Saturdays Online: Gadgets don't make it better.......Even when they are Hipster!

You can be a professional (or get professional results) with a Holga if you are really good!  But the trend today is that vintage photographic methods are hipster:

I wish I could still get Polaroid Roll film for my Father's Camera......

I would still only have photos like these, and it would not make me famous.  But vintage family photos have given me many fond memories:

The upside of all this is that Film is now holding its own and even making somewhat of a comeback.

Sunday Online: Importance of Family History

I'm not looking too happy in this one.........But I do have a record of myself as an almost 2 year  old from Easter 1962.  The Annual Easter Photo on the Front Porch was one of our Family rituals.

Getting OUR stories told is important, especially in a time of mass shootings and church burnings going on in the Carolinas and Georgia.  And I remember the KKK rally held in may neighborhood around this time too!

So for the Day After the 4th of July we celebrate the arrival on line of a new African American Genealogy Resource.

Lost Land J33 Camera

Love this camera.  Too bad I can't get film for it!

In "like new" condition, as my Father carefully packed it away in its original box after every use.

It's Polaroid Week!

A Week now and A Week in the Fall.  I don't have a functioning Polaroid, but I have fond memories of the Family Photos take with my Father's J33 Land Camera.

And I do Promote All Things Film!

You can follow the Fun on Twitter!

Instant Birthday!

So Today is My Birthday.........and below my present from Donald:

Rock Photography Part III: Scanning Electron Microscope Images (EPMA Systems)

As I resume my life in geologic research (more on that later), it seem appropriate to make my last entry on technical photography and wrap-up the Rock Photography Series.

Most of you have heard of and seen Scanning Electron Microscope Images (SEM), but maybe you never really thought of them as photography. Anything involving a camera is photography. In this case the ‘light’ for the exposure is actually electrons reflected off of the surface of the thin section sample and collected by a spectrometer. Magnification may be 10X to 1000X depending upon, in this case, the size of the mineral crystals.

An SEM is optimized for imaging, and has a less precise chemical analysis mode. When the same instrument is designed to optimize analytical capabilities it is called an Electron Probe Micro-Analyzer (EPMA). This is what I typically used, rather than an SEM. But it is still possible, and often highly desirable to take images of the samples. The standard film type was Polaroid 4X5. I guess the newer models will use digital imaging by now.

Tech Photos: SEM Electron Imaging

The white mineral is Spinel (Left a close-up with the scale bar representing 10 microns; Right the Spinel shown within the crystal matrix, scale bar 100 microns).

Minerals composed of heavier elements reflect the most electrons and are therefore brighter. Spinel is an Iron-Magnesium oxide. The Points marked on the image to the left are the points that I chose to analyze.





This is the mineral Zircon. Zircons have been used to date the oldest events in Earth History, because they are virtually indestructible once formed. Each layer that you see represents a new geological event in the 'life' of this Zircon. This mineral is a primary source for the element Zirconium and was mined fro a heavy mineral sand deposit.

Turning Father’s Polaroid into a Medium Format Film Camera?

It has been a while since I've talked about one of my cameras. I have inherited my Father’s Polaroid Land J33 camera. Much to my chagrin, it turned out to be a roll film camera (such Polaroid film was discontinued long ago). So my real hopes of making practical use of this camera were ended.


The Land J33 was used regularly in our family to record seasonal events, such as BBQ, House Parties, and our Annual Easter Pictures.




















My Mom in 1959 with our tenant's cat Mister.






















Me in 1962 with my favorite Bunnies from Easters Past





















All of us (dad taking the picture) at an amusement park on Long Island, 1962


I have found on the internet, instructions for “converting” this camera into a standard medium format film camera. But with no way to advance the film (Polaroid film was advanced by pulling on a paper strip attached to the film), the film must be advanced manually by opening the camera back. Of course this must be done in a darkroom, or a film-changing bag (both of which I have access to). But it will never be a ‘practical’ camera to use, and that is disappointing.

The camera is in excellent condition. And I will run a roll of film through it and report back to you later. It will require Ilford ISO 3200 film, as the original Polaroid film was ISO 3000.