A few neat old odds and ends
A replica of an 1882 horsecar (streetcar pulled by horses) purchased from 20th Century Fox, used in the movies "Hello, Dolly" and "Cavalcade".
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1909 Wolfe Touring Car.
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Wheel from the 1909 Wolfe Touring Car. Check out the chain drive on this!!
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1908 Ford Model T Touring Car. 1908 was Ford's first year producing the Model T.
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According to the docent I talked to, this was the highest-selling Model T ever a few years ago–I think he said it sold for $73,000. Nice. It’s one of only a handful in existence of this type, apparently. One thing that makes it unique is that it has two pedals and three levers (instead of three pedals–gas, brake, and clutch) and two levers, which Ford switched to shortly after this car was built.
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Gas generator for 1908 Ford Model T headlights.
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From the display:
In the top half of the canister is water and in the bottom there is a screen that holds calcium carbide. Turn the valve and let the water drip on the carbide crystals at about 90 drips per minute. This forms highly flammable acetylene gas. It also creates a stinky foamy mess inside the can. During the chemical reaction, the gas is released. It builds up pressure and flows through the tubing to the headlights. Quickly, you open the doors of the headlights and ignite the lights with a match.
Everything works just fine for a while. Then, pretty soon the stinky, foamy mess will start through the tubing also, eventually plugging the little holes in the headlight burners. In the dark, you will have to poke a wire around to open the holes again so that the gas can come through and the lights can be lit again! If the water and carbide last, and the system stays clean and unplugged, you have lights for a while. A lot of trouble, but worth the thrill of motoring!
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1906 Ford Model K Touring Car
Like I mentioned yesterday, over the course of the next few days, I’ll be posting some pictures I took of the classic cars at the California Auto Museum this past Saturday. Normally I’ll mix things up, like I did yesterday, but today I’m sticking with only one car, because someone said that it made his week to see the engine of this car, and I thought I’d put pictures of it online for him.
As I happened to be wandering through the museum, a nice gentlemen asked the docent to open up the hood of this car so he could take a look, and I happened to be right there and popped in for a picture. He asked me to email me a copy, so I gave him one of the Moo MiniCards I had made with my website address on it, and told him I’d put it online. I can’t remember your name, sir, but please email me if you need me to send you this picture–I’d be more than happy to do so!
After I took this engine picture (more difficult than it sounds because of the lighting in the museum), I took a few more pictures of this car, because it was just a really neat car. As always, click on these pictures if you want a larger version.
Engine on a 1906 Ford Model K Touring Car.
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Text from the display:
This 1906 Ford Model K made its debut as a true luxury car. Henry Ford never cared for the car as building it was the desire of his business partner, Alexander Malcomson, who wanted to build expensive, luxurious cars for wealthy customers. Ford eventually bought out his partner and turned his attention to smaller, less-expensive cars. The Model K, selling for $2500, was built at the same time as the much Smaller Model N, which sold for $500.
The K roadster was guaranteed to reach 60mph, which would have taken courage given the roads and tires of the time. Its great weight, cost, and persistent problems with the transmission, combined with Henry Ford’s dislike for the car led to ending its production in early 1908. The Model K was the first six-cylinder Ford, and the last until just before WWII. Only 11 of the 867 Model K touring cars remain today. This car is one of only two known to have its original body, a style called “Victorian” or “Tulip”. A lighter and faster model, called the “Gentleman’s Roadster”, was also available.
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1906 Ford Model K Touring Car.
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When I look at this car, I can’t help but break into song. Come on, tell me this doesn’t make you think of the musical “Oklahoma”… You all know what I’m talking about, right?
…right?
…no?!?!
…sigh. Do I have to do EVERYTHING myself? Ok, here goes…
All the world’ll fly in a flurry
When I take you out in the surrey,
When I take you out in the surrey with the fringe on top!
There, now do you know what I’m talking about?
Ok, back to the pictures.
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Closer up shot of the cab area. Check out the horn and the two shift levers (? I think that's what they are?)
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And now a few detail shots…
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Front wheel.
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Top of a headlight
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Headlight/spotlight. Look at the wood! It's so beautiful!
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It’s classic cars week here at HowISeeLife.com!
Today I went to the California Auto Museum downtown for a photography workshop, where I was fortunate to spend several hours there having fun looking at the gorgeous cars and talking to one of the docents. While I don’t really care about a car’s performance (well, except the one I’m driving!) I’m a sucker for body styling, especially of classic cars. I think I have a slight obsession with anything related to transportation (hence the train pictures I feel compelled to take, and why I love sitting and watching airplanes.)
Anyway, over the next week or so, I’m going to be posting some of the pictures I took, with links to more on my Flickr. Tonight I’m going to start off with the few I took at the outdoors portion of the workshop, where they took three classic cars outside for us to experiment with. Unfortunately, since they were outside, I don’t have much in the way of details about what the cars were. I was able to look up make, model, and year for two of the three, but I’m not entirely sure about the first one (other than that it’s a Ford, which is pretty obvious.) If you know more about this than me, help me out here–take a peek at their inventory list and see which one you think it is. :-) A few more pictures are available in my Flickr gallery of pictures from today, and I’ll be putting more up there as the week progresses. :-)
Driver's side of an old Ford
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Old Ford
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Back in the days when trunks were trunks.
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Logo from a 1951 Ford Crestliner
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1951 Ford Crestliner
They don't make 'em like this anymore
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I love the lines on this. Beautiful.
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Are we there yet? (I was trying to go for the feel of what it would have been like to be a kid sitting in the back seat of this car taking a road trip. Don't know if it worked or not.)
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Dashboard.
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1967 Chevy Camaro convertible
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Hanging out at the park
I live three blocks from one of the awesomest parks ever–it has a duck pond and a library and everything. I totally love it–it’s what made me want to move to my neighborhood in the first place.
So I was there last week hanging out and taking pictures, and stumbled upon this guy, who ever-so-nicely offered to pose for me for just a moment. It’s always nice to get full-frame shots of the smaller critters… I didn’t crop this a single bit–I really was that close. So fun. :-)
Squirrel.
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Camouflage
Look closely. See anything interesting?
Reeds in the duck pond at McKinley Park
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Look again. Maybe try clicking on this picture to see a larger version.
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Do you see it now?
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Now do you see her?
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I was walking along the shoreline at the duck pond at McKinley Park last week, looking for some baby wood ducks who will make an appearance in a later post, and somehow, the faintest bit of movement in the above-pictured reeds caught my attention. I looked, and there she was, nesting away. Neat.
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Out of season
I really think it's time to get rid of this thing...
(Note: this is NOT my tree–honest!!!)
Easter trees
We’ve all heard of Christmas trees–anyone ever heard of an Easter tree? My grandma had a couple that were quite pretty. :-)
Easter egg, spotted with rain and backlit by the sun.
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Charlie Brown's Easter tree, the "before" version.
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Charlie Brown's Easter tree, the "after" version.
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Random walk around my neighborhood
This was one of the last days I had the wide angle lens before I had to send it back, and I was determined to get a few more pictures.
Hi, my name's Kari, and I'm addicted to dogwood trees. They're just so stinking pretty...
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Standing on the railroad bridge looking down at Business 80, the highway next to my house.
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The traintracks and railroad bridge that go over the freeway.
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Looking west down the tracks toward downtown Sacramento.
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Train crossing. I sat here for almost an hour waiting for a train to go by so I could get some fun wide-angle shots... nope. No train. Darn things go by every 30 minutes at night, but apparently they were on hiatus that day or something.
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Sweet pea flowers
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Another tip jar sign
Unlike the one in this picture, the tip jar I saw today at a street fair in Old Folsom wasn’t cute and creative… it was actually kind of sad. But I took a cameraphone picture anyway, because I’m weird like that.
Maybe she was going to use the money to paste together pictures to form an artistic image?
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A couple more Easter pics
Adding yet still more Easter pictures of my niece. As always, there are more of this batch available on my Flickr. I’ll put the last bit on here tomorrow, I promise. :-)
Kristie loves this pensive look on her.
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I absolutely love the lighting in this one.
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Easter sweets
(Sis, I put these up because I was too tired to finish going through all of the Annie pics. I am *really* backlogged with stuff right now, but I WILL get to them this weekend. Honest.)
Here’s some yummy foodstuffs from Easter. :-)
Peanut M&Ms
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Pineapple cheesecake
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Ok, so they're not really sweets, but they sure are pretty!
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Peeps!! Om nom nom nom
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Chewy sugary goodness
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Finally finished these pictures
Ok, so I’m a bit more tardy than I said I’d be on getting the rest of the pictures posted that I took of my coworker’s daughter. (Yes Kristie, those Annie pics are next on my list!) :-) I wanted to be able to put some time into finishing them, and I finally had that time today, and I’m pretty darn happy overall with how they turned out. Here’s a few more, and click here if you want to see the gallery with all of the pictures in it.
Bored of the whole process already
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Loving hands
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Curled up in her daddy's arm
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Daddy's girl
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Look what the Easter bunny brought!
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Mama's hand
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Wednesday weekly challenge
I keep meaning to do this, but I haven’t been, so I figured now is a good time to start. Every Wednesday a message board I’m on has a weekly photography challenge, and each week has a different subject. Sometimes I go out and take new pictures, and sometimes I recycle old ones, depending on time and inspiration. This week’s theme is graves and cemeteries, and we’re allowed to enter up to three entries. Here are my three for this week.
A child's grave at Sac City Cemetery.
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Last changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns.
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Unknown Civil War soldiers interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
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More Annie pics
Once upon a time in a car seat…
What's that I see down there at my feet?
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OMG this thing is SO cool!!
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To taste or not to taste, that is the question.
Stay tuned for another thrilling episode of The Annie Chronicles later this week!
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Back seat perspective
I took these on the way to my sister’s house on Friday, after she picked me up from the airport. My niece faces backwards in her car seat right now (she’s not old enough to face it forward) and so my sister put up a mirror on the seat so that she can look in the rear-view mirror and see what my niece is up to. I had fun with the perspective on this, although it was a lot harder to get these pictures than it looks (moving car+me stuck in a seatbelt+baby behind the driver’s seat=hard to get a picture.)
Annie in her car seat.
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Monday movie night
On Monday nights in the warmer season, a local group of housemates does a free informal movie night in a vacant lot next to their house. Bring a chair, bring some food to share, wait for it to get dark, and the fun begins. I’ve never been to a drive-in, but I can’t imagine it being more fun than this is. I went a few times last summer/fall, and I’m glad it’s started up again.
Waiting for the show
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The movie man. I have to say that I freaking love my camera (ok, my 50mm lens, actually.) It was actually so dark when I took this that I couldn't have read a book... and I handheld the camera for this shot. Sweet.
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Monday's movie.
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Such a funny movie. :-)
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Teensy eensy baby
Today I ventured out in the pouring rain to take pictures of the newborn daughter of one of my coworkers. Sydnee arrived on March 27th, a couple days short of month early (Amy, correct me if I’m off on that) and was not quite five pounds at birth. She’s the tiniest baby I think I’ve ever held, and it’s hard not to get all squishy at something that little and cute.
As a result of my squishiness, and her cuteness, I took way too many pictures… 822, to be exact. Whoops. So the following pictures are a few I pulled out so that y’all could see an absolutely beautiful girl, and I’ll have to finish narrowing them down (I’ve got it down to 150 now, and I’m shooting for no more than 40 total) and post the rest when I get back from visiting my family this weekend.
Sydnee and her parents
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Sydnee and her mom
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Daddy's girl
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Teensy feet
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The Easter bunny came a bit early this year!
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Sleeping
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The peace of wild things
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water,
and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief.
I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light.
For a time, I rest in the grace of the world,
and am free.
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~ Poem by Wendell Berry
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Wide angle lens fun day 5: Able to capture whole murals in a single shot
It's four parking spaces wide, and I was standing right at the end of a parking space. That's *close*.
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100 degree field of view, baby!!
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More snowboarding pictures
Here are some more pictures from the ones I took on Saturday at Sierra-at-Tahoe. After spending pretty much the full day (and taking over 700 pictures) I’ve decided that I can safely strike “professional snow sports photographer” off of my list of potential careers. I spent most of the day crouched/lying in the snow with numb fingers and a slowly-soaking-through jacket and ski pants, waiting for people to come whizzing by me on the mountain, and I also spent a fair amount of time tromping through deep snow in my ski boots (contrary to the song, those boots are *not* made for walking!) and sliding down icy slopes that I was trying to climb up so that I’d have a good vantage point. I also have tree sap in my hair… don’t ask.
Over the past couple of weeks, knowing that this trip was coming up, I spent quite a few hours researching how to take good snow sports pictures, as well as going through various Flickr galleries and finding pictures with available Exif data. Exif data is information that most newer digital cameras (including my cameraphone, oddly enough) embed in the picture file. It contains various information about the camera’s settings when the picture was taken – what type of camera and lens were used, the shutter speed, aperture, focal length, what program (if any) was used to edit the image, and some other stuff. On Flickr, you have the option to make the Exif data publicly viewable, and it actually kind of irritates me when people don’t – for me, looking at other people’s Exif data has been a great way to learn how to set up pictures. I guess the photographers must be worried about some sort of artistic infringement, but I still really don’t get it. Anyway, to see it on Flickr, go to a picture’s page, and on the lower right side of the picture, under “additional information”, you should see something that looks like this:
EXIF data on Flickr.
Click on where it says “More properties”, and that link will take you to the picture’s Exif data. I always keep mine publicly viewable – click here to see an example.
As I was looking at Exif data for the pictures, I noticed a lot were taken with a wide-angle lens. Since I wanted to try one out anyway, I went ahead and rented one. I’ll post a full review of the lens in another week, after the rental period is up, but in short, I ended up using my 70-200 telephoto a heck of a lot more (and I think those pictures came out a heck of a lot better.) If I’d been a bit bolder, I might have stuck to my wide-angle lens and just gotten closer to the action, but I almost got run over once just when I was crouching on the sidelines (a woman lost control and careened off-trail and down the slope I was lying on – she was fine but it took a couple years off of my life!) so I wasn’t about to get out there in the middle of things and let people go around me.
Overall though, I had an absolutely fantastic time – I think I had more fun taking pictures than I actually did skiing (especially after my unfortunate collision with the mountain!) and I’m really really glad I had the chance to do that. I never thought I’d take my camera out in the snow, but overall it survived (I had it and the lenses almost completely wrapped in plastic bags while I used them) and I had a ridiculous amount of fun and learned a lot. :-)
Ok, here are some pictures, and click here to get to the gallery with the rest of them.
Wide-angle lens shot. I love the sun in this one.
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I love the rays of the sun in this one, as well as the fact that this is one of the few where I managed to catch someone against just blue sky.
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I love this because it gives an idea of just how far these people were jumping. This was a HUGE jump. This wasn't even the whole thing! I also love the sense of depth perception, which is one thing I like about the wide-angle lens.
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This person did nail their landing (there's more pictures of this jump in the gallery.) Crazy.
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There's something I like about this one. I can't put my finger on it though. The sense of depth? The look on the guy's face? Or maybe it's his shirt...
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Click on this picture to see the large version--you can see the mountain reflected in his goggles!
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Did I mention that it was an absolutely gorgeous day? Because it really really was! On a side note, if I hadn't fallen, I wouldn't have seen the potential for this shot. So maybe some good came from my pain. :-)
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I love that he's sticking his tongue out in concentration.
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A skiier, a snowboarder, and someone who's apparently along for the ride. Weird.
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I'm soooo debating photoshopping out the entire ski lift in this one... I don't like doing stuff like that, but it bugs me on a fundamental level.
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I find this one amusing because it looks like he's about to land on the dude below. For what it's worth, he wasn't anywhere near close to that guy.
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Weekend fun: Sierra-at-Tahoe
Yesterday I met up with a coworker’s son, and we went up to Sierra-at-Tahoe to go skiing (me) and snowboarding (him). He’s a senior in high school this year, and his mom asked me to get some good pictures of him for a senior-picture type thing, and she paid for my lift ticket and rentals.
Well, I didn’t get in as much skiing as I’d planned… In fact, I really didn’t ski a whole lot. Part of it is that I was really tired yesterday (was out late on Friday) and I’m pretty out of skiing shape, and I also kinda sorta was going too fast and did a cartwheeling faceplant downhill into the mountain on my third run, which left me quite bruised and sore (and I’m still hurting today. Whoops.) But mostly, I was having a heck of an awesome time taking pictures of skiiers and snowboarders.
Tomorrow’s post will be with pictures that I took of other people, but for Laura today, here’s some of the pictures of her son. Click here for a gallery of all the pictures.
I love the trees in this town
Sacramento is apparently the world’s second most treed city (Paris is the first.) I live in Midtown (near downtown), and while I don’t think there are more trees than people, it’s pretty close. I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed trees as much as I do here in Sac. Last summer, they shaded my (unairconditioned) house and made it pleasant even on 100F days. In the fall, they turned lovely colors. In the winter they stood dormant and skeletal, and now that it’s spring, they’re budding and flowering and leafing and quite beautiful (as long as I don’t think about what it’s doing to my allergies. I’m firmly blaming the weed pollen for my miserable allergies this year–I refuse to believe that trees as beautiful as these could be making me so miserable.)
Anyway, my street is home to some of my favorite trees – saucer magnolias, Japanese maples, and the ones in the following pictures: flowering dogwoods (both pink and white ones!) I’ve been keeping an eye on this tree, hoping to get some good morning or afternoon light, and this morning I finally scored on that count.
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