Travels

Some of the many balloons at Balloon Fest, held in Centralia, Illinois on August 16th, 2013. Camera: Samsung Maxima Zoom 80 Ti Film: Kodak Ultra Max 200 Zoom: 38mm Date: August 16th, 2013, 6.58 p.m. Place: Centralia, Illinois, U.S.A. Samsung 80Ti First Roll 25hf

Looking up at some of the entries that participated in Balloon Fest, held in Centralia, Illinois on August 16th, 2013. Camera: Samsung Maxima Zoom 80 Ti Film: Kodak Ultra Max 200 Zoom: 38mm Date: August 16th, 2013, 6.48 p.m. Place: Centralia, Illinois, U.S.A. Samsung 80Ti First Roll 16ef

One of the colorful balloons at Balloon Fest, held in Centralia, Illinois on August 16th, 2013. I was using a little point and shoot Samsung camera for the first time, trying it out. Camera: Samsung Maxima Zoom 80 Ti Film: Kodak Ultra Max 200 Zoom: 38mm Date: August 16th, 2013, 6.39 p.m. Place: Centralia, Illinois, U.S.A. Samsung 80Ti First Roll 09ef

Colorful balloons (I hope....) lit up from the inside and reflecting on the water at night. Taken at the Balloon Fest in Centralia, Illinois on August 16th, 2013.

Shot in Metropolis. Metropolis, Illinois - that is!

This is the statue to the Blessed Virgin, in the courtyard of St. Mary's Church, in Marshall, Illinois. It was quite rainy and storming all that day, so the bricks in the background were heavily water streaked. Taken on April 24th, 2010.

A sailboat regatta I happened to see when I was living in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. This would have been in April of 1987.

Sunrise on the Atlantic Ocean. Camera: Minolta XD11 Lens: Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm, f/1.2 Film: Polaroid CP 100, 100 ASA 35mm Date: May 26th, 1987 Location: Jacksonville Beach, Florida, U.S.A. XD11 Polaroid 100 Florida 22ff

A sailboat regatta held down in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, on May 2nd, 1987. Camera: Minolta XD11 Lens: Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm, f/1.2 Film: Polaroid CP 100, 100 ASA 35mm Date: May 2nd, 1987 Location: Jacksonville Beach, Florida, U.S.A. XD11 Polaroid100 Florida 17-4if

Girls in skimpy bathing suits! Well, after all.... it's what we came to see! Taken on a Sunday afternoon at the beach of Jacksonville Beach, Florida. Camera: Minolta XD11 Lens: Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm, f/1.2 Film: Polaroid CP 100, 100 ASA 35mm Date: April 26th, 1987 Location: Jacksonville Beach, Florida, U.S.A. XD11 Polaroid Florida 11-2df

The Atlantic Ocean near Jacksonville Beach, Florida. Beach 03df

A friend of mine, Bob, took this one using my camera. I have cropped it to show off the subject better. Camera: Minolta XD11 Lens: Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm, f/1.2 Film: Polaroid CP 100, 100 ASA 35mm Date: April 26th, 1987 Location: Jacksonville Beach, Florida, U.S.A. XD11 Polaroid Florida 12-3df

This was a couple buddies of mine and myself having fun on the beach one day back in 1987. We lived and worked in Jacksonville Beach. That's the Atlantic Ocean behind us (and below us!) and from left to right: Dave, Bob and myself in the tennis visor. I had my camera set up on a tripod so I could get in the picture. Camera: Minolta XD11 Lens: Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm, f/1.2 Film: Polaroid CP 100, 100 ASA 35mm Date: May 24th, 1987 Location: Jacksonville Beach, Florida, U.S.A. XD11 Polaroid 100 Florida 21hf

A lizard I shot in Florida a couple years back. The lizard was practically all I had time to see because I drove there on a Saturday and came back on Sunday. It was out in front of the hotel I stayed out, a Best Western Plus motel.

This postcard is from when I lived in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.

This postcard pretty much sums up my thoughts about Florida - I love it for just these reasons.

A statue of a horse made by famed Illinois artist John Kearney, who passed away a little over a week ago. (1924 - August 10th, 2014.) This statue is massive and is made out of chrome car bumpers welded together. Kearney learned welding while serving as a U.S. Navy sailor during World War II. The piece is at the Mitchell Museum, located in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. It looks like the statue is named "Kimball." Camera: Minolta SRT-101 Lens: Minolta MC W.Rokkor 28mm f/3.5 wide angle lens Film: Kodak Portra 160 35mm film Shooting Program: Manual Aperture: F/8 Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec. Date: January 6th, 2013, 3.24 p.m. Location: Mt. Vernon, Illinois, U.S.A. SRT Portra 30ff

This statue of a horse is made entirely out of automobile bumpers. It's located at the Mitchell Museum in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. Apparently, the artist was going for anatomical correctness. And of course the photographer had to shoot it at a weird angle so as to spotlight all these parts. For the One Rokkor Around The World project. A Minolta MC W.Rokkor 28mm f/3.5 wide angle lens, which started in Baltimore, Maryland U.S.A. and will travel all over the world in the next two years, will be in each participant's possession for approximately a two-week period, in which time they will put it on one of their own personal Minolta camera bodies, (or any camera body that they can get it to fit), and they will photograph subjects that are indicative of their country, region, culture, etc. It is currently in my keep and I am so excited about getting to use it! This follows on a previous Rokkor lens project that made it's way all around the world, but that one was a Minolta Rokkor-X 50mm f/1.7 normal lens. Camera: Minolta SRT-101 Lens: Minolta MC W.Rokkor 28mm f/3.5 wide angle lens Film: Kodak Portra 160 35mm film Shooting Program: Manual Aperture: F/11 Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec. Date: January 6th, 2013, 3.29 p.m. Location: Mt. Vernon, Illinois, U.S.A. SRT Portra 31df