Before digital, there was Polaroid

In the old days, when you wanted a picture of something fast, you used a Polaroid camera. Anything from cheesy to cheesecake, Polaroid could capture it if you had about 60 seconds to wait. Just focus and push the button, and the whirring gears would spit out a newly developing picture just like a baby without an umbilical cord. And like a proud parent, you'd put the picture in a warm folding metal blanket, or under your armpit, which ever seemed more appropriate at the time, to insure uniform development of the image. Then you'd show it around and everyone would have a grand time. But after a couple dozen shots someone figured out that you just spent enough money for a utility bill, and the fun was over. Now, Polaroids are relegated to the realm of the artist or the nostalgist. Or homicide squad. But with the increased use of laptops in the field even homicide detectives are getting digital prints at the scene these days.

The prints here were taken with a Polaroid Spectra camera on Spectra film. Most artists use SX-70 film for manipulation, but since I don't have any SX-70 film, and it's getting harder and harder to find, I had to settle for something different. Spectra film does not lend itself as well to manipulation. And by manipulation I mean using sundry items to rub, push, poke, mash and smash the emulsion layers beneath the clear plastic sheet covering the picture. I've used spoons, and wooden and plastic sticks to manipulate the film. But the best tools I've found are my old anatomy dissection tools. They're blunt, multi-shaped, and made of stainless steel. I've separated many bones, ligaments, tissues and tendons with these fine instruments; and now they've found new life manipulating Polaroids. Who'd a thunk it?

Pixels or Pan-X

It wasn't so terribly long ago that I didn't know what a pixel was. Actually, I'm still not one hundred percent sure. But I still take pictures. And, it's been years since I could explain how light and chemistry combine to form an image on the surface of film. Even then I still took pictures. I composed, calculated, focused, and exposed. Mostly, things turned out ok. Certainly, having an expert technical understanding about how images form on film or sensor can only help improve your final product, but you can still make a darn good picture without it. The digital camera, and a billion megapixels have proven that in every basement pc and Wal-Mart in the world.

So, is everyone with a megapixel in their pocket and a USB cord now a photographer? Don't get me wrong, I love the great American "I want it now" convenience that digital provides as much as the next guy. But I really miss the smell of mixing chemicals at precise temperatures, and dropping dripping paper prints in a multi-step process, that, although I may not have fully understood chemically, I fully appreciated as the images magically appeared under the red glow of my safe light. In a sort of photomasochistic way I loved dodging, burning, and even spotting my pictures after having exposed, developed, agitated, stopped, fixed, washed and dried my film. I miss my Omega and Beseler enlargers with their many movable parts; the negative image projected on my easel as I made test strips and chose the perfect paper or filter for the best contrast or color rendition. I feel a little guilty about making the process so painless through downloading and mouse-manipulating my "captured" images to perfection. But not so guilty that I'm going to cancel my already ordered Nikon D300. I'm virtually drooling pixels just thinking about that Fed-Ex package sitting on my front porch in my "secret" parcel drop behind the rocking chair on my porch.

But, there are days that I pull out an old friend, like my Pentax Spotmatic, or Minolta SR-T 102, or Olympus OM-1, and sit and measure the light in one place, then another, zoom by walking closer or farther away, focus and consider depth of field, and then set the dials and rings to expose the film just the way I want. I have to admit that doing this every once in a while makes me think about the things that go into making a good picture. And that makes me a better digital photographer. I think everyone who owns a digital camera should also own a good old fashioned manual slr and do this exercise as often as possible. It forces you to think in a way that digital doesn't. Please, don't misunderstand me. For excellent photographers, as much thought goes into a digitally captured image as one that is film captured. What's six inches behind the camera will always be more important than megapixels; but with digital it's become too easy to substitute quantity for quality. The images here were taken during one of my manual exercises. I used an old Canon rangefinder with a fungus-laden normal lens. The shutter speed for the pictures was 1/40th and the apertures were "educatedly" guessed. Putting away all my high tech gadgets took me out of my comfort zone which, paradoxically, made me more comfortable with photography... again.

More From Mackinac Island

More Than Fudge

Since our last serendipitous side trip to Mackinac Island during the last Mackinac Bridge walk a few weeks ago I've been wanting to return to the island before the "Closed for the season" signs go up and the island hunkers down for winter. So, with some free 'VIP' tickets that I got from an ex-ferry captain in hand, we hopped on a Starline rooster-tail boat and held on for the bumpy 15 minute ride from St. Ignace across an unusually choppy channel. The rooster-tail spray from the back of the boat, if not functional, was at least fun, especially with the "rooster rainbow" that followed us all the way to the island dock. Upon disembarking the vessel the first thing I noted was a surfeit of Mitt Romney for President signs. It seems he and the Michigan Republican Party had chosen the same weekend for a rah-rah ice cream social at the Grand Hotel. Did they get free tickets, too?

Fudgies, as locals call tourists carrying those dense, calorie-laden blocks of chocolate fudge, walked the streets with every kind of Romney paraphernalia a printer could print. "Romney in '08" was the definite theme of the day. I like Romney, and might even vote for him, but we quickly felt the need to escape the blue t-shirted army of Romney-ites wandering the streets in groups of 2 like missionaries proselyting the virtues of conservative values.

So, for $5 an hour each, we jumped on 3 bicycles and headed down the road to circumnavigate the island on a relatively flat, paved road that heads out of town in either direction. After passing million dollar mansions and several top-notch resorts the road soon gave way to a beautiful two lane path following the shoreline completely around the island. The colors of the lake actually reminded me of the waters of O'ahu with white beaches turning to tan, azure, and then the deep blue of the distant channels surrounding the island. One thing O'ahu doesn't have is the fiery reds and oranges of the turning leaves of fall. That makes Mackinac special. The ride took about 2 hours, and was one of the most enjoyable things we've done in a long time. I'm beginning to think I could learn to love island life, whether it's O'ahu, Maui, or Mackinac. And, as it turned out, when we finished our ride, we were happy to sit with all the Romney supporters serving up free ice cream and sodas. I guess it beats kissing babies.

Of course, we loaded up on fudge before the last boat to the U.P. set sail. I hid mine in my camera bag to avoid the fudgie epithet, but I think the locals knew.

Delilah

Connor got a new friend the other day; her name is Delilah, after one of his favorite songs. We're not sure what breed she is, but she looks to be a cross between a Dachshund and a Corgi, or other terrier of some sort. We got her from the animal shelter, so we don't know much about her. About 5 yrs old, she knows a few tricks and responds to several basic commands. She's taken a real liking to Connor, and spends a lot of time sitting with him. Always being compared to Clover, she's got some big shoes to fill. But, in time, I'm sure she'll find her own place in our home and hearts.

Soo Locks

We have lived in the "Soo" for almost 5 years and I've never been on the Soo Locks Boat Tour. The tour takes you through the American Locks from the Lake Huron "low side" to the Lake Superior "high side". It's an interesting study in machines and mechanics, although it ain't rocket science. You go in the low side of the St. Mary's River and they close the gates behind you and fill the tub. Up 21 feet in about 15 minutes as the water flows in. Just gravity at work. Then they open the other side and you float on out to the high side of the river. It's amazing how low-tech it all is, although I'm sure computers help run some of the operation. The lockmaster literally gives you the "green light" to enter the locks as the enormous gates open. Dockworkers scurry around as the deckhands toss them lines to be tied down. Then you just sit and wait as the water either lifts you up or brings you down to the appropriate level. Then it's out the other end. There is no cost to any vessel using the locks; all that is required is that your vessel has a motor, and that you promise to tie up while you're in the locks. That's it. After leaving the American Locks you go out into the river, scout around the back side of Algoma Steel Plant and then pull a big U-turn and return through the Canadian Locks. The Canadian side is for pleasure crafts only, so it's not nearly so impressive. The entire trip lasts about 2 hrs, and is interesting through the entire tour.

It must take a master mariner to park one of those 1000 ft freighters into the relatively narrow slip of water between the gates. Your aim has to be perfect. Sometimes I forget about the history of sea going vessels that run between the lakes and the great nautical past of Sault Ste. Marie. A lap around the locks sure brings that history to life.

50th Mackinac Bridge Walk

Labor Day, 2007, marked the 50th anniversary of the Mackinac Bridge Walk and was celebrated by almost 60,000 walkers who hiked the entire 5 mile length of the bridge. We got started late, entering the bridge on the St. Ignace side about 9 am, and walked into a crowd crossing the bridge like a huge human caterpillar. We took our time and enjoyed the morning, trying to see things up close that you don't normally get to see when you drive across at 45 mph. It took us about 2 hrs. to get all the way across. It was interesting to see and feel how much the bridge sways and rumbles in the wind. When we hit the mid-way sag in the suspension I felt a little like a drunken man because the bridge was swaying almost imperceptibly; my equilibrium was just slightly off, but enough to feel dizzy as the concrete and steel wriggled from side to side under my feet. When we got to the other side we found out there was a 4 hr. wait for a taxi to take you back across. And the lines for the buses weren't much better. So, we killed some time in Mackinaw City, then hopped a ferry to the island (Mackinac). The island was a nice highlight that we hadn't expected; we had a nice lunch and shopped for a while before needing to depart and catch the last ferry leaving for St. Ignace. All in all it was a nice way to finish up the summer. School started the next day.

Vacation Memories

I can't remember the last year we didn't take a family vacation. Since we've had kids, I think we've taken a two or three week vacation at least once a year. One year during my residency training at the University of Wisconsin we took a 6 week vacation to El Paso, southern California and Disney, then back through Colorado. We've been to Disney so many times I lose track of who was with us when we went during different years. My point is this; so many of my memories about our family growing up are referenced to particular vacations we took. The Disney years, the Southwest years, the Door County times, and, more recently, the Hawai'i trips all conjure up different stages of our family's growth. Between the vacations we've had our share of challenges, but the vacations have always been good. Sometimes not as relaxing as we'd like, with the struggles of keeping 4 kids happy at a time, but the memories I took away from each adventure are more cherished by me than anything I have. I think that's what got me so interested in photography; when I get too old to actually remember an event, I can look back at a snapshot moment when we were at a particular place at a particular time and the happy emotions of that time will fill the space once occupied by the lost memory. Anyway, that's what I'm hoping. Actually, I'm hoping I won't ever be that senile; but just in case, here is a sample of some of our more recent trips.

"Change, it's a good thing." (Martha Stewart, 2006)

The leaves are changing early this year. I've heard it's because of the dry summer; stressed trees turn earlier in the fall. And we have definitely had a dry summer. It's hard to believe that just a couple of weeks ago we were in a place of perpetual sunshine and warmth, green and beautiful all year. But the turning leaves and the sun moving further south with each passing day reminds me that change is inevitable, and that the time to prepare is upon us. That things even need to be put up for the winter makes me think that our lives are perhaps a little too complicated. It would be nice to live someplace where you needed less to contend with the changing moods of mother nature. Or, maybe, I just make things more complicated than they need to be. Either way, a change is coming and we need to get ready. I've met people who, as they get older, dislike change in their lives. I think as I get older I look forward to it; every change in my life has ultimately brought something good, whether it was recognized from the beginning or not. So, sometimes it may seem a little inconvenient, or downright bad, but change is certainly better than its alternative. Just make the best of it and good will inevitably come.

So, you've probably noticed, most of this is just fluff...nothing of any real import. Mostly, just adding verbage to see how this site works.

Our 30th Anniversary at Waikiki Beach

We spent our 30th wedding anniversary at Waikiki Beach in Honolulu. Rosalie started our 3 week vacation in Mau'i, then on to O'ahu after a couple of weeks. We had a nice 1 bedroom condo on the beach while in Ka'anapali, Mau'i. It was soothing to listen to the surf all night with the cool ocean breeze blowing into our room from the lanai. On O'ahu we stayed on the 20th floor of a resort right on Waikiki Beach. It had a beautiful view of the ocean from the lanai. We would walk to the beach everyday, and spend most evenings there, or shopping along the beach boulevard. It was so much fun that I don't think we'll wait another 30 years before returning; we'll probably spend the next 30 years there. Rosalie's already looking for property there. The only question is whether to make a 'lock, stock and barrel' move or ease into it in a condo for a few months out of the year.

A Welcome to All

welcome to all who are joining us for the first time. That would include just about everyone since this is the first entry to the first edition of The Ayer Blog Page. It is our hope that we can all post pictures and add appropriate commentary to help us keep in touch and up to date about everything that's happening in our lives. This is important since the experiences of our lives seem to take us to the farthest corners of the earth. So, why not take advantage of the wonderful technology at our disposal; in our bedrooms, in our basements, at the kitchen table, and anywhere else we can carry our laptops...our entire world is just a few keystrokes and moments away.

Please be patient, this blog is a work in progress. As we get more adept at putting things together it is our hope that this blog will be a fun and efficient way of staying close. Any suggestions you might have for making the site more interesting or user-friendly would be greatly appreciated. So...wish us luck, and here's to happy blogging.