The Big Well

Nikon 810, 18mm (18-35), HDR

The second full day of the Pratt trip found us in Greensburg in pursuit of good photos of the World’s Deepest Hand Dug Well. Several years ago the whole town was destroyed by a tornado. The new Big Well building looks much different from the original.

Nikon 810, 18mm (18-35), 1/250, f/4.0, ISO 640

Nikon 810, 18mm (18-35), 1/160, f/16, ISO 200

Nikon 810, 35mm (18-35), 1/60, f/6.3, ISO 640

Pratt County Historical Museum

During spring break Amy and I took a brief trip to Pratt, Kan. My family is from Pratt, and many visits over the years clued me in to some good spots to take photos. One of which was the Pratt County Historical Museum.

In keeping with museums in general and smaller museums in particular, the lighting was terrible. However, I managed to get most of the photos I wanted.

Nikon 810, 18mm (18-35), 1/60, f/6.3, ISO 800

The one shot I absolutely wouldn’t have left without was Wayne Konkel’s collection of toasters and waffle irons. I actually got to meet the benefactor years ago. He seemed like a nice guy who just happened to have an affection for small kitchen appliances.

Nikon 810, 35mm (18-35), 1/60, f/4.5, ISO 2500

This refugee from a hair salon looked like a robot jellyfish out of a 50s-era sci fi movie.

Nikon 810, 35mm (18-35), 1/60, f/4.5, ISO 4000

Oddly, this turned out to be the “portfolio piece” of the lot. It reminded me of walking to the post office with my grandmother so we could pick up the mail. I think these boxes predated the ones in use when I was a kid, but it was a nice memory nonetheless.

Nikon 810, 75mm? (28-105), 1/60, f/4.5, ISO 800

Not sure exactly what this does, but it looked interesting.

Nikon 810, 35mm (18-35), 1/80, f/4.5, ISO 1000

And of course what local history museum would be complete without an antique cash register?

Best of the 365 Blog – February 2018

Nikon 810, 35mm (18-35), 1/200, f/22, ISO 400

March got off to an interesting start with a photo of a lonely ball in the middle of the street.

Nikon 810, 105mm (28-105), 1/200, f/16, ISO 400

The outdoor kittens have turned into outdoor cats. This is the same guy from the January best of.

Nikon 810, 105mm (28-105), 1/2000, f/5.6, ISO 100

For many years I’ve meant to start a photo essay (maybe even a book) documenting cenotaphs. That project officially got underway this month.

Nikon 810, 8mm, 1/60, f/3.5, ISO 1250

Bathroom renovation continues apace. This is a shot using the 8mm lens.

Nikon 7000, 100mm (28-200), 1/60, f/5.3, ISO 1600

I had my honors students do a group cooperation exercise. It produced some interesting results and this interesting picture.

Nikon 810, 90mm (28-105), 1/80, f.4.5, ISO 320

In January I blogged a photo of the bathroom light fixture without its glass. Here it is with everything in place. I had a little fun with the exposure, which is why it looks a little strange.

Nikon 810, 50mm (28-105), 1/60, f/4, ISO 3200

Anna has a yawn, making for an interesting shot.

Nikon 810, 18mm (18-35), 1/60, f/13, ISO 800, adjusted

The contrast in this photo as shot was already fairly stark, so I pushed it as far as it would go. On my bookshelves at work I’ve got a guide to the laborious process of producing this result in the darkroom. In Lightroom it was a quick tweak of a slider.