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THE LAST TEMPTATION OF ROCHESTER

Well, I've decided to bring along one of my favorite oddball cameras, a Canon EOS IX. This SLR shoots Kodak's Advanced Photo System film, but also allows me to use all of my EOS lenses. I usually keep a 24mm f/2.8 attached to it, which is what I used to shoot this nighttime exposure.

I figure evening station stops will offer similar mixtures of light and dark, so I should be able to meter quickly. I'll also be able to shoot exposure sequences as the train is in lateral motion that can be used as stereo pairs to create 3-D images.

I'm also going to bring a Pentax 6x7 -- mostly for use once I'm in Colorado.

And, of course, the Livescribe Pulse smartpen is coming along, as well. I'll figure out something neat to do with it.

NATIONAL TRAIN DAY

I just noticed that Saturday, May 9, the day I'm traveling to Denver on Amtrak's California Zephyr, is National Train Day.

I'm not sure exactly how I'll document my trip this time. On previous trips, I managed to shoot some nice images with Lomo LC-A+ and Yashica Samurai X3.0 analog 35mm cameras, but I'm now wondering whether I ought to concentrate on making fewer photos, but with greater compositional thought and technical quality.

Of course, I shouldn't discount the iPhone. One of my favorite views from the California Zephyr, "Late Night, Somewhere in Nebraska," was taken by an iPhone photographer.

I'm thinking especially of a shot (shown below) I grabbed with my iPhone while the California Zephyr stopped in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. A lone coin laundry was open, and it cast a pale light into the deserted street. If I'd had a manual-control film camera with me, I could have done a lot better with that shot, I think.

SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT AMTRAK

I'm taking the California Zephyr to and from Denver in two weeks, so Amtrak was on my mind when I did another test with Livescribe's Pulse smartpen. I'm bringing the Pulse with me on the trip and will record some pencasts. 

Amtrak 1
brought to you by Livescribe

SPLIT PERSONALITY TIC-TAC-TOE

This is a test pencast I made using Livescribe's Pulse smartpen. You should be able to open the document below, see an animated drawing -- and hear Yours Truly. Pulse is a pretty cool tool and, I believe, will have far-reaching implications for newsgathering and education.

Split Personality Tic-Tac-Toe
brought to you by Livescribe

SCIENCE-FICTION NOTES

Just testing the new function that lets me embed content created with the Livescribe Pulse smartpen. I'm impressed -- and am looking at ways to include this versatile and powerful tool in my podcasting and blogging efforts.

This page is part of some background notes I've been creating for a sci-fi story that's been bouncing around in my brain ever since I lived in Wyoming many years ago. (Although there really was a UFO reported near Pinedale, it was only seen as a bright light.)

UFO Seen Near Pinedale, WY Nov. 1977
brought to you by Livescribe

IT'S A DISCO!

Jefferson Park at Night, originally uploaded by chi_cowboy.

At least that's what the old Knobe the Stationer building looked like on Saturday night. From inside, lights pulsed and music blared and people came and went.

I'm not sure whether this is a regular thing or not. On a Saturday, there's plenty of on-street parking along Higgins, so crowds wouldn't be a problem.

I didn't shoot this image on Saturday; it's from about a month ago. I was testing long exposures with my Lomo LC-A+ camera and Ilford XP2 Super film. Overall, I like the images I came back with, but think I'd get finer grain with a slower, true black-and-white film like Kodak Plus-X.

IT'S A TRAP DOOR!

Trap Door, originally uploaded by chi_cowboy.

This one's on the Wabash Avenue Bridge across the Chicago River downtown by the Trump Tower. I've always wondered whether it's possible to open one of these trap doors.

I've so far resisted the temptation to tug on the handhold and find out.

LIVESCRIBE SMARTPEN

I've been trying out a nifty new tool called Smartpen. It's an electronic pen that stores exactly what you've written or drawn on special Microdot paper. It can also record audio that's synced with what you write.

Here's a link to a drawing I made. I'll test the audio later today.

CAMERAS OF MY YOUTH - PART 1

Won an eBay auction for a Kodak Brownie Cresta. This simple box camera has a wonderful Bakelite body, a built-in closeup lens and yellow filter — and takes 120 film.

My Aunt ______ gave me a camera just like this that I used to document several childhood vacations — including a visit to Mesa Verde.

Decades ago, the original was lost or left behind during a move. I think many of the sales on eBay are to people like me who seek to recapture the possessions of youth.

CAMERAS OF MY YOUTH - PART 2

This near-mint Kodak Brownie Target Six-20 was bought off eBay as an organ donor.

I have an earlier Six-20 a relative purchased from Macy's in New York City while on leave during World War II.

That venerable camera has a couple of worn-out parts — and the sacrifice of its mint-condition sibling will put it back in the swim of things.

There are a couple minor differences in this mint version — most notably a change in screw heads that hold the faceplate. Otherwise, they're identical.

620 film is still available from B&H and other sources.