Model Rockets - a photo on Flickriver

Model Rockets

            Came across a photo the other day from my youth. Shot with a 110 film camera, the grainy print showed a model rocket sitting on the launchpad in the backyard. So many memories came flooding back as is so often the case when old photos surface. Model rocketry was just one of my hobby-related pursuits of childhood. Looking back now, it seems unfathomable that little kids were turned loose with miniature ballistic missiles. They were model rockets, but definitely not toys. And it occurs to me now how the entire hobby centered on the approximate five second flight time after blast off. All the time and expense of acquiring and building the models, and chasing them down after parachute landings carried them far away, some never to be seen again after the launch button was pressed. But oh how exciting was that five seconds!

My youth seemed centered not just on model rockets but on all sorts of scaled down versions of real live. Model planes, cars, railroads, etc. I especially enjoyed imagining myself scaled down to model size and interacting with the things I had constructed. Model railroads in particular because they conveyed the feeling of little towns alongside the tracks. I think I enjoyed that aspect as much or more as the trains. Sparked a great deal of imagination which to me is a primary propellant for creativity. Still that way today although model building has long since fallen to the wayside.

I believe photography has channeled some off that energy for me in adulthood. Except now I create little worlds by searching out slices of real life rather them assembling them from kits. Same principle, different approach. I still shape everything I see, and present it as I see and feel it (or more often as I imagine it should be or feel).

Was out recently on a dreary autumn day shooting with a 'Lens Baby' Edge lens. Not a big fan of novelty lenses, but this was loaned to me and I'm always eager to experiment with new gear. The 'Lens Baby' system is designed around a creative blur that leaves only part of the image in focus. Very tricky to get the hang of, and inherently limiting as a result. I suppose like anything, practice makes perfect. There was something almost spiritual about using this lens. It reminded me of scrying in a way. Looking through the distortion in my viewfinder caused me to see my world differently. And walking along the boundary of an old cemetery made the effect even more unsettling. I eventually had to switch back to a normal lens, but not before capturing this eerie image. I could easily imagine this miniaturized cemetery alongside the tracks of my childhood model railway. And me standing in the midst of it.

Taken on: November 13, 2021

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memories

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fantasy

real world

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autumn

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Lens Baby

Lens Baby Edge

miniaturization

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Groups appears in: • Graves, Tombs And Cemeteries • Eerie, creepy or spooky places more » • h y p n o s i s w a v e « less

Camera: Nikon D7000, 1/180 sec, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D7000
Lens:	0.0 mm f/0.0
Exposure Time:	0.006 sec (1/180)
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	+1/2 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop 23.0 (Macintosh)
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