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11-28-2011, 08:39 PM   #1021
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QuoteOriginally posted by Pioneer Quote
...the shutter does seem to work better at 70 degrees Fahrenheit...
I first noticed the issue shooting in mid-June here in the Portland area during fairly warm weather. (Yes, I know, I also did my share of snow shots at Mt. Hood...early summer in the Northwest...)


Steve

11-30-2011, 04:15 PM   #1022
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Day 6 with the Sightseer

Time for the Daily Report.

The other day we went for a walk and considered a picnic, but decided it was a bit frosty.


Today when we looked outside we realized it was certainly looking like a good day to stay indoors.


So we admired the plants,


Munched on some M&Ms,


and worked on our Christmas Diorama.


At days end we brushed our teeth,


and took a nap.


G'Night All
12-01-2011, 02:17 PM   #1023
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When Things Go Wrong

The Sekonic L208 or Pentax Spotmeter go along with the Sightseer most of the time. But once in awhile I just try to quickly guess at the light levels without the meter, usually because things are happening to quickly to meter and then shoot. A lot of the time it works out, but occasionally I am way wrong. This is one of those times. Usually I would toss this type of image into the waste bin and move on, but I keep going back to this one. I keep getting drawn into her eyes and I want to know what she is stalking.

So, for better or worse, I have called it "When Things Go Wrong" and I post it here as an example of my odd way of thinking. Besides, everyone has a picture of their pet so here is mine.

12-02-2011, 12:45 AM   #1024
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The Bread & Butter Industry for Elko

Hello again. It is time for our Daily Report.

Yesterday the Sightseeing Screwmount visited an open pit gold mine located a few miles from Elko.

What you are looking at in this picture is one part of the Open Pit. This pit is so big that the 55mm could only capture about 1/3rd the length in one shot. Where is your wide angle when you want it? Unfortunately I didn't pack the 28.



Here you see some large haul trucks hauling the ore up a long ramp and out of the pit. Obviously these trucks are big but it is really hard to put this in perspective. In this photo these could be any old Tonka Truck toys.



So here is a little perspective. You are looking at a 1-Ton Ford Super Duty Crew Cab pickup truck parked alongside one of these huge haul trucks. These are obviously not Tonka toys.



And to put this even more into perspective, here you are looking at a 5 ton Service Truck alongside another haul truck that is coming in to the shop for service. Can you imagine the size of the garage door needed to let this truck into the shop?! Look at the mechanic that is standing next to the shop door. He is signaling the driver as the truck slowly moves into place.



And these tires are HUGE! This is one that is being brought in for repair. Imagine having to pick up a set of these at your local Goodyear store? Oh yeah, Goodyear does sell them. The new price for one of these tires will likely cost more than many people earn in a year.



This is what one of those huge haul trucks looks like "under the skin" so to speak. No "Unibody" construction here. This is a full frame under repair. It is hard for us to imagine but these trucks take a huge beating during their lives and even these massive frames will begin to crack. A truck like this costs so much money that it is cost effective to do a full "frame off" renovation.



Getting close up and personal really puts this all in perspective. Here is the rear end of one of these trucks. You can see a mechanic standing on his ladder on the other side. He can almost stand up inside the rear end. We call that rear end area the "Doghouse."



Finally, here is one electric motor. It fits onto one side of that rear end that you saw in the previous photo. See those bolts out on the far end of the motor? That is what bolts this motor into the flange you seen around the outside of the rear end. That motor weighs approximately 35,000 pounds, and two of those huge tires bolt onto it. It takes two of these motors to propel one of these trucks a ramp with 340 tons of rock in the back. I do apologize, this image did not come out as clear as I would have liked but you do get the picture.



I hope you have enjoyed this short trip to an operating mine. During our visit the Sightseer and I didn't get much chance to get down into the pit to see the mining up close, but we did get an opportunity to show you a little bit of the maintenance side.

I hope you enjoyed the tour and have a wonderful day!

12-02-2011, 04:59 AM   #1025
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Good series, Pioneer. I enjoyed them very much. A lot of good pictures along good stories. Thank you!!!
12-02-2011, 05:27 AM   #1026
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And the screwmount goodness just keeps on coming...treat to see the goldmine series, Pioneer. Unique perspective that we wouldn't ordinarily get to see.

Many thanks,
Kevin
12-03-2011, 09:16 AM   #1027
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QuoteOriginally posted by KJon Quote
Pioneer, really enjoying the photos from Nevada and the spinning top shot is a treat. I'm impressed with how fast you hit the ground running and sorry to hear the Sightseer's shutter is playing up on your leg of the tour. I had read Stevebrot's and Ratmagiclady's posts about shutter issues earlier in the thread, but didn't experience any of them, so I figured things had sorted themselves out. I think most of us here on this thread would be more than willing to kick a few bucks to getting the Sightseer's issues seen to if a side-trip to Eric is deemed necessary. I'll keep checking the thread for news on the Sightseer's status.

Best to all,
Kevin
I have been distracted since early September but I intended to pass the hat so to speak to send her to Eric and get her back in circulation. I think a plan would be to have Pioneer ship her to Eric and then have Eric ship her back to Pioneer so he can compare the before and after effects on the CLA since he is in colder conditions at present.

What does everyone think about this?

12-03-2011, 10:28 AM   #1028
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Time for a Repair

QuoteOriginally posted by Blue Quote
I have been distracted since early September but I intended to pass the hat so to speak to send her to Eric and get her back in circulation. I think a plan would be to have Pioneer ship her to Eric and then have Eric ship her back to Pioneer so he can compare the before and after effects on the CLA since he is in colder conditions at present.

What does everyone think about this?
Not to worry. The Sightseer and I are learning to work together. If I keep her warm and keep the shutter speeds at 1/60 seconds or lower things work out most of the time.

Losing a parent is very difficult and you need time to let your personal concerns take their course. Take care of business on your end and the group will get the Sightseer back up and running. I will do some research with Eric regarding a repair.

Talk to you soon.
12-03-2011, 03:21 PM   #1029
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Day 8 - Some Adox/Efke Film Results

It is time for the Daily Report.

Some of you with memories longer than my own will remember that when the SV first arrived I shot a couple of rolls of Efke and Adox 25 film. I had not used that particular film in the past and it turned out that I did not have the recommended developing and fixing chemicals to do a proper job here at home. So, I ordered the chemicals but I also sent two rolls to an out of town lab for developing. (Elko does not have any suitable labs here in our small town.) Those images returned yesterday. After sorting through them, here are a few for your enjoyment.

To start we are headed for the Outback of Nevada. Once you leave the freeway in Northern Nevada you will almost certainly run into one of these signs telling you that the pavement is coming to an end and you will be traveling on gravel roads from here on out. But once you leave the pavement you will start to see some truly wonderful country.



The entrance to this canyon is at the very end of what is known as the "Hastings Cut Off." This supposed shortcut was used by a few unfortunate pioneers back in the 1850s during the big gold rush to California. This cut off really wasn't much of a shortcut and actually delayed the travelers who used it. The most infamous example of what this delay could cause was the story of the Donner Party. If you have never heard of the Donner Party then look it up. It is pretty grizzly reading. That group of unfortunate pioneers got a late start in the beginning, were further delayed by using this "shortcut", and then ended up snowed in up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. A few of them became so desperate while they were snowed in that they allegedly practiced a bit of cannibalism to survive. That group, and a number of less famous travelers, passed by this point back in the 1850s on their way to California.



The picture below shows the other end of the canyon where it comes out and re-joins the main route of the California Trail along the Humboldt River. If you look out across the Humboldt River Valley you will see a small cut in the far off hills, just to the right of the big rock Historical Marker. That is where the canyon pictured above comes out of those hills. That is also the canyon of the South Fork of the Humboldt River and it joins up with the North Fork out in the valley. In case you couldn't tell, this picture was taken using Kodak BW400CN while the other two previous images were shot with Adox/Efke 25. The difference in contrast is very evident.

12-03-2011, 03:33 PM   #1030
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Day 8 - Returning to Town

On the way back from photographing the canyon, you pass by this hayfield. Cattle ranching is really big in our area and alfalfa or grass hay farming is one of the only agriculture activities that has survived the dryness, cold, and uncertain weather out here in Northern Nevada. Nowadays the irrigation is mostly handled with big pivots, but there are still some examples of the older, wheeled, irrigation pipes like the one here. They are more labor intensive to move around but do not require anywhere near the initial capital outlay to install or maintain.



You will also pass this old wreck of a car. With as many bullet holes as there are in this old body you could actually believe it belonged to Bonnie and Clyde. The truth however is nowhere near as notorious or exciting. I am pretty certain that those bullet holes happened after the old car was left behind, not before.

12-03-2011, 10:54 PM   #1031
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Wow, what a reminder, Pioneer! I took almost exactly the same as the first photo below, of just about exactly the same trucks, at the Kennecott copper mine in Utah 15 years ago. (I can't legally post mine here, because it was taken with a K-mount Tammy zoom. ) In a bizarre effort to make mining a tourist attraction, that mine had a visitor centre where one could look out from an observation area into the mine, and the trucks would look like Tonka toys (as you said, and as I also phrased it in the web site I built for my Kennecott pix at the time.) Like the second of your pictures below, I sought to capture something to show the scale.The visitor centre helpfully had a disused tire mounted outside for people to stand next to and get a sense of the scale; I of course got a picture of that. Mining really is an ugly operation for the planet if you think too long about it (although anyone who uses the products made from the ore can't really complain!) but it's easy to get amped about this huge manly equipment, especially for those of us trained as civil engineers!
--Dave

QuoteOriginally posted by Pioneer Quote

[...]

Here you see some large haul trucks hauling the ore up a long ramp and out of the pit. Obviously these trucks are big but it is really hard to put this in perspective. In this photo these could be any old Tonka Truck toys.


[...]

And to put this even more into perspective, here you are looking at a 5 ton Service Truck alongside another haul truck that is coming in to the shop for service. Can you imagine the size of the garage door needed to let this truck into the shop?! Look at the mechanic that is standing next to the shop door. He is signaling the driver as the truck slowly moves into place.

12-04-2011, 09:23 AM   #1032
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QuoteOriginally posted by Argenticien Quote
Wow, what a reminder, Pioneer! I took almost exactly the same as the first photo below, of just about exactly the same trucks, at the Kennecott copper mine in Utah 15 years ago.

Mining really is an ugly operation for the planet if you think too long about it (although anyone who uses the products made from the ore can't really complain!)--Dave
I am really glad you enjoyed the series. Kennecott Copper Mine is still mining copper and the pit is still there. (I think it is almost the biggest in the world next to Escondido in Chile.) I don't think that the Visitor's Center is still there anymore.

It is the very nature of mining to open up the ground to find and process the ore you need, and that can seem ugly for some while it is happening. But if you think even longer about it you begin to realize that mining is what makes our civilization possible. Without it we would be without almost everything we enjoy today (even our wonderful cameras and lenses.) But it is possible to recover the ground we have disturbed, and to make our planet happier when we are finished mining in an area. Many countries and most mining companies are starting to figure this out and have gotten very, very good at the recovery process.

Have a great Holiday season.

Last edited by Pioneer; 12-06-2011 at 12:25 PM.
12-05-2011, 05:29 PM - 1 Like   #1033
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Sightseeing Screwmount out for Repair

The SV is off to Eric for a check up. I will report back when I hear from Eric.

Enjoy the Holidays
12-06-2011, 12:16 PM   #1034
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QuoteOriginally posted by Pioneer Quote
The SV is off to Eric for a check up. I will report back when I hear from Eric.

Enjoy the Holidays
Thanks Pioneer.
12-06-2011, 06:50 PM   #1035
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Eric

QuoteOriginally posted by Blue Quote
Thanks Pioneer.
When you figure out how to do it, I'm in for part of the cost. I haven't found my SV yet, but I have an H1a which I believe has everything but the self-timer (1/1000 is there, but not indicated).
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