Month March 2017

Confrontation along Rt. 110

Chris and Carol 2 Comments

My first real confrontation with someone who didn’t want his picture taken.

He was selling vegetables (illegally I think) along Route 110 on Long Island (a very busy road) when he spots some punk pointing a camera at him. That was back in the Summer of 1972. I discovered these images recently in a box of long forgotten slides taken with my Yashica TL Electro-X. So after 45 years Mr. Roadside Vendor, your picture gets posted.

I was out enjoying the summer day when I spotted this colorful roadside vendor and I thought that it might make for some good pictures. I jump out of my car and set up my Yashica for the telephoto shots when I realize that the man is walking across a four lane divided highway straight towards me – and he wasn’t a happy camper. After some “conversation” between us, I agreed not to send his picture to Newsday  (Long Island newspaper) if he would just go away and leave me be.

The original images actually stink – a bit underexposed and out of focus, but after playing around with them a bit I kind of like the “Monet Effect” I got with these.

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I like the soft colors – the blur adds a bit of vintage charm too. And yes, he had his hand in the right pocket of his trousers the whole time he was confronting me. I suspect he had an imaginary gun of some sorts. It was a fun experience for me and I’m sure he enjoyed the experience too.

I’m sure he was a nice old gent for the most part – maybe the Summer sun and my Yashica got him a little hot.

Camera: Yashica TL Electro-X

Film: Kodak Ektachrome 64

Thanks for your visit!

Chris

 

Springtime in Naka-ku, Yokohama

Chris and Carol 3 Comments

Remembering back to our time living in Japan in the late 1970s. We lived in a small area of southern Yokohama near Sankei-en (gardens). The Naka Ward was home to a large US Navy family housing area and the ever popular Navy Exchange and Commissary. Avenue D, pictured below, was the main highway from Yokohama to the Navy base at Yokosuka. In our part of the housing area, these Sakura (below) had been planted as a joint project with the military families and the local community. After the long and dreary winter we looked forward to the blossoms and warmth that signaled Spring.

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Sakura along Avenue D in the Naka Ward. Base housing to the left.

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Sankei-en in Spring. A short bicycle ride from our home so we visited often.

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Carol spending her 100 yen wisely on a visit to Sankei-en.

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More views in Sankei-en.

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Photography blossoms in the Spring.

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We were lucky to live in such a nice area of Yokohama – everything was a short bike ride away. Spring was way too short and the Summers on the Kanto Plain were way too long!

Thanks for your visit! Enjoy your Spring!

Camera: Canon F-1

Film: Kodak Kodachrome 25

Chris

Apollo 16 NASA Astronaut Patch – 1972

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Launched April 16, 1972 from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The three Astronauts were: Young, Mattingly and Duke.

This is the official “Apollo Astronaut Emblem” new in the original package. 4 inch round patch very nicely embroidered. This is the launch that I was at and filmed with my dad’s 8mm movie camera. I hope to be able to post the video of it soon. It was one of the most amazing sights and sounds I have ever witnessed.

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Back when TWA was still in business. This patch in its original unopened package is rather rare. I purchased it at the KSC as I lived in Cocoa Beach, Florida at the time of the launch.

Thanks for your visit.

Chris

Ready on the Flight Deck – USS Midway

Chris and Carol 2 Comments

On board the USS Midway (CV-41) in the East China Sea 1979. Preparing for early morning flight operations (FLT OPS). Planes to wash, jets to fuel, pilots to brief and missiles to load. 24/7 sometimes.

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H-3 Sea King helicopter and F-4 Phantom fighter at sunrise.

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Missiles waiting to be loaded.

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F-4 canopy opened and ready for the day.

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A-7 Corsair spotted just forward of the island near elevator 1. F-4 in distant background left. A-6 just to the right of the A-7.

The USS Midway (CV-41)

Commissioned 1945… the hull was built from the plans of the next generation battleship.

Decommissioned 1992… no other carrier served longer.

Was the largest ship in the world from 1945 to 1955. Fantastic museum in San Diego now. One of the best Naval museums anywhere!

Camera: Canon F-1

Magical Day with our Mets!

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Wednesday, March 22nd was our 43rd wedding anniversary! So we celebrated by going to see our New York Mets at their Spring Training facilities at Port St. Lucie, Florida.

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Beautiful ball field inside and out!

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Previously known as Tradition Field.

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ESmiling Mets vendor selling Matz jerseys.

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Starting lineups for both teams.

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As well maintained as any Major League field. Bright blue Florida sky on a warm Spring day.

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Still early – crowd filling in nicely.

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Jose Reyes 3 our All-Star third baseman playing third in place of David Wright 5.

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Jay Bruce 19 just before he homered to deep right field.

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Zack Wheeler 45 pitching in relief of Steven Matz 32.

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Curtis Granderson 3 loads up just before his home run swing.

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Pitching change. Jeurys Familia 27 takes his warm up pitches as his team mates catch up on the afternoon’s activities (L-R Duda 21, Reyes 7 and Walker 20)

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Yo-Yo Yoenis Cespedes 52.

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Familia 27 delivers a pitch.

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SNY TV Mets broadcasters (L-R Keith Hernandez, Somebody and Ron Darling).

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Other than the final score… 15-9, it was a blast to see the players again in one of the nicest places to see a game. We got to spend the day together and that was the best part!

Thanks for your visit! And Let’s Go Mets!

 

Yashica Pentamatic Refreshed –

Chris and Carol 2 Comments

20160326_164016_richtonehdrThe beautiful, simple and clean lines of Yashica’s first SLR.

If you’re new to the Yashica Pentamatic then you’re in luck as this is the best place to be for the most accurate information about the mysterious Pentamatic. First envisioned when Yashica acquired the Nicca Camera Company in the summer of 1958. Yashica needed the technology and manufacturing know-how that Nicca had – focal plane shutters and the ability to build small complicated 35mm SLRs.

The timeline as best as we can tell looks like this – Yashica “invents” the Pentamatic in the summer of 1959. Yashica files for the trademark ‘Pentamatic’ in Japan September 18, 1959. The first Pentamatic bayonet mount lenses are made by Tomioka Optical for Yashica in October 1959. The first Pentamatic bodies roll off Yashica’s line by December 1959.

Yashica files for a patent/trademark in the US on February 12, 1960. The Pentamatic ’35’ is revealed at the ’36th Master Photo Dealers & Finishers Association Trade Show’ (St. Louis) in late March 1960. The lens shown on that Pentamatic is an Auto Yashinon 5.5cm f1.8 lens (SN 59100035). By April-May 1960, the first pictures appear in photography magazines in the US from the St. Louis show. The first Yashica Pentamatic ’35’ advertisements appear in both ‘Popular Photography’ and ‘Modern Photography’ magazines in their June 1960 issues. Ads within those publications have dealers in New York selling Pentamatics for $159.95.

JN Pentamatic SN 16000375Decoding serial numbers… Yashica has never been upfront with the dating of their cameras, lenses or printed materials. Instruction booklets and sales brochures are only occasionally dated and those were mostly in the 1950s and then again in the 1970s. Camera bodies and lenses (and accessories) remained a mystery until now. We believe we’ve finally decoded the serial numbers of Yashica’s first 35mm SLR, the Pentamatic. Look closely at this camera’s serial number… 16000375… knowing a little bit about when this camera was “invented” helped us decode the number. The trademark “Pentamatic” was filed by Yashica in September 1959 in Japan. The first lenses were built in October 1959 with the first bodies produced by December 1959. This camera (above) dates… 1 = January / 60 = 1960 / 00375 = 375th unit made since December 1959. The latest camera in our database has a serial number of 16115756. This decodes to… January 1961 and was the 15,756th unit produced since December of 1959.

16233739912_d43f6fb30f_oThis Pentamatic body (above) decodes to… 3 = March / 60 = 1960 / 01500 = 1,500th made up to that point.

Bold bright colors...

Clean simple lines. Show the customers that this camera was a SLR! Not your dad’s TLR.

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Inspiration and the technical know-how came from the Nicca Camera Company. Pictured on the left is an early Nicca 3-F.

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By May 1960, number 3,354 had been made.

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Earliest lens serial number (in our collection) decodes to – October 1959, the 92nd made. The ad behind it is a much higher serial number and appeared in a June 1960 ‘Popular Photography’ magazine ad.

The original Pentamatic ’35’ is a fun and challenging camera to collect. Knowing a little something about the serial numbers may add to your enjoyment of the chase. There was a short lived Pentamatic II (well less than 10K made) and another short run of the Pentamatic S which was the last model before Yashica ditched the Pentamatic bayonet mount in favor of the universal M42 mount.

Happy hunting! Questions? We’ve got answers.

Chris & Carol

 

Cocoa Beach Firefighters – 1972

Chris and Carol 1 Comment

Cocoa Beach, Florida firefighters, May 1972

As part of my college ‘Photographic Documentation’ classes at Hydrospace Technical Institute (a mouthful), I decided to join the Cocoa Beach Fire Department as a volunteer firefighter trainee in the Spring of 1972. The highly trained professionals at the station agreed to train me and allowed me to document their activities for my class. Since Cocoa Beach is so close to the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, the firefighters at Cocoa Beach had access to better personal gear (Lexan helmets and other high tech safety equipment) than other departments that were not expected to respond to a rocket related mishap. I hope to post a series of images over the next few weeks as more will be discovered in my archives. I’m sorry to say that I do not have the names of the brave firefighters I have pictured. I will be sharing my images with the current personnel of the Cocoa Beach Fire Department via their Chief.

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My favorite truck. 1970 Chevrolet 4×4 Suburban Rescue Unit. Way cool!

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Me and my favorite truck!

Camera:  Yashica TL Electro-X

Lens:  Auto Yashinon 50mm f1.7

Film:  Kodak Plus X Pan

Processing:  Self processing

Scanner:  Canon CanoScan 9000F Mark II

From a collection of recently ‘found’ negatives from 1972.

Many thanks to the personnel of the Cocoa Beach Fire Department for their expert training and friendly advice. They took the more than a few of us college kids in and it was a great experience for all. When I went on to join the U.S. Navy in 1975, I put my background in firefighting to good use aboard the three aircraft carriers that I served aboard.

 

Reflections – 1972

Chris and Carol 2 Comments

Self portrait at 18

Cocoa Beach, Florida March 1972

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Camera:  Yashica TL Electro-X

Lens:  Auto Yashinon 50mm f1.7 lens

Film:  Kodak Plus X Pan

Processing:  Self processed

Scanner:  Canon CanoScan 9000F Mark II

Part of a collection of negatives that I shot while at college in South Florida. These have never been printed and have only just recently been ‘found’ again. Wow, 45 years ago!