Midwest. Hiked three national parks (Arches, Canyonland and The Grand Canyon). Visited three National sites - Petroglyph National Monument, The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial and the Oklahoma City Memorial. Changed and replaced one tire in Utah. Rode some original parts of Route 66. Visited Mark Twain's home. Ate  picnic lunches in amazing places and overall had moments together that will last a lifetime. It was a fantastic family vacation. I am sad to see it end......

Day 8 St. Louis Missouri

We started out day in Edmund outside of Oklahoma City with a hearty breakfast at Waffle House. We haven't been to a Waffle House since our 2013 trip when we had our first Waffle House experience in Virginia. It was fantastic and a great way to start the day.

I had a chance to meet up with Mark Zimmerman who lives in the Oklahoma City area. In 2007 Mark and I traveled to New York together to visit John Coffer for the annual wet plate jamboree. It was nice to meet up with Mark again after all these years.

Mark led us on a trip down Oklahoma State Route 66 which follows the old Route 66 roadway. The newer road is wider and closely follows or overlaps the the original road, with pieces of the original road still driveable. We traveled a short stretch of original road outside of Arcadia. We also found pieces to drive on along the way as we meandered the state road from Oklahoma City to Tulsa while avoiding the 4 lane interstate.

Abandoned Route 66 roadway next to present day Oklahoma Route 66.

I am big on living history, and it was interesting to drive on the actual original roadway. It is narrow and wanders tighter curves than our modern roads. The concrete where visible is lined with white concrete on either side of the road. I have nostalgia for these pieces of roadway but can clearly see how this narrow wandering road needed to be upgraded for large vehicles and interstate travel. 

In Tulsa we were snapped back into reality. Bumper to bumper traffic with trucks and congestion as we crawled through town. The trip was diverted to state roads due to an accident on I-44. We hit Missouri and had multiple delays with five different accidents on the highway. Two were really bad, with one parking us on the highway for an hour. The worst traffic of the trip was today- go figure. 

We traveled through the heart of Missouri and made one last stop at the Uranus Fudge Factory in Uranus Missouri.  Fudge packed in Uranus! Talk about a great business!! After a day of stressful driving it was a welcome diversion. They just opened their business a few weeks ago on the historic Route 66 roadway and will fit in nicely with the past and present attractions along the road.

Tonight is our last night of vacation. We are staying in St. Louis and will be visiting the Arch and St. Louis Zoo tomorrow. Mileage should be over 4,000 miles for the trip. It is sad to be almost done but it will be nice to sleep in our own beds tomorrow!