The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Friday, July 12, 2013

A little more thrilled...

When I mentioned yesterday that I wasn't "thrilled" with our new camera, it's mostly because I hadn't really tried it out yet!

So yesterday when I went in to town, I brought the camera with me for any possible photo opportunities.

On the way in to Prince Albert, there's an interesting automotive place that you can see from the highway.

The sign itself is enough to pique my interest!

They've got a bunch of old unrestored cars lying around. And I mean old. Like anywhere from the 1920's to the 1960's. Because I used to be in the car business, I've been wanting to stop in and have a look. And this time I was by myself so Ruth didn't have to be bored!

So I went in to the garage area and asked the guy if he minded if I take some photos. He was pretty happy that I was interested in doing so, and we had a good conversation about the old cars.

Any guesses as to which make car the front end on the right came from?

Lots of interesting "stuff" for an old car buff!

Something from the 1920's?

1920 Dodge.

These two old Mercury station wagons look restorable. 1959 I guessing?

Dodge Custom Royal. 1956?

Even a Hudson!

With the original windshield visor!

I went back into the shop. The owner is getting older and he's kind of winding down operations. Calls the business itself an expensive hobby now. We have another chat and he asks me if I want to see the nice ones. Sure!

So he leads me through a back room into a large garage. The cars were kind of packed together so not many good pics. But he had one old car that I have to show you...

1959 Lincoln convertible. Wow.

Show this to a mechanic and he'll say "wow"! 
This is a 1960 Dodge 300 that has a very rare "cross ram" system using two 4bbl carburetors.
There were only about 400 of these engine systems sold, and this car has only 26,000 miles on it!

But the chrome is still shining!

What a neat guy to talk to. I could have spent more time wandering and taking pictures, but I had to get back to work! 

Not really that busy this week, however this weekend is sold out. There's always something to do though, like dealing with something stupid...

We took pity on this guy because obviously he can't read. Poor guy.

Here's a couple more "test" shots from the camera. I'm still getting used to it of course so not all of today's pictures are perfect. But I do see the potential now, and  am a little more thrilled with it than I was yesterday!

For example, the fantastic 42x optical zoom lens...

Taken from the window of our truck. looking at the boat rental shack.
 Can you read the sign on the door?

How about now?! 
These two photos are original untouched and uncropped.
 This is with the optical zoom only, not using the digital zoom.

A magpie.
Zoomed in all the way, this was taken at 9:00pm at night without a tripod.

So, I'm thinking I'm going to like this camera. Elephants, lions, and zebras...look out Africa, we're ready for hunting now!

Fields of canola.


23 comments:

  1. I would love to have a 42 zoom. My point and shoot camera only has 12x zoom. I never knew what canola was. Looks like a grain. Cool.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Our point and shoot has a 24x zoom so yes, it is going to be nice having a 42x zoom.

      Canola is not a grain but has actually been developed from the original rapeseed plant. Here they use the seeds to make canola oil.

      Delete
  2. You have a great camera there, just let it grow on you...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kevin will work with it and learn from it. we have lots of time to get to know it before leaving for Africa.

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  3. Replies
    1. Good guess! But it's only the front end on the bottom left of that picture that is an Edsel.

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  4. Happy hunting.

    Loved those old cars.

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  5. It's amazing how interesting life is when we give it a chance. I love the photos - they're great - and the camera certainly seems to be a great buy. But, what I personally love most about your blog post today is how you met the gentleman and developed not only a conversation and some fantastic photos, but found and shared one more piece of culture and heritage. Those of us who search out these opportunities can share them with, not only like-minded people, but with those who maybe don't have the where-with-all to search them out themselves. I love today's blog post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree with you Mary-Pat, not many people would take the time to actually stop in there and talk to the owner and find out more about him and the business. Kevin walked away from this with seeing more than he expected and having a chance to meet a local. We love things like this as we travel cross country and to other countries.

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  6. I so agree with Mary-Pat. Its the people we meet along the way and do some sharing with that make this life so much more interesting.

    Love the sign and the old cars!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, the people are usually one of the things we remember most about our travels.

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  7. Well here's what I was going to post last night on yesterday's blog but my battery died:

    "I'll be interested to see what you think in a few weeks about it. I agree though for even $350, if you don't like it by then, take it back and get the Canon."

    But after reading this and seeing the pictures especially that magpie it looks like a keeper.

    I'm going to send the link to this post to David he LOVES old cars. Had an original 50 Ford and drove it until 1992.


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think Kevin is really starting to like the camera. I wish we had more opporunity in which to really test it out. We are a little limited here as we can't go to far a field.

      Sure hope David enjoyed the pictures of the old cars.

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  8. Yup. Studebaker. I'm thinking '51, but I had to look that part up. Not good with years most times.
    Maybe the guy with the boat trailer thought it meant he couldn't LEAVE his boat trailer there? I mean, he's really parking his truck AND trailer.
    Actually, he's probably just stupid. Or thinks you are.

    Impressed with the camera.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are right, they are from a Studebaker.

      I think that maybe the guy just can't read!

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  9. Studebakers.. Back in the 60's drove a golden hawk, hauling moonshine.. Great camera shots

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    Replies
    1. Ha...only you Pete!

      But, they say that if you can remember the 60's, you weren't really there...

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  10. Of course, Studebakers...my first car was a '53 Studebaker (the gorgeous Raymond Loewy design). Unfortunately mine was somewhat less-than-gorgeous: I paid $40 for it, and the engine blew up 3 hrs later - turns out it had a bad rod knock which the guys that sold it to me had solved by packing the crankcase with grease. It sat parked for a few months at my folks' house, and when I left for Kodiak, Alaska the morning after I graduated high school at age 17 in 1967, my parents took the opportunity to disappear it. My buddy Dick had a green 1950 or '51 (which were the ones represented in your picture - also Loewy designed), which we named 'Green Death' - which was coincidentally also our name for Olde English Malt Liquor - that served nobly as the platform for many adolescent hijinks... My grandmother had a 56 Dodge like the one pictured - which she foolishly let me borrow for a weekend trip with a buddy when I was barely 16... I remember driving it at a constant 100 mph on I-5 from the town of Woodburn, OR to Salem. When we left the parking lot of the motel we stayed at in Salem the next morning, the brakes totally failed, and I rolled across 4 lanes of traffic, fortunately unscathed. My buddy was a great mechanic, and fixed the brakes before I took it back to Grandma. Ah, memories...!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sounds like that $40 wasn't too well spent. Glad you survived the 4 lanes of traffic and no brakes, that would have been a bit scary. Did your Grandmother ever find out what really happened?

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