I am a morning person - and sometimes it pays to be early - At this time of year, I am able to catch some sunrise photos that others miss.  This was my view this morning going into work.

My S.O. says she wants to open a restaurant that serves only entrees that have in part Bourbon as an ingredient.  She has renamed our house The Bourbonry.  So in honor of this “snifter” dream is this entry featuring a 4 grain bourbon from right here in Denver.  AW Laws.

These were shot on the Leicaflex SL 2 and Kodak 200

Went to the Musical Instrument Museum in Scottsdale, AZ for a concert put on by Omar Sosa, Seckou Keita and Gustavo Ovalles.  Wonderful Latin Fusion Jazz.  Omar is from Cuba, Seckou from Senegal and Gustavo from Venezuela.  

Located south of Phoenix near Florence, AZ is a wonderful place to visit.  They have strict rules if you want to visit.  Men must wear long sleeve shirts, long pants and shoes with socks.  The women have to wear skirts and long sleeve blouses with scarfs over their hair.  No pictures of the monks are allowed but photos of other parts of the Monastery are allowed.

“The monastery follows the coenobitic rule of monastic life: a brotherhood of monks and novices holding all things in common follow a daily schedule of prayer and work under obedience to the abbot, their spiritual father. The monks’ daily program begins at midnight with personal prayer time and spiritual reading, followed by the cycle of morning prayers and the Divine Liturgy. After a light breakfast and a rest period, the monks begin their work day, attending to prayer and their tasks till evening. Tasks include, among others, construction, groundskeeping, vinedressing, gardening, woodworking, publishing, food preparation, and offering hospitality. The day ends with evening Vespers followed by dinner and Compline.”

We’re almost to our destination of Gold Canyon, AZ near Apache Junction - with the trailer and about a dozen other folks from our camping club.  Right now we’re in Holbrook, AZ.  Went to a cheesy tourist trap

Also went to the Petrified Forest National Park

Painted Desert

Raven Haven

Petrified Trees

Shot a roll thru the Black Beauty and exposures seem fine.

On the same day the Leica announced their Q2 - a 28 mm fixed lens digital camera for $5,000, I picked this beauty up for 5% of that cost.  A Leicaflex SL2 in black.  It will never go obsolete as it is already obsolete.  I had a 2 cam 35/2.8 lens that doesn’t play well with the new R cameras but is perfect for the Leicaflex.  Couldn’t be happier.

Actual Size by Ed Ruscha, 1962.  I was researching this artist for my photography stories blog when it was mentioned that this art work was what started his road to fame.  I had forgotten till just recently that I had taken a photo of this same artwork in 1968.  For a 13 year old from Colorado this art was very radical.  I wasn’t used to seeing this kind of thing, let alone having it called art. 

When Arbus brings us a dead robin. The poor bird hit our window and all Arbus was doing was showing us his ‘find’

Was thinking today about the digital v. film debate.  I shoot both but have always thought of digital as an expanding arena of soon to be obsolete

cameras.  After all why shouldn’t they be.  Computer + Lens = digital camera.  So the innards are always getting better.  With Film cameras that doesn’t happen . There won’t be a better, ‘next year’ version of your film camera.  

Today was the introduction of the Leica Q2 which is a super high tech point and shoot with a fixed lens camera.  Looks lovely - it’s only $5000!!!

Today I saw a great deal on a black Leica Leicaflex SL film camera.  Other than the fact that you have to do a little bit of a work around to get the right voltage battery the thing is quite easy to use.  No upgrades, no sensor cleanings.  And in a pinch you can pound nails or repel an assailant with this heavy object.  $250

To each his own.

Post Modern Jazz conversion.  Compare to this version

Captured this morning while I was in Garden City, KS.  Looking East- Must have been a break in the cloud cover to cause this.  Very dramatic and only lasted about 4 minutes.  

I’m not sure where they get these folks but the tune is catchy which is why it’s on my blog.  From the First Church of Nothing but the Truth!! So I say “Hell to the Naw Naw”

After being sick for several weeks I finally felt good enough to venture out to Meade, KS.  The weather was not good and it’s going to close in later today.  But….while there’s no snow I traveled too Meade, KS where the Dalton Gang hang out house is open to view.  There is a tunnel connecting their hide out with their mother’s house

The Dalton Gang was a group of outlaws in the American Old West during 1890–1892. It was also known as The Dalton Brothers because three of its members were brothers. The gang specialized in bank and train robberies. During an attempted bank robbery in Coffeyville, Kansas in 1892, two of the brothers and two other gang members were killed; Emmett survived and was captured, tried, and convicted. He was paroled after serving 14 years in prison.

The oldest brother Frank had been a Deputy U.S. Marshal, but was killed in 1887. In 1890, Gratton “Grat”, Bob, and Emmett turned to crime after not being paid as lawmen. Their middle brother William M. “Bill” Dalton also had a career as an outlaw, but he rode with the Wild Bunch. The gangs were related through their mother to the Younger brothers, who rode with Jesse James. The Daltons were active later and independently of the James-Younger Gang..

Dead Dalton Gang Members

Tunnel to Hideout

On the way to Meade I captured this patriotic image

Another installment of Bad Film.   The whole planned two weeks in Kansas was a disaster.  Waking up in the middle of nite with severe pain, visit to the ER without a definitive answer.  This was all followed by getting the flu - this after having had the prescribed flu shot.

The film sat in the camera in the car during some very cold temps.  That usually is not enough to cause problems.  After a difficult 5 hour drive home with the flu I was shocked to find that the back of the camera had popped open just the slightest.  

After getting the film developed it was a combination of ruined frames with under-exposed frames.  This last finding was a surprise.  Anyway was was able to scan about 9 frames and salvage something.  The color shifts, etc can be mitigated by taking the image into Black and White which is what I did for some of the frames.

My Photo Stories is a blog dedicated to photographic stories that don’t get much ‘airplay’ so to speak.  They are drawn from the history of photography and offer a lot to those interested in photography.