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Pocket Change

It was a cloudy and windy morning in the Midwest US, and I did not feel like doing any long overdue indoor chores until I burned at least a few pixels. So, I set an old textbook on a windowsill and tossed a handful of change on it from a little box where old coins are collected as they're found.

original.jpg

Pocket Change​

The oldest coin is a 1909 penny. The book, The College Reader, was published in 1936. It was submitted as a complimentary copy to my uncle, who was professor of English at Iowa State at the time.

Lens is Canon 90mm TS-E in portrait mode, tilted so the plane of focus followed the surface of the book, and two frames from shifting sideways were combined in Photoshop.

The result is probably not worth the effort, but it was certainly comfortable to work on a subject indoors for a change.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
It was a cloudy and windy morning in the Midwest US, and I did not feel like doing any long overdue indoor chores until I burned at least a few pixels. So, I set an old textbook on a windowsill and tossed a handful of change on it from a little box where old coins are collected as they're found.

original.jpg

Pocket Change​

The oldest coin is a 1909 penny. The book, The College Reader, was published in 1936. It was submitted as a complimentary copy to my uncle, who was professor of English at Iowa State at the time.

Lens is Canon 90mm TS-E in portrait mode, tilted so the plane of focus followed the surface of the book, and two frames from shifting sideways were combined in Photoshop.

The result is probably not worth the effort, but it was certainly comfortable to work on a subject indoors for a change.

I'd say that it's a worthy exercise and one to follow!

I wonder what others might come up with?

Asher
 

Sam Hames

New member
It was a cloudy and windy morning in the Midwest US, and I did not feel like doing any long overdue indoor chores until I burned at least a few pixels. So, I set an old textbook on a windowsill and tossed a handful of change on it from a little box where old coins are collected as they're found.

original.jpg

Pocket Change​

...

The result is probably not worth the effort, but it was certainly comfortable to work on a subject indoors for a change.

So, procrastination by process?

I have to admit I do a lot of that. I find it soothing to get lost in a mechanical process for a while. Even if the end result doesn't seem to be worth the time spent, I still find it nice to escape for a while.

I like the result regardless of the process - it would make for an interesting series. Or maybe it just speaks to my inner procrastinator?

Sam
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Well, I couldn't find my copy of Sherlock Holmes - that's pretty serious, but I do have a treatise on medicine from the 1930's, Price's Textbook of Medicine and it opened to Tabes Dorsalis, a tertiary syphilis complication about which Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was somewhat of an expert as he wrote his thesis on the subject.

So I tipped out my bowl of change on the open pages of the book and "Voila!"!


DSC05734_800.jpg


Asher Kelman: "Money on Syphilis"

Sony A7R with Summilux 50mm 1.4 at 1.4


So who will follow?


Aser
 
Fantastic, Asher! The soft shadows provide a harmonious element that really completes the score of your composition. The setting is inspired—the bottom step of a marble staircase, perhaps?
 
Fantastic, Asher! The soft shadows provide a harmonious element that really completes the score of your composition. The setting is inspired—the bottom step of a marble staircase, perhaps?
Agree with you Tom, the soft and harmonious elements are very nice in Asher's image, and I liked what you did, and think it is a unique and wonderful project.
 
found manuscript

Ok Asher, loved the idea, and found myself looking after my twin 16 month old grandsons (and they do take a bit of concentrated work), so I wasn't going too far from home and thought maybe there's a hope and a prayer that they will support a few moments of camera work (cell phone my only hope).

A couple of years back, my hiking buddy (father in law) gave me an old handwritten book that he had found in a falling down cottage on a small island he owned off the coast of Maine. It is over 450 pages and fascinating to read. It's written in 1910 as a narrative of a long journey, beginning by train from Boston and ending up in the northern back woods of Maine. The Author, a preacher, and his hiking partner, a photographer get in and out of many interesting situations. researching the Author, it seems that he founded the Audubon Society here in New Hampshire. Anyway here is my quick shot.



Had to add the preface:

[URL=http://s747.photobucket.com/user/billmccarthy711/media/Preface%20Call%20of%20the%20wild_zpsdgzp3wil.jpg.html]


Best, Bill
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Ok Asher, loved the idea, and found myself looking after my twin 16 month old grandsons (and they do take a bit of concentrated work), so I wasn't going too far from home and thought maybe there's a hope and a prayer that they will support a few moments of camera work (cell phone my only hope).

A couple of years back, my hiking buddy (father in law) gave me an old handwritten book that he had found in a falling down cottage on a small island he owned off the coast of Maine. It is over 450 pages and fascinating to read. It's written in 1910 as a narrative of a long journey, beginning by train from Boston and ending up in the northern back woods of Maine. The Author, a preacher, and his hiking partner, a photographer get in and out of many interesting situations. researching the Author, it seems that he founded the Audubon Society here in New Hampshire. Anyway here is my quick shot.



Had to add the preface:

[URL=http://s747.photobucket.com/user/billmccarthy711/media/Preface%20Call%20of%20the%20wild_zpsdgzp3wil.jpg.html]


Best, Bill



So marvelous, your photographic invention, Bill! The story is fascinating. Were they actually a gay couple, do you think?

You took the challenge and aced it! A simply beautiful addition to this series. What a high bar you've now set!

Anyone else going to have a go. Get in now before Maggie makes it even harder to compete, LOL!

Asher
 
So marvelous, your photographic invention, Bill! The story is fascinating. Were they actually a gay couple, do you think?

You took the challenge and aced it! A simply beautiful addition to this series. What a high bar you've now set!

Thanks Asher, I enjoyed pulling it together. I don't have any way of knowing if they were gay, nothing in the story spoke to that.I think they were very much influenced by Henry David Thoreau, who wrote,among many books and essays, The Maine Woods, around 1850 or so. These guys were into identifying plants, animals and trees, and had a listing of everything that crossed their path, at the end of the book. They also included an outline of what they packed and carried with them. The list includes a Century Grand 4X5 camera and photography supplies. Harry Higbee was editor of the department of Ornithology for"The Guide to Nature." There are a couple of dozen prints tipped into the pages.
Thanks again for looking,

Best, Bill
 

Antonio Correia

Well-known member
I have a very different approach on this subject.
Let me tell you my little story.
My grandmother was a very good woman. Not because she was my grandmother but she really was a very good woman. Everybody loved her. Tender, gentle, intelligent and... poor.
She came to Setúbal on the end of the XIX century when this was an important city.
Even today, my children who have known her until they were about 12 - she was an early mother - do remember her figure. Very charismatic.
Well, never mind more about her.
I can't remember exactly when, but perhaps when my children were some 10 years old or so, she collected coins in two money boxes. Well, not exactly a box but rather a clay container which were sold in fairs like it used to exist here.
Inside and for some time, she gathered some coins of all sizes and values. They are in this container now.
No the Euro did not exist then. It was the Escudo.
There was two containers, one per grandson. This is the one I have here at home as the other was taken by my daughter and broken the day she was married.
Such procedure was supposed to be done with the consent of grannie and she took it seriously while he - my son - left the guard to us for the moment.
It is already a little broken/spoiled outside because some coins have been subtracted.
See the date: my son's birthday date.
The text goes like this:
"With a little kiss from grannie Clarisse ... "
Her portrait in the sixties, was made by myself with my father+s Rolleicord.

i-JRcqqtF-X2.jpg
i-NCwKFwr-X2.jpg
i-tDrKrxc-X2.jpg
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
I have a very different approach on this subject.
Let me tell you my little story.
My grandmother was a very good woman. Not because she was my grandmother but she really was a very good woman. Everybody loved her. Tender, gentle, intelligent and... poor.
She came to Setúbal on the end of the XIX century when this was an important city.
Even today, my children who have known her until they were about 12 - she was an early mother - do remember her figure. Very charismatic.
Well, never mind more about her.
I can't remember exactly when, but perhaps when my children were some 10 years old or so, she collected coins in two money boxes. Well, not exactly a box but rather a clay container which were sold in fairs like it used to exist here.
Inside and for some time, she gathered some coins of all sizes and values. They are in this container now.
No the Euro did not exist then. It was the Escudo.
There was two containers, one per grandson. This is the one I have here at home as the other was taken by my daughter and broken the day she was married.
Such procedure was supposed to be done with the consent of grannie and she took it seriously while he - my son - left the guard to us for the moment.
It is already a little broken/spoiled outside because some coins have been subtracted.
See the date: my son's birthday date.
The text goes like this:
"With a little kiss from grannie Clarisse ... "
Her portrait in the sixties, was made by myself with my father+s Rolleicord.

i-JRcqqtF-X2.jpg
i-NCwKFwr-X2.jpg
i-tDrKrxc-X2.jpg

A richer surprise is not possible! Wonderful portrait!

Asher
 

Don Ferguson Jr.

Well-known member
Thanks Asher, I enjoyed pulling it together. I don't have any way of knowing if they were gay, nothing in the story spoke to that.I think they were very much influenced by Henry David Thoreau, who wrote,among many books and essays, The Maine Woods, around 1850 or so. These guys were into identifying plants, animals and trees, and had a listing of everything that crossed their path, at the end of the book. They also included an outline of what they packed and carried with them. The list includes a Century Grand 4X5 camera and photography supplies. Harry Higbee was editor of the department of Ornithology for"The Guide to Nature." There are a couple of dozen prints tipped into the pages.
Thanks again for looking,

Best, Bill
This is interesting.
Don
http://www.mainething.com/alexander/Transportation and Trade/INTRO.htm
 
It was a cloudy and windy morning in the Midwest US, and I did not feel like doing any long overdue indoor chores until I burned at least a few pixels. So, I set an old textbook on a windowsill and tossed a handful of change on it from a little box where old coins are collected as they're found.

original.jpg

Pocket Change​

The oldest coin is a 1909 penny. The book, The College Reader, was published in 1936. It was submitted as a complimentary copy to my uncle, who was professor of English at Iowa State at the time.

Lens is Canon 90mm TS-E in portrait mode, tilted so the plane of focus followed the surface of the book, and two frames from shifting sideways were combined in Photoshop.

The result is probably not worth the effort, but it was certainly comfortable to work on a subject indoors for a change.

It was well worth it! I love doing indoor shoots, but then I live in a place where it is winter half of the year and I guess perhaps I'm a bit of a control freak and this allows me to put items where I like them. Well done and fun challenge for the rest of us.
 
Well, I couldn't find my copy of Sherlock Holmes - that's pretty serious, but I do have a treatise on medicine from the 1930's, Price's Textbook of Medicine and it opened to Tabes Dorsalis, a tertiary syphilis complication about which Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was somewhat of an expert as he wrote his thesis on the subject.

So I tipped out my bowl of change on the open pages of the book and "Voila!"!


DSC05734_800.jpg


Asher Kelman: "Money on Syphilis"

Sony A7R with Summilux 50mm 1.4 at 1.4


So who will follow?


Aser


I really like this, Asher and laying it on marble elevates it and makes it feel quite important. Love all the light and shadows. :)
Maggie
 
Ok Asher, loved the idea, and found myself looking after my twin 16 month old grandsons (and they do take a bit of concentrated work), so I wasn't going too far from home and thought maybe there's a hope and a prayer that they will support a few moments of camera work (cell phone my only hope).

A couple of years back, my hiking buddy (father in law) gave me an old handwritten book that he had found in a falling down cottage on a small island he owned off the coast of Maine. It is over 450 pages and fascinating to read. It's written in 1910 as a narrative of a long journey, beginning by train from Boston and ending up in the northern back woods of Maine. The Author, a preacher, and his hiking partner, a photographer get in and out of many interesting situations. researching the Author, it seems that he founded the Audubon Society here in New Hampshire. Anyway here is my quick shot.



Had to add the preface:

[URL=http://s747.photobucket.com/user/billmccarthy711/media/Preface%20Call%20of%20the%20wild_zpsdgzp3wil.jpg.html]


Best, Bill

What an incredible find and how fortunate you are to own such a treasure. Lovely photo also, by the way!
:)
Maggie
 
I have a very different approach on this subject.
Let me tell you my little story.
My grandmother was a very good woman. Not because she was my grandmother but she really was a very good woman. Everybody loved her. Tender, gentle, intelligent and... poor.
She came to Setúbal on the end of the XIX century when this was an important city.
Even today, my children who have known her until they were about 12 - she was an early mother - do remember her figure. Very charismatic.
Well, never mind more about her.
I can't remember exactly when, but perhaps when my children were some 10 years old or so, she collected coins in two money boxes. Well, not exactly a box but rather a clay container which were sold in fairs like it used to exist here.
Inside and for some time, she gathered some coins of all sizes and values. They are in this container now.
No the Euro did not exist then. It was the Escudo.
There was two containers, one per grandson. This is the one I have here at home as the other was taken by my daughter and broken the day she was married.
Such procedure was supposed to be done with the consent of grannie and she took it seriously while he - my son - left the guard to us for the moment.
It is already a little broken/spoiled outside because some coins have been subtracted.
See the date: my son's birthday date.
The text goes like this:
"With a little kiss from grannie Clarisse ... "
Her portrait in the sixties, was made by myself with my father+s Rolleicord.

i-JRcqqtF-X2.jpg
i-NCwKFwr-X2.jpg
i-tDrKrxc-X2.jpg

Antonio,
What a thoughtful kind portrait of your grandmother and you are so lucky to have known her. I never met my grandparents - Just the way life is sometimes. I love your homage to her and the little moneys she put aside for your children. Beautiful sentiment.
:)
Maggie
 
When Asher told me about this challenge, I immediately thought about doing something with my dad in it.

My dad grew up very, very poor in Poland and as a very young man went to war in Germany driving trucks for the American Army. He did not have it easy and became a prisoner of war and forced into labor for the Germans. He had been mistreated and beaten.

However, if he had not, I would not be here today. He met my mom there (yes, she is German) and hence my brothers and I were born.

I placed some Polish coins to show where my dad came from and then on the Work book, I placed some German coins and finally at the far right, I placed some Canadian coins as where he came to live and die.

These few papers and coins have a lot of meaning to me - they are my dad's history; a part of his journey and the reason I am here.

opa1.jpg
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
When Asher told me about this challenge, I immediately thought about doing something with my dad in it.

My dad grew up very, very poor in Poland and as a very young man went to war in Germany driving trucks for the American Army. He did not have it easy and became a prisoner of war and forced into labor for the Germans. He had been mistreated and beaten.

However, if he had not, I would not be here today. He met my mom there (yes, she is German) and hence my brothers and I were born.

I placed some Polish coins to show where my dad came from and then on the Work book, I placed some German coins and finally at the far right, I placed some Canadian coins as where he came to live and die.

These few papers and coins have a lot of meaning to me - they are my dad's history; a part of his journey and the reason I am here.

opa1.jpg


Who'd have thought there would be such monumental history, angst, pain, remembrance and pride! This series is epic.

I'm so proud of everyone reaching into their own rich but private and treasured histories to make one of the most viable series of images ever posted here.

Bravo, Bill, Sam, Maggie, Antonio, and everyone!

Asher
 
Ah, wonderful photo for the series, Maggie! It is nicely composed and rich in history, both for you personally and visually for the viewer.
 
Ah, wonderful photo for the series, Maggie! It is nicely composed and rich in history, both for you personally and visually for the viewer.

Thanks, Tom. I actually got a little emotional doing this shoot thinking about how terrible World War II was and the millions of Jews that were killed and people's lives destroyed and knowing that if it had not happened, I would not be here.
 
Maggie,

Very beautiful and a wonderful tribute to your Dad. And as usual, your composition is perfect. Of course
your father's picture would have shown up no matter what, but the way you placed the coin so that it mimicked the stamp on the photo left us no where to go but home. Such a sweet and breathtaking expression.

As always,
Best, Bill
 

Jessica Little

New member
I think the photo turned out great. Been experimenting myself with some close up portrait mode shots to show detail on people's faces at weddings like the way you got the writing on each coin to pop so vividly. Nice job, from my point of view it was worth the effort.
 
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