Big Boy

Valley View, Ohio, between the Cuyahoga River and the Ohio Canal.

Why We Love the Thrift Store

Because it brings us delights like the Pizza Party plates.

Napco was the National Pottery Company, in Bedford, Ohio, a suburb to the southeast of Cleveland, and next door to where I grew up. There were just two of these on the shelf at the "Two-Three-Two-Three" Goodwill (Clevelanders of a certain age will get the nickname), so I snagged them both. Still enough for a party, if you keep the guest list selective.

Best Friend

PZ in Minh Anh. I know, she's too dimly lit, but fill flash would have diminished the colored light behind her, and I had no small and subtle light source to set on the table. An occasion when compromise was the only option. Li'l pocket digital.

Don't forget to visit her blog! Linked at right.

Thrift Store Camera

Men fishing near the East 55th St. end of Gordon Park, Labor Day weekend, 2006. Test roll from Canon FTb with 28mm wide-angle lens marked "J. C. Penney." Onboard TTL meter operant and accurate. Light seals a wee bit gummy but no leaks. $15 from Salvation Army.

The FTb's test run took place on a Sunday afternoon with glowering banks of autumn clouds over the lake, and vintage planes overhead from the Cleveland Air Show.

Sincerely Interested in Your Problems

A recent drive down Lorain Rd. revealed that this signage, uncovered by adjacent demolition, has now been removed and replaced with new siding.

German Kodak Retinette 1A (1959/60).

Car Parts Store

West 25th Street, north of Franklin Avenue.

St. Theodosius

For some out-of-town friends who haven't seen this place before. I still find it completely startling whenever I approach it in its otherwise nondescript pre-Depression-era neighborhood. The eastern flank of the cathedral is now menaced by a massive development of stratospherically-priced cluster-condos for the haute bourgeois who think it's hip to live in funky old Tremont.

In the abysmal Cleveland economy, nothing is safe: a couple of years ago, thieves stole portions of the green copper that covers the domes, apparently to sell as scrap. Thankfully, they've been repaired.

The magic point-and-shoot again, the always reliable and surprising Canon AF35ML with the f:1.9 lens.