Wednesday, September 20, 2023

September 2023: Nifty Fifty, Straight Out of Camera Pt.1

 Over at 365project, they're doing a challenge for September.  Nifty Fifty, Straight Out of Camera.  

The point of the challenge is to throw back to the old days:  

"when photography enthusiasts purchased a camera it was invariably either a 35mm range-finder or a 35mm SLR. In most cases it was fitted with a "standard" 50mm lens. A roll of film was then exposed and sent to the lab and several days later, when you got it back and viewed the prints (or slides) there were some good, some bad but you were stuck with the result of your initial in-camera composition and exposure.".   

So for the month, participants are challenged to present photos with no post-processing (straight out of camera or sooc), shot with a 50mm lens (or 50mm equivalent - nifty fifty or nf).

Anyway, as somebody who started photography back in the film days, I usually participate, at least part of the month.  This year, I've really stressed it, and added the constraint of shooting black-and-white for the challeneg, since that's most of what I shot back in the high-school / college days.

Without getting too geeky, on my camera (and many digital cameras) the focal length to match the old 50mm lens is 33.33mm.  Trust me or google it.   

Anyway, lots of words, need more photos.  As we wind down the month, I decided to spotlight my NF-SOOC photos here.  I'll do a handful at a time.  I should probably post them over at Happenstance, too...



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9/3:  4-Track
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There's the first 5, stay tuned for more!













Saturday, September 16, 2023

Wild and Wonderful

During recent trips to SW Virginia, I've driven (in pieces) old Route 52 from Bluefield, WV almost to the NC Border.  This is the route we drove (rode) when my family lived in WV (in the 60's) when visiting my mother's family (in NC).  Wytheville, Hillsville, Fancy Gap....  Into NC past Mout Airey and Pilot Mountain.  Up and down the mountains on 2 lane windy roads.  Back before the interstates cut straight through the mountains and bypassed the towns.  (Sheesh, I sound like a lecture from Cars!).

Anyway, the last section I drove was from the south end of the East River Mountain Tunnel, up and over the mountain.  I had missed this on our last trip, as the posted Rt 52 now goes through the tunnel.  A quick look at a map showed that the old Rt. 52 is now named 598.  There's an overlook at the peak, just into WV, with views into Bluefield and southern WV.  




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Friday, September 15, 2023

On The Charts - September 1973

Continuing the review of songs that were on the Top 40 (US) charts 50 years ago (1973).  We're on to September; 3/4 through the year!  

All of the 1973 music posts can be seen HERE, btw.

    Following the normal format, here's the Top 10 songs for September 1973, based on the average chart position (US charts) over the 5 weeks in the month:

    Three (4) songs topped the charts in September, 1973.  Brother Louie, by Stories, opened the month at #1 but only for 1 week.  Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On took over the 2nd week of September, dropped out for a week, the rebounded for the 4th week of the month.  Delta Dawn, by Helen Reddy spent one week at #1, splitting Marvin Gaye's stay.  The month ended with Grand Funk's We're An American Band at the top.       Another eclectic month in the top 10, some great, some good, some...  well, not my favorite.  In fact, I only own 7 of the top 10 songs.  

    There were 64 individual songs on the Top 40 over the course of the 5 weeks in September, which is pretty much average.


    24 songs made their Top 40 debut in September, which is pretty typical.  But some are especially notable.Here they are, with their debut rank:  

    • Angie - The Rolling Stones - 22
    • China Grove - The Doobie Brothers - 24
    • Basketball Jones Featuring Tyrone Shoelaces - Cheech & Chong - 26
    • Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder - 30
    • Keep On Truckin' (Part 1) - Eddie Kendricks - 30
    • Ghetto Child - The Spinners - 30
    • Half-Breed - Cher - 33
    • Midnight Train To Georgia - Gladys Knight And The Pips - 33
    • Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne - Looking Glass - 33
    • Yes We Can Can - The Pointer Sisters - 34
    • Ecstasy - Ohio Players - 34
    • Ramblin Man - The Allman Brothers Band - 35
    • You've Never Been This Far Before - Conway Twitty - 35
    • Stoned Out Of My Mind - The Chi-lites - 36
    • Rocky Mountain Way - Joe Walsh - 36
    • Knockin' On Heaven's Door - Bob Dylan - 36
    • Free Ride - Edgar Winter Group - 37
    • I've Got So Much To Give - Barry White - 37
    • To Know You Is To Love You - B.B. King - 38
    • Hey Girl (i Like Your Style) - The Temptations - 39
    • In The Midnight Hour - Cross Country 39
    • Heartbeat - It's A Lovebeat - The DeFranco Family - 39
    • Get It Together - Jackson 5 - 40
    • Hurts So Good - Millie Jackson - 40
    So that's it, look for the post later this month of songs that dropped off the Hot 100 in September without having made the Top 40!

    Wednesday, August 30, 2023

    1973 In Music - August's Almost Made the Charts

    Continuing my look at songs that dropped off the charts during the month, but never made the Top 40.  And for August, I counted a whopping 50.  That's more than triple the normal (since I started logging)

    Here they are, with peak position noted:

    • Roll Over Beethoven - Electric Light Orchestra - 42
    • Watergrate - Dickie Goodman - 42
    • There's No Me Without You - The Manhattans - 43
    • Soul Makossa - Afrique - 47
    • Never, Never, Never (Grande, Grande, Grande) - Shirley Bassey - 48
    • Over The Hills And Far Away - Led Zeppelin - 51
    • Finder's Keepers - Chairman Of The Board - 59
    • I'd Rather Be A Cowboy - John Denver - 62
    • Tequila Sunrise - Eagles - 64
    • Darling Come Back Home - Eddie Kendricks - 67
    • Lord, Mr. Ford - Jerry Reed - 68
    • It's Forever - The Ebonys - 68
    • Didn't I - Sylvia - 70
    • Blockbuster - The Sweet - 73
    • He Did With Me - Vicki Lawrence - 75
    • My Merry-go-round - Johnny Nash - 77
    • Think - James Brown - 80
    • There You Go - Edwin Starr - 80
    • Friend Of Mine - Bill Withers - 80
    • Roland The Roadie And Gertrude The Groupie - Dr. Hook And The Medicine Show - 83
    • Sunshine - Mickey Newbury - 87
    • Black Byrd - Donald Byrd - 88
    • You Were Always There - Donna Fargo - 93
    • Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette) - Commander Cody - 94
    • L.a. Freeway - Jerry Jeff Walker - 98

    There's some real classics there, somewhat surprising.  Just goes to show....


    Monday, August 28, 2023

    Hang On

    Some songs from my collection:


    Wednesday, August 16, 2023

    Hen House - Before and After

     I was taking the wife-mobile in for emissions testing today, and the closest place to us is Pontoon Beach, IL.  The Hen House restaurant is right at the Rt. 203 intersection with I-270.  Or at least was, as it's closed now, and starting to deteriorate.  I never ate there, but did make a call from there when I truck broke down on the way home from the airport (in the '90's)...  

    Anyway I had to stop and take a photo with be best camera I had with me, my iPhone.  Tweaked on my iPad, using Snapseed Edit:




    And the straight from camera version:


    Rotate, crop, convert to B&W (with orange filter), a couple of other minor tweaks (call it secret sauce).

    Tuesday, August 15, 2023

    On The Charts - August 1973

     Continuing the review of songs that were on the Top 40 (US) charts 50 years ago (1973).  We're on to August, well into the second half of the year!  

    All of the 1973 music posts can be seen HERE, btw.

    Following the normal format, here's the Top 10 songs for August 1973, based on the average chart position (US charts) over the 4 weeks in the month:

    • Live And Let Die - Paul McCartney And Wings - 2.25
    • The Morning After - Maureen McGovern - 2.75
    • Brother Louie - Stories - 3.75
    • Touch Me In The Morning - Diana Ross - 3.75
    • Bad, Bad Leroy Brown - Jim Croce - 5.75
    • Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye - 8.25
    • Get Down - Gilbert O'Sullivan - 10.25
    • Uneasy Rider - Charlie Daniels - 10.5
    • Feelin' Stronger Every Day - Chicago - 10.75
    • Smoke On The Water - Deep Purple - 11.25

    Three (3) songs topped the charts in August, 1973.  Maureen McGovern's "The Morning After" held the top spot for the first two weeks, followed by 1 week for Diana Ross's "Touch Me In The Morning".  Stories' "Borther Louis" reached #1 for the last week of the month.     A pretty eclectic month in the top 10, some great, some good, some...  well, not my favorite.  In fact, I only own 7 of the top 10 songs.  

    There were 53 individual songs on the Top 40 over the course of the 4 weeks in August, which is pretty much average.


    16 songs made their Top 40 debut in July, which tie January for the fewest chart entries for the year.  But some especially notable sogs that we'll see near the top soon.  Here they are, with their debut rank:  

      • Loves Me Like A Rock - Paul Simon - 27
      • We're An American Band - Grand Funk - 29
      • That Lady (Part 1) - The Isley Brothers - 31
      • I Was Checkin' Out She Was Checkin' In - Don Covay - 32
      • Why Me - Kris Kristofferson - 32
      • Gypsie Man - War - 33
      • Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting - Elton John - 34
      • Theme From Cleopatra Jones - Joe Simon - 34
      • Nobody Wants You When You're Down And Out - Bobby Womack - 35
      • My Maria - B.W. Stevenson - 35
      • A Million To One/Young Love - Donny Osmond - 36
      • You Light Up My Life/Believe In Humanity - Carole King - 37
      • There It Is - Tyrone Davis - 38
      • The Hurt - Cat Stevens - 39
      • Future Shock - Curtis Mayfield - 40
      • I'll Always Love My Mama (Part I) - The Intruders - 40

      So that's it, look for the post later this month of songs that dropped off the Hot 100 in August without having made the Top 40!

      Monday, August 14, 2023

      Chihuly Part 3

        This summer, the Missouri Botanical Garden has been doing an exhibition of Dale Chihuly's glass sculptures at the garden.  We've visited 3 times in the past month-ish.  Once with each grandkid, and once for the "after dark" session.  We've enjoyed all three times.  Here's some photos, groups by each visit...


      Third visit:








      Sunday, August 13, 2023

      Chihuly Part 2

       This summer, the Missouri Botanical Garden has been doing an exhibition of Dale Chihuly's glass sculptures at the garden.  We've visited 3 times in the past month-ish.  Once with each grandkid, and once for the "after dark" session.  We've enjoyed all three times.  Here's some photos, groups by each visit...


      Second visit:




















      Saturday, August 12, 2023

      Chihuly Part 1

      This summer, the Missouri Botanical Garden has been doing an exhibition of Dale Chihuly's glass sculptures at the garden.  We've visited 3 times in the past month-ish.  Once with each grandkid, and once for the "after dark" session.  We've enjoyed all three times.  Here's some photos, groups by each visit...


      First visit:









      Sunday, July 30, 2023

      1973 In Music - July's Almost Made the Charts

       Continuing my look at songs that dropped off the charts during the month, but never made the Top 40.  And for July, I counted 18.  That's pretty much typical.

      Here they are, with peak position noted:

      Hey You! Get Off My Mountain - The Dramatics - 43
      The Free Electric Band - Albert Hammond - 48
      Love And Happiness - Earnest Jackson - 58
      Letter To Lucille - Tom Jones - 60
      What About Me - Anne Murray - 64
      Be What You Are - The Staple Singers - 66
      Shambala - B.W. Stevenson - 66
      Brother's Gonna Work It Out - Willie Hutch - 67
      First Cut Is The Deepest - Keith Hampshire - 70
      Kids Say The Darndest Things - Tammy Wynette - 72
      Avenging Annie Andy Pratt - 78
      Mother-in-law - Clarence Carter - 80
      I Can Make It Thru The Days (But Oh Those Lonely Nights) - Ray Charles - 81
      Giving It All Away - Roger Daltrey - 83
      You Always Come Back (To Hurting Me) - Johnny Rodriguez - 86
      I Don't Want To Make You Wait - The Delfonics - 91
      My Heart Just Keeps On Breakin' - The Chi-lites - 92
      Hello Stranger - Fire And Rain - 100

      I can't say there's anything here that really shocks me.  i only own one of these songs (Avenging Annie), and I wouldn't really argue for it to be a hit.


      Sunday, July 16, 2023

      Why Bother?

       I'm over 1/2 way through my 4th year doing monthly reviews of the Top 40 charts from 50 years ago.  Starting with January 2020, through July 2023, just posted yesterday.

      I decided to look at see how popular this has been through the years.  Looking at views, as reported in blogger, the most popular post was September 2020, with a paltry 39 views.  Ouch.  Worse is the steady decline since then.



      So what of it?  At time i wonder why I do it.  I mostly do it for myself, but I could study the charts w/o bothering with the blog post.  I certainly don't pest as often (photos etc) as I used to, I've largely shifted to Instagram, where a photo probably gets 10x the views.  I think that the era of blogging is probably long gone.  On the other hand, I kind of like that I've been here since 2004.  And it does document that I've been using the LSquared Imaging name for almost 20 years.  (Reality is that I was using it before 2004, but can't document it).

      Anyway, this isn't meant to be a rant...  although I'll tag it as such.  Maybe just musing.  

      I'm sure I'll continue these posting through the end of 2023.  We'll see after that.




      Saturday, July 15, 2023

      On The Charts - July 1973

       Continuing the review of songs that were on the Top 40 (US) charts 50 years ago (1973).  We're on to July, and into the second half of the year!  

      All of the 1973 music posts can be seen HERE, btw.

      Following the normal format, here's the Top 10 songs for July1973, based on the average chart position (US charts) over the 4 weeks in the month:

      • Will It Go Round In Circles - Billy Preston - 2.25
      • Bad, Bad Leroy Brown - Jim Croce - 2.5
      • Kodachrome - Paul Simon - 4
      • Shambala - Three Dog Night - 4.5
      • Yesterday Once More - Carpenters - 4.75
      • Give Me Love - (Give Me Peace On Earth) - George Harrison - 6.25
      • Smoke On The Water - Deep Purple - 7.5
      • Playground In My Mind - Clint Holmes - 9
      • Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy - Bette Midler - 11
      • Diamond Girl - Seals and Crofts - 11.75

      Only 2 songs topped the charts in July, 1973.  Billy Preston's "will It Go Round In Circles" held the top for the first 2 weeks, followed by Jim Croce's "Bad Bad Leroy Brown".  Another great month at the top of the charts, another in a great year.  I only own 8 of the top 10, though, can you guess which I don't have?

      There were 56 individual songs on the Top 40 over the course of the 4 weeks in July, which is back in line with the average, after a low June.


      22 songs made their Top 40 debut in July, which is a little above the average for the year.  Here they are, with their debut rank:  

        • Touch Me In The Morning - Diana Ross - 29
        • The Morning After - Maureen McGovern - 29
        • Live And Let Die - Paul McCartney And Wings - 29
        • Uneasy Rider - Charlie Daniels - 30
        • Get Down - Gilbert O'Sullivan - 31
        • Feelin' Stronger Every Day - Chicago - 32
        • I Believe In You (You Believe In Me) - Johnnie Taylor - 32
        • Delta Dawn - Helen Reddy - 32
        • Here I Am Come & Take Me - Al Green - 33
        • Where Peaceful Waters Flow - Gladys Knight And The Pips - 34
        • If You Want Me To Stay - Sly and The Family Stone - 34
        • How Can I Tell Her - Lobo - 35
        • Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye - 36
        • Brother Louie - Stories - 37
        • Why Me - Kris Kristofferson - 37
        • Soul Makossa - Manu Dibango - 37
        • Angel - Aretha Franklin - 38
        • Are You Man Enough - Four Tops - 38
        • Goin' Home - The Osmonds - 39
        • Swamp Witch - Jim Stafford - 39
        • Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose - Dawn - 39
        • The Plastic Man - The Temptations - 40


        Some solid songs here, which will be climbing the charts over the next month...

        So that's it, look for the post later this month of songs that dropped off the Hot 100 in July without having made the Top 40!

        Friday, June 30, 2023

        Southside Bridge, Fading Light, Chartleston, VW


         

        When we lived in Charleston (in the 60's) this was the primary way between the South Hills (where we lived) and downtown.


        According to the internet, this bridge was constructed in 1936, and rehabilitated in 1990...  The building at the south end is the train station, the north end dumps directly into downtown.

        1973 In Music - June's Almost Made the Charts

         Continuing my look at songs that dropped off the charts during the month, but never made the Top 40.  And for June, I counted 21.  That's pretty much typical, after May's really short list.

        Here they are, with peak position noted:


        • Drinking Wine Spo-dee O'dee - Jerry Lee Lewis - 41
        • I Knew Jesus (Before He Was A Star) - Glen Campbell - 45
        • Only In Your Heart - America - 62
        • Music Everywhere - Tufano and Giammarese - 68
        • It's Hard To Stop (Doing Something When It's Good To You) - Betty Wright - 72
        • I'm A Stranger Here - Five Man Electrical Band - 76
        • What A Shame - Foghat - 82
        • Cosmic Sea - The Mystic Moods - 83
        • California Saga (On My Way To Sunny Californ-i-a) - The Beach Boys - 84
        • Don't Let It Get You Down - The Crusaders - 86
        • Bad Weather - The Supremes - 87
        • Giving It All Away - Roger Daltrey - 87
        • Your Side Of The Bed - Mac Davis - 88
        • Come Live With Me - Roy Clark - 89
        • Together We Can Make Such Sweet Music - The Spinners - 91
        • A Little Bit Like Magic - King Harvest - 91
        • Outlaw Man - David Blue - 94
        • Working Class Hero - Tommy Roe - 97
        • Cum On Feel The Noize - Slade - 98
        • I'm Leavin' You - Engelbert Humperdinck - 99