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The current owner Willie Shepherd, who is well into his eighties, originally traded two sacks of potatoes for this sweet (at the time) ride.
Nikon D600 on Bogen/Manfrotto carbon fiber tripod.
Rokinon/Samyang 8mm f/3.5mm fisheye lens, "shaved" for maximum field on the D600's full-frame sensor.
Built-in interval timer (I messed up the difficult time settings, thus the gaps in the trails, which I've now convinced myself are nice ;-) )
Exposures:
107 exposures of 30 seconds each
Unintentional time gaps between each set of 9 exposures
f/3.5
ISO1600
The exposures were all "stitched" with StarStaX by Marcus Enzweiler, a wonderful free program (give him a little money if you can):
www.markus-enzweiler.de/software/software.html
I then post-processed in Nikon ViewNX 2, a free and decent program for basic image enhancement.
This large and ancient metal lathe is located in Lookout, California, in Lassen County, Big Valley. This is in the boonies of Northern CA.
The label reads:
The Muller Lathe
Built by
The Bradford Mill Co.
Cincinatti, Ohio
USA
The size is as follows, roughly measured:
Swing over bed: 20"
Swing over carriage: unknown
Four-jaw chuck diameter: 18"
Bed length: 12 feet
Bed width, center to center across the outer two ways: 16”
Maximum workpiece length, center to center: 8 feet
It may have been built in the 1886-1901 era, from what I've learned so far.
It is owned by a fine older gentleman named Willie. He owns a LARGE property full of old tractors, cars, trucks, bulldozers and vehicles of varied and sundry description. My girlfriend Zoe bought a 1955 Carpenter (1954 GMC based) school bus from him, and he towed it the 17 miles to our Ranch with his old tractor on public roads:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vihuX5mIFSA
Photos of the bus can be seen in another set of mine:
www.flickr.com/photos/darronb/sets/72157635098965316/
Willie also renovates and runs old steam engines. His tools are basic and in, umm, often less than pretty condition.
I believe he told me that despite its condition, having been outside for many years, this lathe was still in occasional use, wonder of wonders. I expect that it could be restored to its former glory by a man willing and able to put a LOT of time and/or money into it. I plan to list it for sale soon, online. If nothing else, it makes a magnificent lawn ornament.
Almost all of the images in this set were 3-exp HDRs, processed with Photomatix. The camera was a Nikon D50.
More info on Bradford lathes:
I just adore that little girl. She's one of the little man's "typical" classmates (it's an inclusion program, neurotypical kids mixed in with the special needs students) and is fairly shy and internal, but she really cliqued with my son. They get along well, without her ever being bossy (an irritating habit I've noticed in some of the neurotypical kids who play with the little man). Thankfully they'll be in first grade together too.
In very good condition.
Found in Big Valley, California.
It was unearthed by a burrowing animal, and found on the loose soil by the burrow entrance.
On the same site as the stone with grinding cavities.
We live on a 640-acre ranch in the high desert, in Big Valley, California.
We decided to lay down a new gravel floor in our crude 1930s garage. The gravel is often called "Cinders", and is actually pumice from a long-past volcanic eruption.
All of the "stuff" on the floor/ground needed to be moved out or over to make way. Now that this side is done, back over we'll go with some of the stuff, and out with the rest to prepare for the second half to be graveled.
This image was made with my Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 fisheye lens at f/5.6, mounted on my Nikon D600 DSLR. ISO100.
The yellow light in the rafters came from my Nikon SB-600 Speedlite with a knock-off Sto-Fen CTO in place (Not sure if 1/2 or full).
I had the rig on a tripod, and shot 4 or 5 frames at 3-stop intervals, then combined in Photomatix, and tweaked with Nikon Capture NX-D beta.
The resulting image was then "defished" in PTGui, trial version (thus the watermarks).
This is a control dial on my Kearney & Trecker horizontal milling machine. It was made during World War II, and was presumably used to produce parts for the war effort.
It has been sitting in my yard for quite a few years, and is missing some parts, some of which were sold to bring new life to other old K&T mills.
It will soon be scrapped, unless some intrepid parts scroungers save at least some relics from the aging derelict.
Rusty 1955 Steelcraft school bus, built with a Carpenter body model D on what I believe is a 1954 GMC chassis. Date of delivery 11/54.
This 7-window (28 adult passengers or 42 wee ones).
The transmission is a four-speed manual. Brakes are power assisted drums, but steering is manual (unassisted).
The inline six-cylinder gasoline (petrol) engine develops all of a wimpy 115 horsepower (86 kilowatts).
Displacement is 270 cubic inch (4.4 liter).
GVWR is 14,500 pounds (6,577 Kilograms).
Driving it over the mountains will be a chore, to be sure (I think I can!, I think I can!).
A previous owner converted it into a motorhome / RV, complete with propane cylinders, refrigerator, sink, toilet, etc.
It is for sale, at the right price. We'll just have to see how attached to it we've become, depending on offers.
Or, we may get it running some day and drive it 170 miles over the hill to Burning Man, where it will be well suited as a camper / party bus.
My messy workbench.
Six exposure HDR image.
Red Lee reloading press. Red Craftsman bench vise. Jet benchtop drill press. Two-axis machining vise on drill press table. Kennedy machinist's toolbox.
The little box to the right of the drill press with the glowing red LED display is a VFD (Variable Frequency Drive). It runs a three-phase motor, and allows my drill press to be easily changed from very low speed, all the way to 3600RPM in one smooth turn of the speed knob.
This photo was made with my old Nikkor-S 50mm f/1.4 lens. It was made in 1972 or 1973. It is quite scratched, dusty and maybe even has a little fungus growing, along with damaged coatings.
Nonetheless, it is fun to play with. I performed a crude AI-modification to the aperture ring (I used a file). The lens now works perfectly with my Nikon D600 (full metering and focus confirmation).
I got brave, and started hacking on my nearly new Rokinon fisheye well after midnight. With the able assistance of my surgeon girlfriend's steady hands, I managed to remove the huge, fragile front element with a pair of scissors.
I mounted a rear lens cap, and covered the lens barrel with packing tape. I cut two circles of card stock to fit tightly inside the hood. They served to keep the dust and bits out.
To cut the hood down, I used a small abrasive cutoff wheel, meant for a Dremel-type rotary tool. The wheel was chucked in my tiny Harbor Freight bench top drill press, and the lens handheld on the drill press table, with the end cap resting on the table, and the table height adjusted to place the cutting wheel right inline with the intended cut line around the hood (shoulda taken a photo or video of this setup, I know).
Multiple careful passes around the plastic hood neatly separated it. Some sanding and deburring with a utility knife soon had it looking almost like it was made this way. You can see the duller finish on the front of the remaining portion of the hood.
The remaining challenge is to make a good lens cap. The original mounted to the hood, so will no longer fit. The bulging front element and vestigial hood leave minimal mounting options. I'm considering designing a cap in CAD, then having it 3D printed out of ABS. It will be a challenge to get a proper snap fit on the remaining portion of the lens hood. I might even integrate a knob on the front of the cap, to ease installation and removal.
This is my winning entry in the 2013 City of Reno "Living in Reno" themed photo contest. I think this was a three-shot HDR set at ISO100 and f/8, with the longest exposure at 30 seconds to smooth out the flow of the river. Cropped from a full-frame, (nearly) circular fisheye image.
8mm f/3.5 Rokinon fisheye lens on full frame Nikon D600. Lens hood "shaved" for better coverage on full frame.
Here is the city web site with details:
Here is the Pinterest page where the entrants' works were shown.
Here's my first effort at focus stacking with a conventional macro rail. The subject is an old Elgin wristwatch that I sold on eBay. I thought it important to show the internals on such an old collectible, thus the effort.
Please comment if you like this photo, or if you have any questions.
The image was made by placing the watch on a simple wooden stand inside my photo tent. I have some Protostar flocked light trap material on the wooden stand, to greatly reduce reflections and provide a nearly black background.
My Nikon D600 camera was on a tripod by the front of the photo tent, with an inexpensive macro rail between the tripod and camera. The front flap on the tent was down, draped over the camera, to fill in the on-axis nooks and crannies.
Lighting was from two off-camera Nikon flashes, one on each side of the tent, triggered by radio remote and optical slave. The tent softens the light from the flashes, giving it more of a wrap-around effect, and reducing hard reflections from highlights on the subject. Flash power (1/8, I think) and camera exposure were manual. Aperture was f/8 for best resolution. Camera ISO was at its base of 100 for maximum image quality.
Once set up and framed, I used the macro rail to step the relative position of the camera and subject, triggering the shutter remotely at each step. This means the plane of perfect focus moved through the shallow subject in 23 steps, each spaced by moving the macro rail knob “a smidgen”.
I used Zerene Stacker (trial version) to combine the 23 images into one sharp, full resolution photo, which was further tweaked with Nikon ViewNX 2.
I have other photos of this watch on Flickr, so check out the images in this set.
Nikon D600
Holga HPL-N pinhole lens
40mm focal length
f/160 (.25mm aperture)
ISO 100
The Holga vignettes substantially on the D600's full-frame FX sensor, but I rather like the effect.
I've found that in full daylight at high ISO (6400 to 25,600), the D600 can do handheld shots at 1/30 sec., quite a fun thing to play with!
This tool allows you to feed in a rough-cut board and finish all four sides at once, including to a tongue and groove configuration.
The photos in this album are of the property, possessions and projects of a fine older gentleman named Willie Shepherd.
He owns a LARGE property in Lookout, California. It is full of old tractors, cars, trucks, bulldozers and vehicles of varied and sundry description. My girlfriend Zoe bought a 1955 Carpenter (1954 GMC based) school bus from him, and he towed it the 17 miles to our Ranch with his old tractor on public roads:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vihuX5mIFSA
Photos of the bus can be seen in another set of mine:
www.flickr.com/photos/darronb/sets/72157635098965316/
Willie also renovates and runs old steam engines. For years Willie has been showing and demonstrating his equipment for anyone interested.
A few years ago, Willie had a steam powered sawmill in operation, on which he sawed a log during his show.
This year (2014), Willie's open house show is to be held on Father's Day, Sunday, June 15.
You can telephone Willie at (530) 294-5141
Be patient, he's a bit hard of hearing.
Almost all of the images in this set were 3-exp HDRs, processed with Photomatix. The camera was a Nikon D50.
The current owner Willie Shepherd, who is well into his eighties, originally traded two sacks of potatoes for this sweet (at the time) ride.
The item on the driver's seat appears to be a powder horn.
This is photo was made with my old Nikkor-S 50mm f/1.4 lens. It was made in 1972 or 1973. It is quite scratched, dusty and maybe even has a little fungus growing, along with damaged coatings.
Nonetheless, it is fun to play with. I performed a crude AI-modification to the aperture ring (I used a file). The lens now works perfectly with my Nikon D600 (full metering and focus confirmation).
Rusty 1955 Steelcraft school bus, built with a Carpenter body model D on what I believe is a 1954 GMC chassis. Date of delivery 11/54.
This 7-window (28 adult passengers or 42 wee ones).
The transmission is a four-speed manual. Brakes are power assisted drums, but steering is manual (unassisted).
The inline six-cylinder gasoline (petrol) engine develops all of a wimpy 115 horsepower (86 kilowatts).
Displacement is 270 cubic inch (4.4 liter).
GVWR is 14,500 pounds (6,577 Kilograms).
Driving it over the mountains will be a chore, to be sure (I think I can!, I think I can!).
A previous owner converted it into a motorhome / RV, complete with propane cylinders, refrigerator, sink, toilet, etc.
It is for sale, at the right price. We'll just have to see how attached to it we've become, depending on offers.
Or, we may get it running some day and drive it 170 miles over the hill to Burning Man, where it will be well suited as a camper / party bus.
$20 500mm T-mount lens, plus a $10 2X teleconverter (1500mm equivalent with the 1.5X crop factor of my D50)
Home-made filter holder, and a home-made filter made with Baader AstroSolar film.
$8 Lightweight GEM (German Equatorial Mount) to allow tracking as the Sun moved.
Multiple exposures, stacked to enhance detail.
This photo was made with my old Nikkor-S 50mm f/1.4 lens. It was made in 1972 or 1973. It is quite scratched, dusty and maybe even has a little fungus growing, along with damaged coatings.
Nonetheless, it is fun to play with. I performed a crude AI-modification to the aperture ring (I used a file). The lens now works perfectly with my Nikon D600 (full metering and focus confirmation).
I was making this long night exposure, and not watching the sky while the shutter on my D50 was open for several minutes. When I looked at the photo on my PC, I noticed the streak in the upper right corner. It looked like an Iridium flare to me, so I checked on the Heavens Above site. Sure enough, I had accidentally caught a perfect exposure of a magnitude -7 (bright!) flare from Iridium 19!
Woohoo!
Bubby was not harmed. His owner is very kind to him.
Nikon SB-600 Speedlight on camera, with a LumiQuest 80-20 on the light
This is a control dial on my Kearney & Trecker horizontal milling machine. It was made during World War II, and was presumably used to produce parts for the war effort.
It has been sitting in my yard for quite a few years, and is missing some parts, some of which were sold to bring new life to other old K&T mills.
It will soon be scrapped, unless some intrepid parts scroungers save at least some relics from the aging derelict.
My sister and niece have autism, so I just wanted to show our society that autism does not mean you are "mentally challenged" or there is something wrong with you...their brain just functions differently. They are very smart and special though. While we don't have the cure for autism (yet), we just need to shower them with love and understanding, and they need to know that we are here for them.