Turnine Powered Wheel
Sunday's trip to the
Crossroads Village & Huckleberry Railroad included a stop at the Atlas Mill. In the basement of the mill are several shafts, wheels, and pulleys, but nowhere will you find a water wheel. The stones of this mill are powered from a water turbine with all other systems within the mill being driven by electricity. To shoot in the dark basement, we cranked up the ISO on the DSLRs, opened up the lenses, and found something to brace the camera against. This was really the only wheel I found though which I thought interesting. I'm thinking that it is some type of clutch, but I'm not sure. If looks very cool and unused though.
Auburn Hills Flare
Adalay,
Lawrence of Berkley, and I decided to try for an impromptu trip into downtown Auburn Hills for a little night photo session. This was to be the first night session with my D700 and Larry was to try the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1. Before we'd even left the apartment it began raining so I grabbed the rain jacket for the camera and hoped for some cool night photos with rain. Following a number of shots and having dropped the rest of the crew in the car, I started working my way back to the car hunting good images along the way. It had become increasingly difficult though as the Kata Rain Jacket had fogged to the point I couldn't see through the viewfinder at all, and barely the LCD. Thanks to the Live View I was able to get the shot set-up, but could really see what was being captured. I had no idea that the front element was picking up splashes from the lens hood creating these lovely flares. The ones at the top left don't bother me much (I still don't really like them), but the ones on the right are nasty. Bummer deal as I really like where this shot was headed.
Guest Entrance to the Pointe aux Barques Lighthouse
While out on a Geocaching trip across the tip of the thumb we stopped at the
Pointe aux Barques Lighthouse just after the scheduled closing. Lucky for us the museum was still open and we had a chance to take a quick tour. I look forward to hitting the site again both for better photos and to spend some time in the museum. The light was such that I wasn't able to get any good shots (I should have set-up the tripod and popped an HDR but was having too much fun playing with the new 14-24mm lens) and we had to skate pretty quickly to get back to Port Huron by dark. I'm thinking that a fall morning would be best for that next visit.
464 Through the Trees
Following our Sunday trip to
Crossroads Village & Huckleberry Railroad we took the short drive to the only public grade crossing on the Huckleberry Railroad at Genesse Road. Here we waited for the 4:00PM departure, pulled by
Rio Grande 464, to pass by. Of course this was not an ideal lighting situation, but it's always fun to watch steam locomotives roll by.
Lubricant
There's not much of a story to this one, just that I spotted this little can next to a piston at the Saw Mill demo at the
Crossroads Village & Huckleberry Railroad. I'd have loved to work this a little more but the fence and fact that the equipment was running at the time. There's just something about the contrast of the copper, even though it's dirty, against the dark, black iron of the heavy machinery.
Shiny Auburn Hills
Adalay,
Lawrence of Berkley, and I decided to try for an impromptu trip into downtown Auburn Hills for a little night photo session. This was to be the first night session with my D700 and Larry was to try the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1. Before we'd even left the apartment it began raining so I grabbed the rain jacket for the camera and hoped for some cool night photos with rain. By this point the rain was pouring down. I dropped the bag in the car and left both my co-shooters as they didn't want to get wet. Working in the rain with the Kata Rain Jacket was a little more difficult as it started fogging up. For this shot it wasn't too bad. Shortly after though it became impossible to see through the viewfinder. Not the best situation for shooting, but still a blast.
Filling the Bag
Sunday's trip to the
Crossroads Village & Huckleberry Railroad included a stop at the Atlas Mill. This turbine powered mill still produces whole wheat flour and corn meal (and more) available for purchase from the gift shop. This bag though is just for display. The light through the window over the turbine provided a nice look which I just had to capture.
Just a Little Flare
Sunday, we took a little trip to
Crossroads Village & Huckleberry Railroad with the goal of finding some interesting photos. This pink oil can sat on the Masters Cider Mill's older steam engine which originally came from one of the GM plants in Flint. Pink just isn't a color you'd expect to see near steam power though.
Time On a Stick
Adalay,
Lawrence of Berkley, and I decided to try for an impromptu trip into downtown Auburn Hills for a little night photo session. This was to be the first night session with my D700 and Larry was to try the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1. Before we'd even left the apartment it began raining so I grabbed the rain jacket for the camera and hoped for some cool night photos with rain. I switched to the 14-24mm for this shot, just as the rain began to pick-up. The front element took some drops but the Kata Rain Jacket kept the barrel and body dry. I had to touch out one "UFO" in this image from one of those drops. What a great rig for night shoots though. I'm anxious to get out for some more great night images.
Tawas Point Lighthouse
On our way to the "
3rd Annual Spring Fling on Mackinac Island" we stopped by the
Tawas Point Lighthouse for a few quick photos and a nearby Earthcache. For this one I lay on my back, the camera up-side-down, while the last remaining member of my party (the other three hit the trail to the tip of the point) laughed at me. I managed to hurt my noise pressing the camera into it while working this shot. It was worth it though as I think this image anchors the set very well.
More good information about the
Tawas Point Lighthouse.
Sleepy Time in Auburn Hills
Adalay,
Lawrence of Berkley, and I decided to try for an impromptu trip into downtown Auburn Hills for a little night photo session. This was to be the first night session with my D700 and Larry was to try the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1. Before we'd even left the apartment it began raining so I grabbed the rain jacket for the camera and hoped for some cool night photos with rain. This opened the session with only a slight drizzle. The Kata Rain Jacket was rather annoying to use around the tripod, but worked very well otherwise. The D700 with the 24-70mm provided some stunning quality images. I'm really looking forward to getting the camera out again on some more interesting subjects in the near future.
Bell System
I wonder how long things like this will last. Bell gave way to Ameritech, which became SBC, and now is back to AT&T. I don't imagine that AT&T is all to anxious to replace these old covers and you'll still find many of the Bell markings along the poles and holes of the system. I just wonder though how much longer these evidence of the old system will remain.
This is one of the few images I uploaded to Flickr off the iPhone 3G. In honor of the release of the iPhone 3G S today, I thought it appropriate to share an iPhone photo.
The Dream Switch
The Dream Switch
I caught this on a box at the Crossroads Village & Huckleberry Railroad. It was only to quiet an alarm, but I want one of these buttons available to me whenever I desire. I'd love to be able to hit a button that would silence the noises of the world when we're sitting down to record a podcast, or when I have a headache.
