The Middle Reading Deck

Huntington Beach Public Library, in Huntington Beach California.

I used my Olympus XA and Legacy Pro 400 film. I developed the film in Rodinal, diluted 1:100, using a "semi-stand" technique. By semi-stand I mean that I agitated the film for 30 seconds at the beginning of the processing, then for another 30 seconds after half an hour in the developing tank. The total developing time was one hour.

John's Philly Grille

Huntington Beach, California.

Having just concluded a wonderful afternoon of exploration at Crystal Cove with Sadie, Meg and I settled into a pair of luxurious seats in the patio at John's Philly Grille and prepared to dine on what turned out to be a very fine philly cheesesteak sandwich.

Sadie settled under the table and devoured the odd meaty scrap that rained down with uncommon frequency.

The wait staff were friendly and offered Sadie a bowl of water. Good people!

I used my Vivitar PN2011 with flipped lens and "Memories" brand (actually Fuji) 200 ASA film.

Sadie Sunbathing

Sadie loves to sunbathe. Apart from reading in the car I do believe it is her favorite pastime. I took this shot in late afternoon when the sun beats down through the windows in my living room and casts these strong shadows of the window frames. Actually it was the shadows I had spontaneously thought to photograph, but Sadie's presence was a bonus.

Olympus XA, Legacy Pro 400 film, Rodinal 1:100.

Huntington Beach High School at Night

Huntington Beach High School is one of the older--if not the oldest--high schools in the district and the designs of the various building reflect a delightful 1920's architectural sensibility, with arched hallways and a commanding clock tower.

I took this shot of a common area within the campus just as Parents Night was coming to a close. I used my Olympus XA and Legacy Pro 400 film. I balanced the camera upon a wall to steady it.

I developed the film in Rodinal 1:100 for an hour and thirty minutes using a "stand" development technique.

Sardine Street

Terminal Island, California. For this shot I steadied the camera on top of a block of wood I found lying on the corner of the street. (I really ought to carry a tripod around in the car.)

I used the Canon T50 and a Canon FD 28mm lens for this shot.

Zoetrope

This is the zoetrope at the California Museum of Photography in Riverside, California. (Its the black cylindrical object in the left foreground.)

By the way, a zoetrope is a device with a series of vertical slits in its wall and on the inside wall there are a series of still photos. When you spin the zoetrope and look into the slits you see the illusion of motion pictures.

I took this shot on January 31, 2010, using my Canon T50 and Canon FD 28mm lens. I believe I used Kodak Gold 200 film.

The result was unexpected. Moments before setting up and taking the shot I had been investigating the zoetrope, and in fact it was still spinning when I actually took the picture.

Only after I got the film developed did I see that I had captured a series of stills from the inside of the zoetrope. (They are a set of the famous images by Eadweard Muybridge, "Horse in Motion.")

Pondering Pirates

Piratical Pair Ponder Pillage and Plunder! Backstage between rehearsals at California State University in Long Beach.

I took this image with my little Olympus XA and Legacy Pro 400 film. I developed the film at home using Rodinal.