chuckography

When "Old" is "New" again....

Years ago, when I was young, married and living in San Diego, I drove a sporty car.

Not really designed for harsh weather, but a delight in usually sunny Southern California.

To romp in the snow, you had  to make an effort.

A Sunday drive up to the nearby mountains to see snow. And ice and all that other horrible part of Winter.

But, back then, it was a fun jaunt into something different.

Now, it's many years and many cars later.

I drive a proper sedan with roll-up windows and a good heater.

I'm back where I was born and remembering the cozy small photo darkroom I had set up at our house downtown in Ansonborough.

Being a high school photographer at Bishop England taught me many technical skills that still serve me well as an aging, retired camera-toter.

Oh, the cameras are much smaller now and it's digital instead of film...but hey,  not always.

In fact, a person can pick up some great bargains in cameras and lenses like I grew up with.

Film cameras and equipment is languishing online as digital Nikon and Canon, Sony and Kodak SLRs (Single lens reflex) command top dollar.

Craigslist, eBay, and other online  sites offer equipment that cost an arm and a leg in the past - when I was buying - and now are VERY affordable.

You don't even have to build your own photo lab.

"Learn Black and White in the Charleston Darkroom," is the headline on a flyer I just saw from CunningFox Photography Education.

Yep, a complete film processing and print making darkroom facility staffed by professionals and open to the public for reasonable rates.

I doubt that many remember when hubbub on the street would bring a mother and her children out to see a pony plodding along on the sidewalk.

Waiting to pose for a picture of the little one astride the noble steed!

Well, my brothers and I had our "riding picture" taken on the corner of Society and Meeting Streets.

I believe the itinerant pony wrangler provided the fancy chaps and kerchief and cocked my hat at a jaunty angle before he froze the fast-paced  action with his camera.

Which brings up another point in these modern times.

Will our children have snapshots like these, available in albums,  to pass around?

Will there be writing on the back to identify the who, what, when and where of the event pictured?

I am still finding albums overflowing with snapshots that my folks had (sometimes) tagged with identifications and pasted on the black pages of a photo binder.

But now, a picture is taken with a digital  camera - or with a phone - and you see the image immediately on a small screen on the back of the camera or cell phone.

It may be posted on Facebook or on a variety of other online social media sites, but  there is no print to stick in an album or stuff in a shoe box.

I miss not having a negative to protect and save in a glasine envelope. for future reprints.

Oh, we have digital back-ups and cloud storage but is any of this as permanent as a photo in an album?

Already we have seen "storage" of images on floppy disks and on video tapes.

But can they be retrieved and showed again. Uh, no, the equipment is no longer available.

In music recordings, we passed from 78 records to vinyl playback machines to 8-track, to cassettes and CDs and now you pay 99 cents for the one song you like instead of $15- $20 for an CD or LP album with 12 songs.

I think this Charleston Darkroom concept is a good one. Making a tangible product you can have in your hand.

Something to keep and pass along to others.

I found a tintype photo of my father's mother when she was a baby. It was tucked into the back of an album I was looking through. It was taken in 1895.

I can hold it out to show it to others.

And I do.

(Click on the photos if you like black & white.)

This is the way it used to be done.

Labels: 78rpm, cassette tapes, Charleston Darkroom, Craigslist, CunningFox Photography Education, eBay, LP album, tintype, VCR DVD combo

posted by chuckography @ 12:13 AM 0 Comments

300th Blog Begets Blog....

I wanted something dramatic to announce my 300th blog posting.

Her's an image I found on the internet. (Even though many of my photos do appear here, I did NOT create this one.)

This is an example of Creative License I hope and not something that gets me involved in a copyright lawsuit. Good grief.

This March will mark the fourth year I have been doing a blog and it has been a wonderful and satisfying experience.

As some may recall, it all started with a suggestion from my friend Dan Conover a few years after I had retired from The Post and Courier.

He was into New Media and was trying to drag the paper into the 21st Century.

Well, he convinced me. Thanks again Dan!

Lately I have progressed to the point where I am selling items online (and in the paper's classified ads) and using my blog experience to illustrate what I have for sale.

That is so neat!

Here's my old Underwood that dates back to the 1920-1930s. I'm getting phone calls from collectors who like the $75 price and the condition it is in.

So my 300th posting touts another blog I've created.

Go ahead, take a look. We can talk.

We all have things we'll never use again and, as they say, these might be a treasure to someone else.

I also use Craigslist but the newspaper seems to attract a "better" buying audience.

Newspaper readers give me a call, make an appointment and then really do come by.

Not a one has mentioned money orders, the use of pre-paid moving companies or the need for me to send any money to them.

Nigeria has not come up in conversation either

Just treasure hunters.



(You know the drill. As usual, click on "my" photos to see them larger. There's an amazing amount of details.)

Labels: 18" high hand-pump extinguisher, Craigslist, Dan Conover, Fyr Fyter, New Media, typewriter, Underwood #5

posted by chucker @ 8:52 AM 3 Comments

Hey ...Ads Really Work!

It started with FREE ads on Craigslist.

Then I checked The Post and Courier and it's offer of free classified ads (on items less than $500/5 lines of copy).

I was comparing freebies....and making $20 and $40 sales!

Yesterday, the paper took the lead when a buyer paid me $250 cash for a claw foot tub and drove off with it on his trailer.

The CL people let you run free pictures with your free ads and the P&C does not give you free pictures in print.

BUT... the paper will also place your free ad online at http://www.charleston.net/classified/. For free.

Then I thought, why not create another blog that combines pictures and copy and then list that link in all the ads.

So, I did. Please take a look http://classifiedsale.blogspot.com/

My observation so far: the newspaper has a definable local audience with circulation numbers while online is an unknown number of unknown ages/incomes people. Combining the best of each makes for a good marketplace.

Just after I finished my pictures/ads blog site, I got a call "Say, I'm interested in that modern desk you have advertised today in the paper...what color is it?"

I directed him to the blog where he could SEE what color it was, how it was shaped, how the chair matched, picture it in his office, etc.

He called back and suggested I change the ad to say "computer table" instead of "desk."

I did.

Labels: blog, classified ads, claw foot tub, Craigslist, online sales, trailer

posted by chucker @ 11:24 AM 0 Comments

Making A List And Checking It Twice....

People tell me Craigslist is the WAY to go to advertise. In addition to being free, you can run photos with your listing.

I like the idea of showing a clear picture of what is for sale.

Looking over Craigslist, I see that many, many people have some really ugly pieces of furniture they're trying to get rid of.

Maybe it's like babies...YOURS looks better than anyone else's.

I thought I would go with a President Jackson approach: you bring me a crisp $20 bill and then you take your pick.


Well, $20 on selected items.

The bicycle would be $75-$100 (the tires ARE holding air and look good).

The 42" butcher-block dinette with 4 chrome chairs would be 4 Jacksons ($80) and it comes with an 18" leaf.

I have mixed feelings here. The paper background in my "studio" is the end of a roll of newsprint I got when I worked at The Post and Courier.

And using Craigslist means NOT using traditional print classified ads. But it would cost an arm and a leg to include a photo in a print listing. Hmmm.*

I would welcome ANY suggestions to make this alternative advertising work for me ... and avoid pitfalls. Anyone??

* An update: A buddy suggested I create a page with additional copy and photos to make newspaper ads work better, so I did and will include the link in those bare-boned ads. http://classifiedsale.blogspot.com

(As usual, click on the photo to enlarge for details.)

Labels: $20 bill, arm and a leg, banana seat, bicycle, classified ads, claw foot tub, Craigslist, icy coolers, newspaper, newsprint roll, President Jackson

posted by chucker @ 8:36 AM 2 Comments