As You read this I will be in surgery for my brain tumor; thoughts, prayers and well wishes appreciated. And the image below will be ‘unpinned’ from my Twitter page, because hopefully after my surgery I will have clarity and not ambiguity…..
I also want to explain how my ‘medical updates’ will intertwine with my normal Photographic Posts.
And this is the ONLY time you will ever see a Biblical Quote here, but you will see the connection:
1 Corinthians Chap 13 verse 12: “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”
The Symbol of My Journey
All of my Journey Updates will start with the heading: “Through the Glass” And I have added that tag to take you directly to these updates if you are interested. I hope that you can see it refers to the Ambiguity of what I am facing. That what made this image so timely.
My Secret Santa this year went far beyond the Call of Duty; including lovely English Goodies that I remember from my time living there in the early 1990’s. And wrapped in Marks & Spencer paper that survived the international Post. Thanks so much @robert_duncombe (instagram).
I love all of the cameras described here. But it was totally unrealistic to think that I could use them all, even in three months time. So these are the ones that made the journey………
The Mamiya 7 with 45, 50, 80 and 150 mm lenses. The Minolta X-700 with 28-200 Tamron Adaptall lens and 50 mm macro lens. I’ll mostly be using the 35 mm to test my Kodak E100 film.
So as I embark on my Medical Journey in Arizona, as I am able I will be doing only Photography and Music as my therapies. Most of my cameras are shown here. But these are the ones I’m taking to AZ:
My Medium Format Favorite: Mamiya 6X7: with 43 mm, 50 mm, 150 mm and 210 mm lenses. But I mostly use the 43 an 50 mm.
Mamiya 645 for more versatility. This camera gives me all of the SLR options, including a a nice 80 mm macro:
The Fuji GA645Zi; My Medium Format Street Camera, because of the auto-focus and auto-advance. Basically a medium format point and shoot; which is why I got it.
The Reality So Subtle Pinhole: Still working out the Range Finding on this camera. I have the filter-option 6X6 model. I have to say this camera has the smoothest mechanism of any Pinhole I’ve ever used. So I’ll take it with me and work on the range (maybe I should watch some of the YouTube videos?)
And Finally, my “riding shotgun” always in the front seat and ready Minolta X-700: My jump out of the car and shoot camera. I have 3 of these and they are all going. I use my trusty Tamron-adaptall 28-200 zoom. A combination I have been using since the early 90’s.
OK, It occurs to me that I won’t really use all of these cameras in a 3-4 month period. Which one would you leave behind?
From the vagaries and ups and downs of life. I find myself recovering from surgery with time to reflect. Another Intersection of Life and Art.
As you read this I am on my way to the Mayo Clinic, Phoenix Arizona for a Consultation. But here is where The Story Begins:
On October 3, 2018, I was diagnosed with a “brain mass”. Vision problems had sent me to the Ophthalmologist. His testing and measurements of my left eye indicated something bad was going on behind that eye. He sent me to the emergency room, calling ahead to discuss with the Dr. what tests would be appropriate.
The Symbol of My Journey
(The Ambiguity of the Mirror from “The Artist’s Studio” symbolizes my Journey. So it will be the featured Image for these medical update posts…….)
When I arrived, they were ready for me and ordered an MRI with contrast dye, no questions asked. The diagnosis: Brain tumor of unknown type growing behind my left eye; referral the the Neurosurgeons.
But, there is also a back story: I am an 8-year breast cancer survivor. So I also (and for the rest of my life) have an Oncologist. He now enters the mix. His fear is a metastatic spread of my previous cancer, which would be a sure death sentence.
Weeks of testing: Bone Scans, PET Scans, CT Scans…………All showing no breast cancer; Dodged that bullet! But I still have an unidentified tumor in my head that needs to be identified so the best treatment can be determined. All non-invasive procedures exhausted, now it is time the the Neurosurgeons to perform a biopsy.
So how do they access that area behind the Eye? By drilling holes through you sinuses. The ENT Surgeon does that. I didn’t even get a black eye from this; but I do have a puffy face. My worst bruise was from the arterial blood pressure tap-in. Apparently when you have brain surgery, they tap an artery to have the most accurate blood pressure.
Waiting for my Biopsy
Biopsy Results: I have a rare but treatable/survivable brain tumor (Which I will name and discuss later). It is in effect a birth defect. It was supposed to be reabsorbed as my little fetus grew, but it wasn’t. And when that happens you have a little guy in your head that probably won’t be a problem unless you are 1 in a million me.
My Neurosurgeon removed what was safe to remove without doing harm. It was affecting my optic nerve (first symptom), my Pituitary Gland and Carotid Artery (the brain’s source of blood).
Follow-up will require a unique radiation treatment only available in a few places. So I have been referred to The Mayo Clinic in Phoenix AZ.
POSTSCRIPT: Ongoing, I will be taking a road trip to Phoenix (Dates TBD); loading up the 4Runner with my camera gear and film (bought for a cancelled trip to the Everglades). Radiation I know will be 5 days a week for 8-10 weeks. So I will be doing photography as I feel up to it and posting as I go. Exploring Arizona for that time and keeping OldSchoolPhotoLabs very busy.
5 Frames of Kodak Portra 400, Exposed @ ISO 320 (6X7 120 Format) by Kathleen E. Johnson
On August 21, 2017, thousands of people converged on Alliance, Nebraska, as one of the prime Solar Eclipse viewing locations in North America. NO you are not going to see eclipse images, but a bit of Americana I had heard of (probably on 60 Minutes as a child), but never thought that I would visit: CARHENGE. We thought about stopping by on Eclipse Day, but the traffic proved unmanageable.
The following November, we had an opportunity to return to Alliance and made our visitation. It was a lovely, sunny, November day. And walking amongst the Cars, it proved much more photogenic than I had expected.
It seems like ages ago, but in 1990 I had an opportunity to visit the real Stonehenge. Those photos were terrible, so you’ll never get to see them here. But I can say the advantage of Carhenge is that it’s a true life-size model that you can walk around and experience as the Ancient Ones may have done at the real Stonehenge. And it has become a focus for sculpture built from car parts. But that’s another story…….
The camera was my favorite Mamiya 7 with the 43 mm lens. All exposures @f/8, and shutter speeds of 1/125 to 1/250 to capture details in the shadows. In my experience Portra Films have a wide exposure latitude. At ISO 320 color saturation is more true to life than Portra 160. I’ve settled on Portra 400 as my color film.
P.S Okay you can see my Eclipse Images on film HERE.
Over the past 4 years of the 100th Anniversary of World War I (The War to end all Wars, except that it didn’t). I had hoped for some thoughtful reflection on the Root Cause of Conflict. I am aware that some of this occurred Across Europe. But nothing here in the USA.
WWI History is barely touched upon here. I know much more than the average America due to an excellent AP European History class I took in High School. It was taught by one of my most memorable teachers, Mr. Knab, from the perspective of the root cause of conflict and how it directly led to WWII.
An opportunity lost……..
So I am Honoring My Father’s WWII Service in a Segregated Army, in Italy. 1st Lt Vernon Johnson. An Army He later helped to Integrate under orders from President Truman. He worked in the Army Reserve, ‘helping’ white soldiers get used to taking orders from African America Officers. At the out break of The Korean War, he was like other WWII veterans, exempted from further service because he had a wife and child. At least back them they did not want to make more Widows and Orphans.
Notably my Father was also a Buffalo Soldier…..And he loved the Bob Marley song. He felt Appreciated and Respected.
My Father always talked about the Children he met in Italy………
And Training at Ft Huachuca, Arizona…….
We’ll end with a Photograph of my Mother. The one that my Father carried with him through the War. I found it in his old foot locker along with many of the images above:
5 Frames of Lomo 400, Exposed @ ISO 400 (645 120 Format) by Kathleen Johnson
Here is an introduction to a local festival that may surprise you! And a camera that I have not mentioned before, although it is featured in my contributor’s portrait: My Fuji GA645Zi. This is my medium format street photography choice because of the auto focus and zoom capabilities. Read the Camera Review on EMULSIVE here. I’m not so negative about that camera as the reviewer. I wanted a ’point and shoot’ medium format camera and that’s what it is.
Now for the Festival: HearseCon 2018. Yes it is what it sounds like, an annual convention held here in the Denver area for Hearse Enthusiasts. They come from all across the Western US and Canada, some with beautifully restored Hearses, as you will see here today. Think of HearseCon as a Goth Cultural Experience for Grown-Ups and you’ve got the Picture. There are Hearse Show events across the country if you ever want to experience one, but I think this is one of the largest.
In the past I’ve used B&W film for HearseCon, because I thought it would capture the grittiness of the event. Last year I tried Lomo Lady Grey 400, but I wasn’t satisfied with the results using this particular film, and I’ve found the GA645Zi shines best with color film. So I pulled out the Lomo 400 Color, because I didn’t quite want the sharpness of Portra 400. In other words, Lomo 400 has a bit more grain and that suits the subject matter. Sometimes hard to know what the focus point will be with the GS645Zi, but the subject turned out very sharp anyway……..
About the Car: My bad, I took a cell phone picture of the information sign, but didn’t write anything down (and didn’t check the image before leaving). The joke was on me because I couldn’t read the sign later. But thanks to the Internet I was able to narrow down the Model and Year. Above is likely a Vintage 1937 Buick model, Sayers and Scoville Byzantine Hearse with a straight-8 engine. The Owners were from Utah. Sayers and Scoville is still building custom hearses.
