This post has taken me a little longer to get out then I originally intended. So let's get right into it. If you haven't seen the first part of the Sinclair set I do recommend jumping back one post and reading it.  

On a short road trip, I happened upon a nonfunctioning but fully stocked, restored and vintage Sinclair gas station in Cassopolis Michigan. It really was like a roadside museum.

I'll start with the wonderful old Coke machine sitting just outside the main door. The price for a bottle said 10 cents! This really was a perfect photography day, because it was cloudy so it helped to make the colors really pop and there were no harsh shadows. A lot of reflection though as you'll see in the rest of the shots.

Remember to change your oil kids. If you look close you can see an old issue of Life magazine behind the Tenol oil cans, with Martin Luther King Jr. on the cover. 

 

This next image is a favorite of mine. I love all the vintage detail here from the fan, the adding machine, and some of the empty 10 cents coke bottles in the corner.All these details really invoke a feeling of history and nostalgia. A real time capsule.

Here's my ride!

This last image was a little bit of an experiment. The reflection was so heavy that there was really no way I was getting around it unless I came back at a different time. I do plan on going back, but probably not until next year in the spring or summer. I figured, what the heck might as well take a chance on it. I bracketed the shot and turned it into a HDR image and I'm actually very pleased with the result. The only part of it I really don't like is the color fractals underneath the window of the car. Anyone have any tips for cleaning that up?In the left hand corner you can see a the reflection of yours truly.

I have no idea why this Sinclair station was here. Why did some one put so much love, time and money into assembling all of these vintage pieces for a stand alone museum in the town of Cassopolis, Michigan?  I'm sure I'll find out one day, but for now I'm just thrilled that they did and that I happened across it.

Thanks so much for looking.  

 

On Friday, I called up a buddy and we took a short road trip.  Only a couple of hours, as I had to get back to help my Dad with some medicare information.  Anyway, we headed out looking for historical marker signs and we found a couple which will be featured in later posts.  Today's post though comes from a spot that we damn near drove by. There was no warning. No sign saying up ahead there's something cool.

On our way back home via a different route then we took leaving home, we encountered a Sinclair Gas Station. I'm told that these are fairly common in some parts of the south, but they're not like this. This station is not functional, but it is vintage. All of it. Really. Circa 1952 I'd say. 

As you can see it has all the outside signs of being vintage. From old cars in the drive to an old Coke machine by the door. I was really hoping that it was functional for .10 a bottle! 

Generally, I don't post this many images in one post, because frankly it's difficult enough for me to get out and shoot and then get the time to post, so I try and build up a back log that I can rely on. With this shoot I just had to give it a big treatment.

In the next post I'll show you as much as I can of the inside. Unfortunately, the station was locked and there was a lot of glare on the super squeaky clean windows.

Thanks so much for looking. Hope you enjoy.

And like the last post, the moral is keep your mind and eyes wide open. You never know what you will find.

Just a quick post tonight.  This is another landscape shot from my country ride with the kids two weekends ago. 

Thanks for looking.  

The last two weekends, have had photo opportunities that I thought would be something different then what they turned out to be.  I don't know about anyone else, but I usually go with some ideas in mind as to what I want to shoot.  Seeing as how the ideas I had in mind were not anything like what I found upon arrival, I had to scrap them and start fresh.  I had to be in the moment and generate ideas from just being there.  What a refreshing experience it was.  I came away with the images you see here, the last blog entry and a ton of stuff I took with my Ipod Touch and put on Instagram that I really like.

So the lesson is keep your mind open, your eyes open and be in the moment.  Easy to say and everyone knows it, but not always easy to do.

Thanks for looking. 

On Sunday, I took both of the kids to check out a small museum about 20 miles away that was out in the country.  The museum was closed so we took the time to take a sunday drive.  Just picking a direction and driving to see what there is to see.  It was a beautiful afternoon and a great time to just get lost for a while.

There are some great photographers who have an incredible ability to make images anywhere even in their home.  Andre Kertesz is one of those photographers.  If you haven't seen his work before, you need to google him.  Every once in a while I try and find inspiration without leaving my home.  Let me tell you it is not easy for me!

As I was looking around for something to photograph I found my grandparents barometer.  It's a very cool little antique that was passed down to me.  I really have no clue how it works, but it seemed photogenic to me.

So this is my photo for the day at home.

Thanks for looking. 

Boy it's been awhile since the last post.  I was looking through some of my unprocessed images and came acrossthis image of an abandoned barn and thought it would be a perfect black and white subject. After a little work with curves and clarity and some cropping, here we have today's post.

I wasn't so sure I liked this image, but the more I worked with it, the more the image grew on me.  I actually find it just a touch creepy, because your eye is so quickly drawn to the light peering through the crack in the back door.  Makes me wonder what is waiting on the other side.

Thanks for looking.  Comments are always welcome and appreciated. 

This has made some good coleslaw this summer.  I also heard it's full of glutamine and that's a good anti-inflammatory!

Thanks for looking. 

This little lady has been hanging out in our garden for at least a month now.  In the same spot no less. The kids and most of their friends think she is absolutely cool.  The first image I managed to get of her I was not totally satisfied with, but I'm much happier with this one.  Still wishing I had a macro, though.  

With the help of the the animal diversity web page from University of Michigan Museum of Zoology http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Argiope_auran..., I think I've figured out that this is a Black and Yellow Argiope spider. I know I've got the color right at least!  I think it's a female because they get bigger then the males and this spider's body length measures just over 3/4 of an inch long and she's 2 full inches from front leg to back leg.

Thanks for stopping by.

Don't forget to view it full size.  Lots of detail there.

A friend of mine that knows all of back woods Southwest Michigan like the palm of his hand, told me about this little stream in Delton Michigan that he thought I would like to photograph. I've been trying to get out there most of the summer, but my timing was always wrong. Finally, two weeks ago I had my chance.  A quiet little area off of a dirt road that was off of a dirt road!  

The road is actually up much higher then the stream so you take a short trail down hill to get the stream.  It was a really cool place to see. Here is the first pic from the spot.

Thanks for stopping by.