Frankenstein

Happy Halloween. These picture got dug up (get it? dug up.) from my old photo albums and unfortunately these were those old magnetic albums that turned your pictures yellow. I attempted to salvage them, but here they are nonetheless. For whatever reason, a reason I no longer remember, me and someone else visited the village of Frankenstein, Germany back in September of 1986. I found no pictures at the castle, so I apparently didn't go up the hill to it. We obviously visited the church and cemetery. The bottom picture is a memorial to World War One. This is also around the time I bought my first Big camera, the Canon AE-1.

Anyway, the Frankenstein Castle (seen on the hill in pictures 2 & 3) was built for the barons von Frankenstein in 948 and completed in the 1300's. Years and years later the castle was bought by Joseph Konrad Dippel who, it was rumored, stole body parts from local graves and tried to revive said body parts. Years later a young lady named Mary Shelley visited the castle and was inspired to write a story about a guy named Victor Frankenstein who stole body parts and tried to revive them. He created an killing machine that we now see an some tall green guy with bolts in his neck. You can't make this stuff up folks. Or, maybe you can.

I will try in the future to scan more of these old pictures for you all.

Autumn in the Forest

All these were taken last weekend in the Michaux State Forest. Some were taken Saturday while hunting and some on Sunday when the Wife and I went for a Sunday drive through the mountain. Along with a bazillion other people. We got more rain this week so any leaves left on the branches have been knocked down. I'll look again this weekend maybe I'll find some more.

HBKL

Training Day - 10/22/2009

Last Thursday was training day at the Vigilant Hose Company in Shippensburg. I rode along, I thought I could get some action shots. They planned on stretching some handlines, no water, just different lengths, different sizes and different attacks. We went to an old burnt out hotel on the east end of town and there was no light. Instruction away from the apparatus was by handlight. Repacking and shoulder loading was done by the scene lights on the engine. I don't like using the flash on the camera around fire engines and firefighters because of all the scotchlite reflective tape everywhere. So I had to get creative. All of these pictures are hand held and post processing was simply cropping and sharpening. I think they kind of give the feel of the firefighters' job. You don't always have what you need, sometimes you need to improvise and work with what you have.

Maroons of Pottsville (PG 123)

Like I mentioned last week this is one of the two best Mail Pouch buildings I've found so far. The other was Painted Gentleman No. 66 in Cleveland. This time I found this one in Pottsville, Pa. (home of Yuengling Beer) on the side of the Maroons Sports Bar and Grill at 556 North Centre Street. The Maroons as we all know were one of the old school pro football teams. (To read their story click up there on the Maroons B&G). Just look at the treasure trove of painted ads on the building. Obviously they tore down a building the had stood next door for a long time.

G. W Hooven Mercantile Co.

Wholesale Grocers

Chew & Smoke

Bloch Bro's

Mail Pouch

The Standard Tobacco

Windholz's

Choicest Quality

Sweet Corn

Packed in Syracuse,

Onondaga Co., N.Y.

Alaska River

Salmon

California

Lima Beans

Dried Fruit

L.G. Asbury

Chicago - Cin - NY

the answer, 8:12 pm

FAIRly easy. That's funny. This is, obviously, South Locust Street at West Garfield Street looking north. The entrance to the Shippensburg Fair is directly to my left. Actually this is a busy intersection. At least it was when I took this shot.

the alley, 8:12 pm

I've missed posting an alley shot since August, sorry. Here is the October edition. Any ideas? This one, I know, is fairly easy. But let's play nice anyway. (For those just tuning in I try to post a nighttime shot of an alley or street somewhere in and around Shippensburg and let my two regular readers take guesses where it is. Posted at 9 AM to give everyone a fighting chance.

The Fight

OK, here are the promised elk fight pictures from Benezette, Elk County, Pa. taken back in early October during the elk rut. The scenario was that Bradley and I had snuck our way near this group of elk that included about 4 or 5 cows and calves, these two satellite bulls, the herd bull and another bull or two that passed by (or nearby). We never invaded their space, but instead, kept to the outskirts of where they were. From the time we started taking pictures of the cow and calf I posted earlier until we left the area we never moved more than 15 to 20 yards. These two raghorns sparred from time to time all morning. Occasionally these sparring matches would go for a couple of minutes. (see first picture) At one point the herd bull tired of them screwing around and ran over to break it up. They scattered before he could make his point. Then they would, again, hook up and start sparring. At some point something happened that this turned into a fight. A fight that lasted 9 minutes according to my pictures of the event. Notice in pictures 6 and 7 how the fighting looks more intense. See the hunched backs in picture 6. Finally the bull on the left turned and ran a bit then pranced around like he wanted more. Picture 8 shows that they quickly made up to each other and started sparring again. The video is 48 seconds long and is really grainy (caused by optical zooming a point and shoot camera. All it does is make the pixels bigger.) The loud noises you hear half way through is noise made when I shifted the camera when I had it setting on top of my big camera for stability. (So, to answer any questions before they are asked, it wasn't Bradley that time)

Seventy

Happy Birthday, Dad.

Fall Morning

Sorry for the late post, today has been busy. These fally pictures were all taken out at the State Game Lands last Wednesday morning. The light was awesome that morning. I like how it's hitting the tops of the trees in the second picture. (Does it look familiar? Look up at the header.) I wish I could have stuck around for the sun to hit the trees more but I had to run.

The Prebyterian Window

I was mildly surprised when I stopped in at the firehouse the other night. The Presbyterian church across the street had their front stained glass window lit up. This is a first time in a long time. Good thing I had my camera and my tripod with me. The colors and the details are just awesome. They have another window on the Prince Street side but it wasn't lit enough to get anything good.

Rays of SkyWatch

I didn't plan on posting for SkyWatch this week, I've got so many other things to post. But Tuesday morning while cruising for wildlife I rounded a corner to this. So here it is. Just a little ray of sunshine from my corner of the world.

Remember hit the SkyWatch icon you see over there on the right side there and see what everyone else's world looks like.

Liebman's, the Friendly Store! (PG 122)

Had to make a run tor Pottsville, Pa. for work last week. Of course, I didn't forget my camera. I saw on ohiobarns.com that there was a Mail Pouch in town and,"WOW!" is all I can say. (I'll show you next week) I also found a couple of gems in town in addition to several average Gentleman, like this one. Thought I would include a bonus shot of the demolition of the building next door to this.

3 Years to Pay

Liebman's

The Friendly Store!

For Famous Sealy Posturpedic

I Recall, Central Park in Fall...

OK, it was August, but Ferris Bueller sang it much better then I can. These are just some random shots along the Mall in Central Park, NYC. I sat for just a little while and listened to the jazz band play. I don't know if they came together or if it's just a sort of pick up thing. A little calm in the storm.

Maple Donuts... Larger than Life

This big huge donut is at the Maple Donut's in Etters, Pa., along Interstate 83 between Harrisburg and York. There are other Maple Donuts but I don't know if this is the only one with the King Kong Donut on the roof. Maple Donuts have nothing to do with anything maple, except they started at a shop in York, Pa. in 1946 that was on Maple Street.

Football

Quick post today. This was Friday's (October 9th) football game. Shippensburg lost this one on the road to Mechanicsburg. We stuck around through the end of halftime. By then the rain was starting and the truck was parked far far away. As a side note, of all the soccer games I've been taking pictures at, this is the best lit field I've been to (but we don't play thenm in soccer). Most fields end up with hot spots and dark spots which limits where you snap your shots.

Butterflies of Cleveland

Today we travel back in time to last summer and our quick trip to Cleveland. Along with seeing Lake Erie and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame we visited the Cleveland Botanical Gardens. At the CBG there was a butterfly house. I wish I would have taken more pictures of them. There was a blue one too but my pictures of him didn't turn out too good. So, for today I give you butterflies and moths.