Incoming ice and more small business

I was very pleased with the Badgersette camera and impressed by the outdated ultra-fine-grained Ilford Pan F+. The film transport was very smooth, but I again took advantage of the Cricut Cutter to make winder knobs out of eight matboard circles, laminated together with Mod Podge using the same file as the winder collars. Coated with acrylic Liquitex, they're very grippable and give better control winding the film, although that was already smooth on this camera. It's a very easy, reliable and repeatable process compared to punching holes through corks.

 I had also had a stupidity problem. When already out, loaded with film, when opening the upper pinhole, something was catching it. Extra effort would get it open, and it would catch again when closing it. After a few frames, I noticed the bead above the pinhole had come loose and was sticking out a bit. When I saw the negatives, there was an irregular pattern of blockage on one side of the image, which I attributed to whatever had been catching on the shutter, keeping it from fully opening. It was moving smoothly now, and I triple checked the position of the pinholes and the film plane for other obstructions. I reloaded with the second roll of Pan F+. I didn't want that bead above the pinhole falling out, so I superglued it in really well.

It took only one image with the upper pinhole to realize that the map tack under the bead was long enough to just engage the little tab that keeps the shutter from coming out. Somehow, I finished the roll forgetfully using the compromised shutter several times without destroying it. It took some careful Xacto knife work to get that tack back out and a pair of wire cutters to shorten it, but it's repaired now.

Some of the collection nicely lit by the front windows upstairs. The sun was only shining intermittently, a challenge for interiors with such slow film. That doesn't matter if you leave it for an hour and have brunch. 

I presented my talk, "What Pinhole? Why Pinhole? What Me Pinhole?," to the Memory Cafe group in the room in which the Fox Valley Photography Group used to meet at the Kaukauna Public Library. Good crowd. I saw several books about Pinhole Photography that they had checked out. Surprised there were several in the collection. The exposure was the entire length of the presentation. When I revealed what I had done, they asked if they'd get paid if the photograph became famous.

A few days later, it was sunny and warm enough for a bike ride. 

Having a mansion on your own little island won't protect you from ice in Oshkosh.

The water was almost completely ice-free. There was a pretty big shove up against Monkey Island.

The southern part of Millers Bay is always the last place with any significant cover.

Most of the lake is clear. Some of it has been pushed up into the park.

I've also photographed these branches with their tips in the water in its liquid phase.

Close up to a big chunk with a tiny leaf frozen inside, but there's nothing to give any scale to it. Not sure I captured the sparkliness of the ice.

Occasionally, great sheets will stick out into these jagged vertical fins. There is a constant flow of people climbing atop this thing.

Some small businesses on the way home. The Oshkosh Rhythm Institute shares a building with the Oshkosh Tai Chi Center.

I'm a sucker for a business with a pun in its name.

A new shop on Main Street. It's not holiday decorating, it's a lifestyle. If ya know, ya know.

The Badgersette has two .25mm pinholes on the axis and 13mm above it, 30mm from a 6x6cm film plane. The Pan F+ was semistand developed in Rodinal 1:100.