Cheap Gas, But at What Price?

I never thought about photographing around a Filling Station, especially at night, until I was in a class with someone who worked at one (at night). We had a night photography assignment, but since he worked there every night he had to get creative and see what there was to see in his surroundings.









We (Donald and I) sometimes wondered why our gasoline (or petrol if you are overseas) was always 20-40 cents or more cheaper than the national average. Then we thought about our neighbors..............









The 'Luxury' of Cheap Gas usually means that you may have some undesirable neighbors.

Meet Denver's own local Oil Refinery!








It's about halfway between my home in the hinterlands, and downtown Denver. We pass by here whenever we go to the far east side of Denver from our home.


People here have a lot of respiratory disease. The remnants of Denver's industrial past help to explain that.

Night Moves

I'm introducing a new theme that I've been working on here and there over the past three years. When I first moved to Colorado, I worked on weekends, so my Husband and I didn't get to spend much time together (that job didn't last long by the way), so we would take long evening drives around the Front Range. I had been introduced to Ilford's high speed film, ISO 3200, and decided to start my 'Denver Drive By' series. I'm still working on it, although we don't go into Denver as much anymore, and sometimes I take daytime photos. The tie that binds it all together is that the photos must be taken from a car (or in my case a Jeep) and preferably in motion. If you want to see some truly inspiring Urban Landscapes check out "Things I See", one of my Photo Influences.

Support Your Locally Owned Film Processor

So I’ve decided to continue the theme of Friday Commentaries. Today, ‘Support Your Locally Owned Film Processor’. I’ve previously written about using and processing FujiFilm Superia 400 and 800, and the Costco vs. Walmart processing dilemma. Basically Costco has stopped selling the film and will stop processing when their machines need updating. Walmart only has regional processing centers for film and it can take up to a week to get your processed film back unless your local Walmart is one of these processing centers. Plus the quality control for both Costco and Walmart can vary widely.

Now you know that I am really an E-6 slide film person, but I do need the faster film speeds for my Plastic Cameras. I especially like the Superia 800 for this purpose. So why not just use my Locally Owned Film Processor. Most of these operations cater to professionals and will still be there for the long-term. Sure prices may go up a bit, but they will be there for you, next week, next month, next year, and for years to come! So use their services and keep them in business. Because the cheapest becomes the dearest if you let them die and the big box stores let you down!

This Week's Photo, Processed by my locally owned lab, PhotoCraft:



Camera: Mamiya 645 Pro TL (Cropped)
Film: Ilford ISO 400

I usually process my own B&W. But when I have many rolls (say more than 4) I can Trust PhotoCraft.

Flower: Sacred Datura from my garden (Nightshade Family)

A Little More Lomo……..

I was inspired by Natalie’s Sycamore leaf to photograph my own maple tree, but with a twist. Rather than copy her macro technique, I decided to use my Lomo Fisheye. Well, my maple leaves proved not to be so photogenic, but I ended up with some interesting shots. And you can see how well this ISO 800 film performs.













Camera: Lomo Fisheye
Film: Fuji Superia ISO 800


























I need to learn to keep my feet out of the frame, but with a rangefinder that can be tricky!

Update: What Type of Film Did NASA Select for the Apollo 11 Mission?

Ken Rockwell responded to my email regarding the Apollo 11 film choice. It was Ektachrome MS ASA 64 for Lunar terrain and general photography; and Ektachrome EF ASA 160 for low light conditions on the Lunar surface and interior photography exposed and push processed to ASA 1000. All technical information regarding the mission photography is available at this NASA Link.


(Although they were initally defined independantly, ASA and ISO can be regarded as approximately the same).