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Founded in 1906, Mesa Verde National Park was created to conserve and protect the Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites and cliff dwellings within the present-day park on the sides and top of a large tree-covered cuesta, known as Mesa Verde, that rises approximately 1,500 feet (785 meters) above the surrounding canyons and valleys, with rugged canyons cutting through the cuesta, lined with sandstone cliffs and ledges.
The area was inhabited by indigenous people for thousands of years prior to the rise of the Ancestral Puebloan culture, whom developed villages and farmsteads within what is today Mesa Verde National Park beginning around the year 750, with the structures built by the Ancestral Puebloans growing in complexity and durability, especially due to contact with the nearby culture centered around Chaco Canyon. The famous cliff dwellings for which the area is famous, however, were built between approximately 1020 and 1260, especially after a major drought in the region between 1130 and 1180, which led to a major migration of people from Chaco Canyon to Mesa Verde. The people of Chaco Canyon brought their culture, construction techniques, and goods with them, which is evident at archaeological sites on the cuesta.
The area began to depopulate between 1260 and 1285 due to environmental conditions becoming less favorable, with the people of Mesa Verde moving to the lowlands of what is today New Mexico and Arizona, with many founding or joining Pueblo settlements in these regions that still exist today. The stone houses were left to the elements, and were left uninhabited, only remembered by the descendants of the Ancestral Puebloans and the other indigenous groups who called the area home, most notably the Utes.
The ancient ruins were discovered by European-Americans in 1873, and were documented between 1875 and 1888, with various cliff dwellings and archaeological sites being relatively well-preserved and recognizable to explorers, archaeologists, and scientists whom visited the modern-day park. However, the removal of artifacts from the cuesta became a major concern, and efforts began in 1889 to protect the area as a National Park.
The park covers an area of 82 square miles (212 square kilometers), and features multiple Ancestral Puebloan and other indigenous archaeological sites, and was taken from the Ute people, with land being taken from the Utes after the establishment of the park to expand its borders. The park long struggled with proper interpretation and inclusion of the voices of the Puebloan people, whose ancestors built the ancient dwellings and lived at what are today archaeological sites, with work presently ongoing to redress these issues.
The ruins at the park underwent reconstitution and stabilization between 1908 and 1922, with extensive work being done on Spruce Tree House, Cliff Palace, and Sun Temple. Further work was carried out by the New Deal-era Civilian Conservation Corps starting in 1932 and extending through World War II, which included the construction of various park facilities for visitors and staff, and constructing roads atop the cuesta. The Wetherill Mesa ruins, meanwhile, were stabilized with work being carried out between 1958 and 1965, coinciding with the construction of the Far View accommodations atop the cuesta to the east.
The park today features a modern entrance road from US Highway 160, which climbs up the rugged slopes at the north end of the park to the top of the cuesta, stretching across the top of the cuesta to the south, where it connects to various roads that allow visitors to access the overlooks and trails for various cliff dwellings and archaeological sites on Chapin Mesa and Wetherill Mesa. Two areas of tourist accommodation also exist at Far View in the northern section of the park, and the administrative district at Spruce Tree Point at the southern end of the park.
The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966, and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978. Today, the park sees over half a million visitors annually, and continues to preserve and maintain the ancient structures built by the Ancestral Puebloans.
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Conserved, but not restored. The carriage is a conserved (not restored) 1st class carriage from the late 1800s.
National Railway Museum, York
Founded in 1906, Mesa Verde National Park was created to conserve and protect the Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites and cliff dwellings within the present-day park on the sides and top of a large tree-covered cuesta, known as Mesa Verde, that rises approximately 1,500 feet (785 meters) above the surrounding canyons and valleys, with rugged canyons cutting through the cuesta, lined with sandstone cliffs and ledges.
The area was inhabited by indigenous people for thousands of years prior to the rise of the Ancestral Puebloan culture, whom developed villages and farmsteads within what is today Mesa Verde National Park beginning around the year 750, with the structures built by the Ancestral Puebloans growing in complexity and durability, especially due to contact with the nearby culture centered around Chaco Canyon. The famous cliff dwellings for which the area is famous, however, were built between approximately 1020 and 1260, especially after a major drought in the region between 1130 and 1180, which led to a major migration of people from Chaco Canyon to Mesa Verde. The people of Chaco Canyon brought their culture, construction techniques, and goods with them, which is evident at archaeological sites on the cuesta.
The area began to depopulate between 1260 and 1285 due to environmental conditions becoming less favorable, with the people of Mesa Verde moving to the lowlands of what is today New Mexico and Arizona, with many founding or joining Pueblo settlements in these regions that still exist today. The stone houses were left to the elements, and were left uninhabited, only remembered by the descendants of the Ancestral Puebloans and the other indigenous groups who called the area home, most notably the Utes.
The ancient ruins were discovered by European-Americans in 1873, and were documented between 1875 and 1888, with various cliff dwellings and archaeological sites being relatively well-preserved and recognizable to explorers, archaeologists, and scientists whom visited the modern-day park. However, the removal of artifacts from the cuesta became a major concern, and efforts began in 1889 to protect the area as a National Park.
The park covers an area of 82 square miles (212 square kilometers), and features multiple Ancestral Puebloan and other indigenous archaeological sites, and was taken from the Ute people, with land being taken from the Utes after the establishment of the park to expand its borders. The park long struggled with proper interpretation and inclusion of the voices of the Puebloan people, whose ancestors built the ancient dwellings and lived at what are today archaeological sites, with work presently ongoing to redress these issues.
The ruins at the park underwent reconstitution and stabilization between 1908 and 1922, with extensive work being done on Spruce Tree House, Cliff Palace, and Sun Temple. Further work was carried out by the New Deal-era Civilian Conservation Corps starting in 1932 and extending through World War II, which included the construction of various park facilities for visitors and staff, and constructing roads atop the cuesta. The Wetherill Mesa ruins, meanwhile, were stabilized with work being carried out between 1958 and 1965, coinciding with the construction of the Far View accommodations atop the cuesta to the east.
The park today features a modern entrance road from US Highway 160, which climbs up the rugged slopes at the north end of the park to the top of the cuesta, stretching across the top of the cuesta to the south, where it connects to various roads that allow visitors to access the overlooks and trails for various cliff dwellings and archaeological sites on Chapin Mesa and Wetherill Mesa. Two areas of tourist accommodation also exist at Far View in the northern section of the park, and the administrative district at Spruce Tree Point at the southern end of the park.
The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966, and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978. Today, the park sees over half a million visitors annually, and continues to preserve and maintain the ancient structures built by the Ancestral Puebloans.
A diagram of the tank used to conserve ships that are found in the peat. The cells of the wood have become largely empty, so the wood is submerged in a solution of water and polymer. The polymer fills the empty wood cells, preserving the wood from further deterioration.
Le portail est un superbe exemple de sculpture romane parfaitement conservée. Il a été réalisé entre 1110 et 1130. Le décor luxuriant, une quadruple archivolte décorée d'entrelacs et de motifs variés, entoure un tympan orné d'une scène de l'Apocalypse et rappelle la Saintonge voisine.
Si on trouve sur plusieurs tympans de portails romans une représentation de la seconde vision de l'Apocalypse que saint Jean a à Patmos, à Moissac, à Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne, à Compostelle ou Chartres, le tympan de La Lande-de-Fronsac est le seul à représenter la première vision racontée par saint Jean dans Apocalypse 1, 9-16 (traduction de la Bible de Louis Segond) :
9- Moi Jean, votre frère, et qui ai part avec vous à la tribulation et au royaume et à la persévérance en Jésus, j'étais dans l'île appelée Patmos, à cause de la parole de Dieu et du témoignage de Jésus.
10- Je fus ravi en esprit au jour du Seigneur, et j'entendis derrière moi une voix forte, comme le son d'une trompette,
11- qui disait: Ce que tu vois, écris-le dans un livre, et envoie-le aux sept Églises, à Éphèse, à Smyrne, à Pergame, à Thyatire, à Sardes, à Philadelphie, et à Laodicée.
12- Je me retournai pour connaître quelle était la voix qui me parlait. Et, après m'être retourné, je vis sept chandeliers d'or,
13- et, au milieu des sept chandeliers, quelqu'un qui ressemblait à un fils d'homme, vêtu d'une longue robe, et ayant une ceinture d'or sur la poitrine.
14- Sa tête et ses cheveux étaient blancs comme de la laine blanche, comme de la neige; ses yeux étaient comme une flamme de feu;
15- ses pieds étaient semblables à de l'airain ardent, comme s'il eût été embrasé dans une fournaise; et sa voix était comme le bruit de grandes eaux.
16- Il avait dans sa main droite sept étoiles. De sa bouche sortait une épée aiguë, à deux tranchants; et son visage était comme le soleil lorsqu'il brille dans sa force.
Le tympan relevé par Léo Drouyn en 1849.
La vision de Jean Christ avec l'épée, les sept étoiles, les lustres et les églises. Tympan de l'église de Saint-Pierre de La Lande-de-FronsacLe tympan.
Le sculpteur a traduit dans la pierre d'une manière gauche le texte de saint Jean. En bas, à gauche, la représentation des sept églises et saint Jean témoin de la vision tenant un livre. Au centre, le Fils de l'Homme vêtu d'une longue robe et ayant une ceinture d'or sur la poitrine, la main droite soutient un cercle dans lequel se trouvent les sept étoiles, au niveau de sa bouche est sculptée une épée à deux tranchants. Entre saint Jean et le Christ on voit les jambes d'un petit homme nu, son corps est prisonnier des lianes qui couvrent l'arrière-plan du tympan. Le sculpteur a gravé deux inscriptions partiellement effacées :
autour du tympan : JOHES VII ECCLIIS QUE SUNT IN [ASIA VIDI]T FILII HO[MINIS IN]TER VII CANDELABRA AUREA
et sur le mince linteau : PRINCIPIU SINE PRINCIPIO FINIS SINE FINE
sur l'étole portée par le Christ : ZONA AUREA (ceinture d'or).
Le tympan est entouré de quatre voussures dont le style est inspiré de la Saintonge voisine. En partant de l'extérieur :
la partie extérieure de la voussure extérieure est décorée avec une chaîne formée de losanges. La partie intérieure est décorée avec une série de figures humaines. À gauche, deux hommes vêtus de tuniques longues ; l'un des hommes a transpercé la tête d'un lion ou d'un monstre avec une lance, l'autre homme est dans un cartouche formé d'une tige qui se poursuit dans les autres voussoirs ; ensuite un griffon ou un aigle d'inspiration orientale emmêlé dans des lianes, suivi par les six apôtres animés d'un mouvement violent « encordés »[3] représentés d'une manière pictographique, tenant pour la plupart le Livre ou un objet entre ses mains. Au centre de la voussure, le Christ debout et bénissant, sa tête encadrée dans une mandorle, entre deux chérubins à triple paires d'ailes. En descendant vers la droite, après le chérubin, six autres apôtres, puis encore un griffon ou un aigle dans des lianes et, pour terminer, une Vierge à l'Enfant (?).La deuxième voussure commence à gauche avec deux musiciens (joueur de harpe et de vièle), suivis d'un homme qui semble tenir une fruit dans sa main. Ensuite c'est un entrelacs de lianes et d'oiseaux, qui se termine au sud avec un personnage.
La troisième voussure est partagée e deux zones concentriques. La plus extérieure est décorée par de grosses étoiles à quatre branches avec un petit homme à la clé. l'autre est décorée de deux rangs de dents de scie qui se poursuit jusqu'au sol sans interruption.
La quatrième voussure commence avec un personnage au nord suivi d'un entrelacs.
fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89glise_Saint-Pierre_de_La_Land...
For the first black-and-white film with my new camera Pentax 17 (see below for the details about the camera), I loaded a special film given to me as a gift by « Ateliers de Marinette », Lyon, France. The film was spooled for 30-exposures (60 expected for the Pentax 17 that a half-frame camera) and is a bulk Ilford PanF Plus expire in 2005. The film is however well conserved and it could shot for the original 50 ISO sensitivity.
The Pentax 17 was equipped with an Anti-UV 40.5mm Hoya HMC filter. For the camera transportation, I used a small camera bag ThinkTank « Mirrorless Mover 5 » that was well protecting the camera from possibly damaging vibrations when using my bicycles.
The expositions were automatically metered by the camera system using the « P » program modes with, or without, flash. For very bright scenes the exposition was corrected by +0.3 to +1EV to compensate the biais induced (and reversely -0.3 to 0.7 EV for very dark scenes to objects).
Grandes Serres Tropicales, April 17, 2025
Jardin Botanique de Lyon
Parc de la Tête d'Or
69006 Lyon
France.
After completion the film was processed according the Marinette advice in Adox Adonal developer at 1+25 dilution for 7min at 20°C.
Single-frame digitizing was made using a Sony A7 camera (ILCE-7, 24MP) fitted to a Minolta Auto Bellows III with the Minolta slide duplication accessory and Minolta Macro Bellow lens 1:3.5 f=50mm at approximate reproduction ratio of 1:2. The diffuse light source was a LED panel CineStill Cine-lite.
The RAW files obtained were inverted within the latest version available of Adobe Lightroom Classic (version 14.2) and edited to the final jpeg pictures without intermediate file. They are presented either as printer files with a frame or the full size JPEG's together with some documentary smartphone color pictures.
About the camera :
Since last Christmas, it was on display in the middle of « reusable » cheap camera’s in the window of my local photography store. But this camera is not cheap and sold at 10-times the price of those « reusable » film camera’s. The Pentax 17 is a novel film camera released by Pentax (a brand belonging to Ricoh Imaging, Japan) in June 2024.
The history of « Pentax » name is still something worth to mention. After the WWII, in Dresden (that was heavily destroyed by the bombing of Feb. 13-15, 1945), Germany, The Zeiss Ikon company could not produce anymore the legendary original Contax (a high-reputation professional range-finder 35mm released in 30’s) camera that was taken by Russia and transferred to Kiev, Ukraine, in the USSR. However the brand name Contax survived and the German engineers designed something completely new within several years : the Contax S (S for « Spiegel mirror reflex ») that integrated a pentaprism for a full redressed reflex viewer observation. Zeiss Ikon Dresden registered to new trademarks derived from the words « Pentaprism » and « Contax » that were « Pentax » and « Pentacon ». If Pentacon became the new name of the company in Dresden, the trademark Pentax was bought by Asahi Optical Company in Japan, and became a formidable industrial and commercial success. Asahi Pentax, then Pentax alone, produced amazing quality camera’s including the legendary « Spotmatic » (a 35mm SLR) and stunning medium-format camera’s heavily used by professional photographers. Many of these camera’s of the past century are still operative and appreciated by film photography enthusiast’s.
Production of film camera’s vanished progressively in the mid 2000’s, as digital camera’s became of better quality and finally of generalized appliances in photography. The Pentax 17 was introduced to the market in June 2024, it was a big surprise for all the film photography lovers. Seeing a newly engineered brand-new film camera was a sort of renaissance of the film photography today of a growing interest worldwide.
The camera is a « half-frame » format on the traditional double-perforated 35mm film giving 17x24mm photograms. This format was not as popular as to classical 24x36mm (full-frame) format of most of the 35mm camera’s. However famous and quality half-frame camera’s were produced in the past including, the long series of Olympus Pen for example. Then, the Pentax 17 immediately attracted the attention of experimented film photographers and camera collectors, probably more than the officially targeted customers of the younger generations. Less than a year after, the future of the Pentax 17 and the film photography project of Pentax is questioned today. The chef-engineer who conducted the project in Ricoh company recently left and the marketing of Pentax 17 is now a question.
This finally decided me to buy an exemplary from my local shop and to discover this strange machine. The camera is of course guaranteed, even with a there-year extension after the camera registration on the Pentax website. The whole ergonomic is clearly derived from classical past 35mm camera’s with a fully mechanical film advance and rewind, a collimated Albada viewer, no digital display at all, only levers, barrels, crank and wheels… However inside is a automatic electronic exposure system with flash, the focusing is manual but the electronic mechanism moves the whole optical group with a micro motor.
The lens is a Cooke triplet 1:3.5 f=25mm equivalent to a 37mm of a 24x36mm format. The Cooke triplet is a photographic lens designed and patented in 1893 by Dennis Taylor who was employed as chief engineer by T. Cooke & Sons of York. It was the first lens system that allowed the elimination of most of the optical distortion or aberration at the outer edge of the image. It likely for this reason that the lens is unscripted curiously « Traditional » on the front lens ring… It is known that a Cooke triplet lens could give surprisingly good results with only three separated optical elements. The Cooke Triplet is still widely used in inexpensive cameras, including variations using aspheric elements, particularly in cell-phone cameras. The Cooke triplet consists of three separated lenses positioned at the finite distance. It is often considered that the triplet is one of the most important discoveries in the field of photographic objectives
The lens receives 40.5mm diameter thread filters that I use for my Zorki / Leningrad lenses Jupiter-8 2/50mm, Jupiter-11 4/135mm and Jupiter-12 2.8/35mm. The metal shade hood Minolta D42KA could mounted on the filter but I have to check is there is vignette induced.
The camera size is close to the original dimensions of a thread-mount Leica (called also the original Barnack Leica) which are, in a way, a sort of « Gold » size in the 35mm camera’s. I compared with my Zorki 1D year 1954 that is a straight reproduction of the Leica Iic. The upper deck of Pentax 17 is designed very clearly as a classical 35mm and we even find the original logo of Asahi Optical Company. The rewind crank is also a revival of past design seen on old Pentax SLR as my year-1971 Spotmatic SP in this seres of pictures.
The Pentax 17 is very light (about 300g) compared to those old ancestors that weight easily the double or the triple. It is then an effortless camera to carry. The Pentax 17 fits in the small ThinkTank bag (called « Mirorless Mover 5 ») that I recently bought to safely carry a film back of my Hasselblad or my Bronica 6X6 camera’s. In this tiny bag, the camera is protected for the element and vibrations due to cycling for instance.
Reference
analoguewonderland.co.uk/blogs/film-photography-blog/pent...
Key features and specifications
* Half-frame image capture (17 x 24mm)
* 37mm (equiv.) FOV F3.5 lens
* Zone focusing system with 6 zones
* Circular leaf shutter (F3.5-16)
* Built-in flash (6m/20ft at ISO100)
* Optical tunnel viewfinder with frame lines
* Exposure from 1/350 sec to 4 sec (+ Bulb)
* Supports films from ISO 50 to ISO 3200
Specifically the lens has:
1. HD coating, which maintains high performance of the lens, by using this PENTAX multi-coating. This also enables high contrast and high definition right to the edges.
2. SP coating (Super Protect) which helps to repel water and oil from the lens.
The fact that the focusing on the Pentax 17 is electronic i.e. the lens only moves when you half-press the shutter gives me faith that autofocus was already considered in the R&D stage.
Local Kroger store covered the refridgerated isle to esure the coldest temp, before arrival of Gustav.
Founded in 1906, Mesa Verde National Park was created to conserve and protect the Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites and cliff dwellings within the present-day park on the sides and top of a large tree-covered cuesta, known as Mesa Verde, that rises approximately 1,500 feet (785 meters) above the surrounding canyons and valleys, with rugged canyons cutting through the cuesta, lined with sandstone cliffs and ledges.
The area was inhabited by indigenous people for thousands of years prior to the rise of the Ancestral Puebloan culture, whom developed villages and farmsteads within what is today Mesa Verde National Park beginning around the year 750, with the structures built by the Ancestral Puebloans growing in complexity and durability, especially due to contact with the nearby culture centered around Chaco Canyon. The famous cliff dwellings for which the area is famous, however, were built between approximately 1020 and 1260, especially after a major drought in the region between 1130 and 1180, which led to a major migration of people from Chaco Canyon to Mesa Verde. The people of Chaco Canyon brought their culture, construction techniques, and goods with them, which is evident at archaeological sites on the cuesta.
The area began to depopulate between 1260 and 1285 due to environmental conditions becoming less favorable, with the people of Mesa Verde moving to the lowlands of what is today New Mexico and Arizona, with many founding or joining Pueblo settlements in these regions that still exist today. The stone houses were left to the elements, and were left uninhabited, only remembered by the descendants of the Ancestral Puebloans and the other indigenous groups who called the area home, most notably the Utes.
The ancient ruins were discovered by European-Americans in 1873, and were documented between 1875 and 1888, with various cliff dwellings and archaeological sites being relatively well-preserved and recognizable to explorers, archaeologists, and scientists whom visited the modern-day park. However, the removal of artifacts from the cuesta became a major concern, and efforts began in 1889 to protect the area as a National Park.
The park covers an area of 82 square miles (212 square kilometers), and features multiple Ancestral Puebloan and other indigenous archaeological sites, and was taken from the Ute people, with land being taken from the Utes after the establishment of the park to expand its borders. The park long struggled with proper interpretation and inclusion of the voices of the Puebloan people, whose ancestors built the ancient dwellings and lived at what are today archaeological sites, with work presently ongoing to redress these issues.
The ruins at the park underwent reconstitution and stabilization between 1908 and 1922, with extensive work being done on Spruce Tree House, Cliff Palace, and Sun Temple. Further work was carried out by the New Deal-era Civilian Conservation Corps starting in 1932 and extending through World War II, which included the construction of various park facilities for visitors and staff, and constructing roads atop the cuesta. The Wetherill Mesa ruins, meanwhile, were stabilized with work being carried out between 1958 and 1965, coinciding with the construction of the Far View accommodations atop the cuesta to the east.
The park today features a modern entrance road from US Highway 160, which climbs up the rugged slopes at the north end of the park to the top of the cuesta, stretching across the top of the cuesta to the south, where it connects to various roads that allow visitors to access the overlooks and trails for various cliff dwellings and archaeological sites on Chapin Mesa and Wetherill Mesa. Two areas of tourist accommodation also exist at Far View in the northern section of the park, and the administrative district at Spruce Tree Point at the southern end of the park.
The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966, and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978. Today, the park sees over half a million visitors annually, and continues to preserve and maintain the ancient structures built by the Ancestral Puebloans.
Founded in 1906, Mesa Verde National Park was created to conserve and protect the Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites and cliff dwellings within the present-day park on the sides and top of a large tree-covered cuesta, known as Mesa Verde, that rises approximately 1,500 feet (785 meters) above the surrounding canyons and valleys, with rugged canyons cutting through the cuesta, lined with sandstone cliffs and ledges.
The area was inhabited by indigenous people for thousands of years prior to the rise of the Ancestral Puebloan culture, whom developed villages and farmsteads within what is today Mesa Verde National Park beginning around the year 750, with the structures built by the Ancestral Puebloans growing in complexity and durability, especially due to contact with the nearby culture centered around Chaco Canyon. The famous cliff dwellings for which the area is famous, however, were built between approximately 1020 and 1260, especially after a major drought in the region between 1130 and 1180, which led to a major migration of people from Chaco Canyon to Mesa Verde. The people of Chaco Canyon brought their culture, construction techniques, and goods with them, which is evident at archaeological sites on the cuesta.
The area began to depopulate between 1260 and 1285 due to environmental conditions becoming less favorable, with the people of Mesa Verde moving to the lowlands of what is today New Mexico and Arizona, with many founding or joining Pueblo settlements in these regions that still exist today. The stone houses were left to the elements, and were left uninhabited, only remembered by the descendants of the Ancestral Puebloans and the other indigenous groups who called the area home, most notably the Utes.
The ancient ruins were discovered by European-Americans in 1873, and were documented between 1875 and 1888, with various cliff dwellings and archaeological sites being relatively well-preserved and recognizable to explorers, archaeologists, and scientists whom visited the modern-day park. However, the removal of artifacts from the cuesta became a major concern, and efforts began in 1889 to protect the area as a National Park.
The park covers an area of 82 square miles (212 square kilometers), and features multiple Ancestral Puebloan and other indigenous archaeological sites, and was taken from the Ute people, with land being taken from the Utes after the establishment of the park to expand its borders. The park long struggled with proper interpretation and inclusion of the voices of the Puebloan people, whose ancestors built the ancient dwellings and lived at what are today archaeological sites, with work presently ongoing to redress these issues.
The ruins at the park underwent reconstitution and stabilization between 1908 and 1922, with extensive work being done on Spruce Tree House, Cliff Palace, and Sun Temple. Further work was carried out by the New Deal-era Civilian Conservation Corps starting in 1932 and extending through World War II, which included the construction of various park facilities for visitors and staff, and constructing roads atop the cuesta. The Wetherill Mesa ruins, meanwhile, were stabilized with work being carried out between 1958 and 1965, coinciding with the construction of the Far View accommodations atop the cuesta to the east.
The park today features a modern entrance road from US Highway 160, which climbs up the rugged slopes at the north end of the park to the top of the cuesta, stretching across the top of the cuesta to the south, where it connects to various roads that allow visitors to access the overlooks and trails for various cliff dwellings and archaeological sites on Chapin Mesa and Wetherill Mesa. Two areas of tourist accommodation also exist at Far View in the northern section of the park, and the administrative district at Spruce Tree Point at the southern end of the park.
The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966, and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978. Today, the park sees over half a million visitors annually, and continues to preserve and maintain the ancient structures built by the Ancestral Puebloans.
Founded in 1906, Mesa Verde National Park was created to conserve and protect the Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites and cliff dwellings within the present-day park on the sides and top of a large tree-covered cuesta, known as Mesa Verde, that rises approximately 1,500 feet (785 meters) above the surrounding canyons and valleys, with rugged canyons cutting through the cuesta, lined with sandstone cliffs and ledges.
The area was inhabited by indigenous people for thousands of years prior to the rise of the Ancestral Puebloan culture, whom developed villages and farmsteads within what is today Mesa Verde National Park beginning around the year 750, with the structures built by the Ancestral Puebloans growing in complexity and durability, especially due to contact with the nearby culture centered around Chaco Canyon. The famous cliff dwellings for which the area is famous, however, were built between approximately 1020 and 1260, especially after a major drought in the region between 1130 and 1180, which led to a major migration of people from Chaco Canyon to Mesa Verde. The people of Chaco Canyon brought their culture, construction techniques, and goods with them, which is evident at archaeological sites on the cuesta.
The area began to depopulate between 1260 and 1285 due to environmental conditions becoming less favorable, with the people of Mesa Verde moving to the lowlands of what is today New Mexico and Arizona, with many founding or joining Pueblo settlements in these regions that still exist today. The stone houses were left to the elements, and were left uninhabited, only remembered by the descendants of the Ancestral Puebloans and the other indigenous groups who called the area home, most notably the Utes.
The ancient ruins were discovered by European-Americans in 1873, and were documented between 1875 and 1888, with various cliff dwellings and archaeological sites being relatively well-preserved and recognizable to explorers, archaeologists, and scientists whom visited the modern-day park. However, the removal of artifacts from the cuesta became a major concern, and efforts began in 1889 to protect the area as a National Park.
The park covers an area of 82 square miles (212 square kilometers), and features multiple Ancestral Puebloan and other indigenous archaeological sites, and was taken from the Ute people, with land being taken from the Utes after the establishment of the park to expand its borders. The park long struggled with proper interpretation and inclusion of the voices of the Puebloan people, whose ancestors built the ancient dwellings and lived at what are today archaeological sites, with work presently ongoing to redress these issues.
The ruins at the park underwent reconstitution and stabilization between 1908 and 1922, with extensive work being done on Spruce Tree House, Cliff Palace, and Sun Temple. Further work was carried out by the New Deal-era Civilian Conservation Corps starting in 1932 and extending through World War II, which included the construction of various park facilities for visitors and staff, and constructing roads atop the cuesta. The Wetherill Mesa ruins, meanwhile, were stabilized with work being carried out between 1958 and 1965, coinciding with the construction of the Far View accommodations atop the cuesta to the east.
The park today features a modern entrance road from US Highway 160, which climbs up the rugged slopes at the north end of the park to the top of the cuesta, stretching across the top of the cuesta to the south, where it connects to various roads that allow visitors to access the overlooks and trails for various cliff dwellings and archaeological sites on Chapin Mesa and Wetherill Mesa. Two areas of tourist accommodation also exist at Far View in the northern section of the park, and the administrative district at Spruce Tree Point at the southern end of the park.
The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966, and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978. Today, the park sees over half a million visitors annually, and continues to preserve and maintain the ancient structures built by the Ancestral Puebloans.
Founded in 1906, Mesa Verde National Park was created to conserve and protect the Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites and cliff dwellings within the present-day park on the sides and top of a large tree-covered cuesta, known as Mesa Verde, that rises approximately 1,500 feet (785 meters) above the surrounding canyons and valleys, with rugged canyons cutting through the cuesta, lined with sandstone cliffs and ledges.
The area was inhabited by indigenous people for thousands of years prior to the rise of the Ancestral Puebloan culture, whom developed villages and farmsteads within what is today Mesa Verde National Park beginning around the year 750, with the structures built by the Ancestral Puebloans growing in complexity and durability, especially due to contact with the nearby culture centered around Chaco Canyon. The famous cliff dwellings for which the area is famous, however, were built between approximately 1020 and 1260, especially after a major drought in the region between 1130 and 1180, which led to a major migration of people from Chaco Canyon to Mesa Verde. The people of Chaco Canyon brought their culture, construction techniques, and goods with them, which is evident at archaeological sites on the cuesta.
The area began to depopulate between 1260 and 1285 due to environmental conditions becoming less favorable, with the people of Mesa Verde moving to the lowlands of what is today New Mexico and Arizona, with many founding or joining Pueblo settlements in these regions that still exist today. The stone houses were left to the elements, and were left uninhabited, only remembered by the descendants of the Ancestral Puebloans and the other indigenous groups who called the area home, most notably the Utes.
The ancient ruins were discovered by European-Americans in 1873, and were documented between 1875 and 1888, with various cliff dwellings and archaeological sites being relatively well-preserved and recognizable to explorers, archaeologists, and scientists whom visited the modern-day park. However, the removal of artifacts from the cuesta became a major concern, and efforts began in 1889 to protect the area as a National Park.
The park covers an area of 82 square miles (212 square kilometers), and features multiple Ancestral Puebloan and other indigenous archaeological sites, and was taken from the Ute people, with land being taken from the Utes after the establishment of the park to expand its borders. The park long struggled with proper interpretation and inclusion of the voices of the Puebloan people, whose ancestors built the ancient dwellings and lived at what are today archaeological sites, with work presently ongoing to redress these issues.
The ruins at the park underwent reconstitution and stabilization between 1908 and 1922, with extensive work being done on Spruce Tree House, Cliff Palace, and Sun Temple. Further work was carried out by the New Deal-era Civilian Conservation Corps starting in 1932 and extending through World War II, which included the construction of various park facilities for visitors and staff, and constructing roads atop the cuesta. The Wetherill Mesa ruins, meanwhile, were stabilized with work being carried out between 1958 and 1965, coinciding with the construction of the Far View accommodations atop the cuesta to the east.
The park today features a modern entrance road from US Highway 160, which climbs up the rugged slopes at the north end of the park to the top of the cuesta, stretching across the top of the cuesta to the south, where it connects to various roads that allow visitors to access the overlooks and trails for various cliff dwellings and archaeological sites on Chapin Mesa and Wetherill Mesa. Two areas of tourist accommodation also exist at Far View in the northern section of the park, and the administrative district at Spruce Tree Point at the southern end of the park.
The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966, and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978. Today, the park sees over half a million visitors annually, and continues to preserve and maintain the ancient structures built by the Ancestral Puebloans.
This is new @ my company! Push up for less water and push down for more water. yay for water conservation~
For the first black-and-white film with my new camera Pentax 17 (see below for the details about the camera), I loaded a special film given to me as a gift by « Ateliers de Marinette », Lyon, France. The film was spooled for 30-exposures (60 expected for the Pentax 17 that a half-frame camera) and is a bulk Ilford PanF Plus expire in 2005. The film is however well conserved and it could shot for the original 50 ISO sensitivity.
The Pentax 17 was equipped with an Anti-UV 40.5mm Hoya HMC filter. For the camera transportation, I used a small camera bag ThinkTank « Mirrorless Mover 5 » that was well protecting the camera from possibly damaging vibrations when using my bicycles.
The expositions were automatically metered by the camera system using the « P » program modes with, or without, flash. For very bright scenes the exposition was corrected by +0.3 to +1EV to compensate the biais induced (and reversely -0.3 to 0.7 EV for very dark scenes to objects).
April 17, 2025
69002 Lyon
France.
After completion the film was processed according the Marinette advice in Adox Adonal developer at 1+25 dilution for 7min at 20°C.
Single-frame digitizing was made using a Sony A7 camera (ILCE-7, 24MP) fitted to a Minolta Auto Bellows III with the Minolta slide duplication accessory and Minolta Macro Bellow lens 1:3.5 f=50mm at approximate reproduction ratio of 1:2. The diffuse light source was a LED panel CineStill Cine-lite.
The RAW files obtained were inverted within the latest version available of Adobe Lightroom Classic (version 14.2) and edited to the final jpeg pictures without intermediate file. They are presented either as printer files with a frame or the full size JPEG's together with some documentary smartphone color pictures.
About the camera :
Since last Christmas, it was on display in the middle of « reusable » cheap camera’s in the window of my local photography store. But this camera is not cheap and sold at 10-times the price of those « reusable » film camera’s. The Pentax 17 is a novel film camera released by Pentax (a brand belonging to Ricoh Imaging, Japan) in June 2024.
The history of « Pentax » name is still something worth to mention. After the WWII, in Dresden (that was heavily destroyed by the bombing of Feb. 13-15, 1945), Germany, The Zeiss Ikon company could not produce anymore the legendary original Contax (a high-reputation professional range-finder 35mm released in 30’s) camera that was taken by Russia and transferred to Kiev, Ukraine, in the USSR. However the brand name Contax survived and the German engineers designed something completely new within several years : the Contax S (S for « Spiegel mirror reflex ») that integrated a pentaprism for a full redressed reflex viewer observation. Zeiss Ikon Dresden registered to new trademarks derived from the words « Pentaprism » and « Contax » that were « Pentax » and « Pentacon ». If Pentacon became the new name of the company in Dresden, the trademark Pentax was bought by Asahi Optical Company in Japan, and became a formidable industrial and commercial success. Asahi Pentax, then Pentax alone, produced amazing quality camera’s including the legendary « Spotmatic » (a 35mm SLR) and stunning medium-format camera’s heavily used by professional photographers. Many of these camera’s of the past century are still operative and appreciated by film photography enthusiast’s.
Production of film camera’s vanished progressively in the mid 2000’s, as digital camera’s became of better quality and finally of generalized appliances in photography. The Pentax 17 was introduced to the market in June 2024, it was a big surprise for all the film photography lovers. Seeing a newly engineered brand-new film camera was a sort of renaissance of the film photography today of a growing interest worldwide.
The camera is a « half-frame » format on the traditional double-perforated 35mm film giving 17x24mm photograms. This format was not as popular as to classical 24x36mm (full-frame) format of most of the 35mm camera’s. However famous and quality half-frame camera’s were produced in the past including, the long series of Olympus Pen for example. Then, the Pentax 17 immediately attracted the attention of experimented film photographers and camera collectors, probably more than the officially targeted customers of the younger generations. Less than a year after, the future of the Pentax 17 and the film photography project of Pentax is questioned today. The chef-engineer who conducted the project in Ricoh company recently left and the marketing of Pentax 17 is now a question.
This finally decided me to buy an exemplary from my local shop and to discover this strange machine. The camera is of course guaranteed, even with a there-year extension after the camera registration on the Pentax website. The whole ergonomic is clearly derived from classical past 35mm camera’s with a fully mechanical film advance and rewind, a collimated Albada viewer, no digital display at all, only levers, barrels, crank and wheels… However inside is a automatic electronic exposure system with flash, the focusing is manual but the electronic mechanism moves the whole optical group with a micro motor.
The lens is a Cooke triplet 1:3.5 f=25mm equivalent to a 37mm of a 24x36mm format. The Cooke triplet is a photographic lens designed and patented in 1893 by Dennis Taylor who was employed as chief engineer by T. Cooke & Sons of York. It was the first lens system that allowed the elimination of most of the optical distortion or aberration at the outer edge of the image. It likely for this reason that the lens is unscripted curiously « Traditional » on the front lens ring… It is known that a Cooke triplet lens could give surprisingly good results with only three separated optical elements. The Cooke Triplet is still widely used in inexpensive cameras, including variations using aspheric elements, particularly in cell-phone cameras. The Cooke triplet consists of three separated lenses positioned at the finite distance. It is often considered that the triplet is one of the most important discoveries in the field of photographic objectives
The lens receives 40.5mm diameter thread filters that I use for my Zorki / Leningrad lenses Jupiter-8 2/50mm, Jupiter-11 4/135mm and Jupiter-12 2.8/35mm. The metal shade hood Minolta D42KA could mounted on the filter but I have to check is there is vignette induced.
The camera size is close to the original dimensions of a thread-mount Leica (called also the original Barnack Leica) which are, in a way, a sort of « Gold » size in the 35mm camera’s. I compared with my Zorki 1D year 1954 that is a straight reproduction of the Leica Iic. The upper deck of Pentax 17 is designed very clearly as a classical 35mm and we even find the original logo of Asahi Optical Company. The rewind crank is also a revival of past design seen on old Pentax SLR as my year-1971 Spotmatic SP in this seres of pictures.
The Pentax 17 is very light (about 300g) compared to those old ancestors that weight easily the double or the triple. It is then an effortless camera to carry. The Pentax 17 fits in the small ThinkTank bag (called « Mirorless Mover 5 ») that I recently bought to safely carry a film back of my Hasselblad or my Bronica 6X6 camera’s. In this tiny bag, the camera is protected for the element and vibrations due to cycling for instance.
Reference
analoguewonderland.co.uk/blogs/film-photography-blog/pent...
Key features and specifications
* Half-frame image capture (17 x 24mm)
* 37mm (equiv.) FOV F3.5 lens
* Zone focusing system with 6 zones
* Circular leaf shutter (F3.5-16)
* Built-in flash (6m/20ft at ISO100)
* Optical tunnel viewfinder with frame lines
* Exposure from 1/350 sec to 4 sec (+ Bulb)
* Supports films from ISO 50 to ISO 3200
Specifically the lens has:
1. HD coating, which maintains high performance of the lens, by using this PENTAX multi-coating. This also enables high contrast and high definition right to the edges.
2. SP coating (Super Protect) which helps to repel water and oil from the lens.
The fact that the focusing on the Pentax 17 is electronic i.e. the lens only moves when you half-press the shutter gives me faith that autofocus was already considered in the R&D stage.