Olympia in the Morning, Part 2 (Oly 05)

Let us continue our morning walk through downtown Olympia, Washington. It is quiet, and most stores are closed. I saw only 5 or 6 homeless people his time. Two years ago, there were 10s or 100s of them. How did the city purge them? Regardless, downtown Olympia is still grungy.

206½ 4th Avenue

Dumpster on 4th. I bet that stuff looks better than most of my wardrobe. 

Capitol Way view south

Alley parallel to 4th Avenue (25mm ƒ/4 Color Skopar lens)

My favorite Olympia alley (25mm ƒ/4 Color Skopar lens)

Jefferson Street view north. I have not yet seen a train, but I occasionally hear them, usually at night.

Frog Pond Grocery in the historic South Capitol district (50mm ƒ/2 Summicron-DR lens).

Argh! Another Taco truck, this time on Plum Street. The fire system is for the hot sauce? 

Well, enough of exploring downtown. Time to walk home and have another coffee.

State Avenue view west (50mm ƒ/2 Summicron-DR lens).

Proceed north and soon you reach East Bay. On many mornings, it is still as a mill pond. The buffleheads and surf scoters love it here.

East Bay from Olympia Avenue NE (50mm ƒ/2 Summicron-DR lens). Swantown Marina is in the distance.

The Bigelow neighborhood has charming traditional cottages from the early 20th century. It is not as elegant as South Capitol, but is more modest and is free from the background drone of I-5.

 

Traditional cottage on Quince Street (25mm ƒ/4 Color-Skopar lens)

Historic Quince Street house

This ends our walking tour around Olympia with Kodak Gold 100 film (another one of my experiments with expired film). I used Pentax Spotmatic F and Leica M2 cameras. We will see more of Olympia in future updates. Thank you all for walking along.

Olympia in the Morning, Part 1 (Oly 04)

Early morning in December, the light is soft and misty in Olympia. Well, it rains much of the time, so indeed, the light is softened and colors are muted. It was time to experiment again with color negative film. One early morning, I left my car at a repair shop on Capitol Way and walked home through the city. Here are some random scenes on the way.

Capitol Way, early morning

Time for some wiggling, 117 Columbia Street NW

Alley parallel to State Street

Alley parallel to State Street

Rhythms Coffee, 210 4th Avenue W.

According to Rhythms, "Stay tuned for some of the finest coffee on earth, never before served in Olympia." I think the best coffee I ever drank was in Colombia, but that is a story for another day.

 

It is fishy at 116 4th Avenue

Capitol Way view south, rather uninspiring

OSSA Skinworks, 109 Capitol Way N. Could they make my skin look good?

Washington Street view south, also uninspiring

Every city in USA seems to have a Washington Street. This one is not inspiring, but it does have some older architecture.

This ends Part 1 of our morning walk. Please type "Olympia" in the search box if you want to see other Olympia articles.

I took these photographs on long-expired Kodak Bright Sun (i.e., Gold 100) film using my Pentax Spotmatic F camera and the 50mm ƒ/1.4 SMC Takumar lens. This is one of the mid-1970s versions of the 1.4 lens with multi coating and without elements containing thorium salts. Some early 1970s versions yellowed because of the thorium glass. Those are renouned for superb optical quality. Most of my exposures this morning were at ƒ/2 or ƒ/2.8. It is convenient to have a large aperture lens. 

This Gold 100 is more grainy that the Gold I shot years ago when the film was in production. The colors have that old film look, but this roll survived the decades reasonably intact. Still, years have passed, and I suggest you not seek out Gold 100. I wish Kodak would reintroduce it. I tried their contemporary Gold 200 and thought it was too grainy. But in 120 size (medium format), the modern 200 might be fine. The Gold 100 decades ago was superb.

Cruising Rural South Central Washington

Years ago, when I was young and strong, I sometimes hiked on Mount Rainier in south central Washington state. Back then, I did not do urban decay photography and did not pay attention to the rural towns south of Seattle. Finally, in summer of 2023, I had a chance to revisit the area and take a few snapshots. These towns were probably a lot more interesting in the 1970s, when the lumber industry was beginning to wind down and western Washington state had not gone through its conversion from a resource extraction economy to a high technology, finance, and arts economy. 

I sometimes regret not photographing good grunge when it was available. However, many people argue with plenty of backup evidence that infrastructure and small town society in USA has deteriorated in recent decades. The rural South certainly shows this pattern. But even here in the Pacific Northwest, I expect to find interesting material to photograph in the future as I explore. 

Let us take a short drive from Olympia towards Paradise, on the south side of Mount Rainier. 

Looking for coffee in Rainier

Rainier is a former lumber town and appears to be a bit rough. I want to explore soon.

 

Mountain Highway E, La Grande, Washington

Old La Grande Post Office

La Grande is an unincorporated community in Pierce County. Most people heading to Mount Rainier buzz on through in a hurry.

Elbe, Washington

The Mount Rainier Scenic Railway runs between the towns of Elbe and Mineral. I am not sure if the cars on the siding above are currently used or if the railroad has other rolling stock. 

  

Time for coffee in Ashford

Keep driving east and going up in elevation, and you pass Ashford. There is not much there, but you could pick up a coffee.

Copper Creek Inn

Near the Nisqually entrance to Mount Rainier National Park is the Copper Creek Inn, Cabins, and Lodge. They claim that this is the oldest continuously-operating restaurant in the state, in business since 1946. We has a superb salmon meal, and their blackberry pie is a piece of berry and culinary heaven (dare I compare it with the chocolate baklava at Niko Niko's in Houston??). Regardless, I am heading back to Copper Creek. 

Mount Rainier is an impressive stratovolcano, rising to 14,410 ft above sea level. I have not climbed to the summit but have walked a section of the Wilderness Trail, which circles the mountain. The Paradise visitor center on the south side of the mountain is mobbed in summer with tourists. Plan ahead, go early.

Snow lake - you can't see the mosquitoes

Snow Lake is an easy walk from the Stevens Pass Road, a short distance from the Paradise Visitor's Center. The highest elevation is 4,700 ft (1440 m), so easy breathing. In June, the mosquitoes were not easy!! 

At Tugboat Annie's, Olympia

Back to Olympia and dinner at Tugboat Annie's. Someone is still in the 1970s with his VW dune buggy.

I took most of the photographs with expired Kodak Bright Sun (= Gold 100) film using my Voigtländer Vito BL camera. The 50mm ƒ/3.5 Color-Skopar lens (a 4-element Tessar design) always performs well. I exposed the film at EI=100, but for the next roll, I will give more exposure (EI=64). The film is more grainy than fresh rolls, and some of the colors are a bit off. It was a worthwhile experiment, and I have three more rolls to use. 

In the Olympics with a Film Treasure: Kodak Gold 100 (Abandoned Films 07b)

Years ago, you could buy Kodak's Gold 100 color negative film almost everywhere. When I needed a color film that always produced excellent prints, Gold 100 was my usual choice. For the ultimate resolution in 35mm, I used the famous Kodak Ektar 25 (also long discontinued), but the 100 was more versatile and easier to use. Late in its life, Kodak relabeled it as Bright Sun 100, but I think it was the same Gold 100. 

As long-term readers know, I have a weakness in experimenting with older films. With some checking on eBay, I found a 4-pack of Bright Sun/Gold 100 (both names on the same package - not confusing at all) that expired in 2004, near the end of production for this film. The seller claimed it had been in room temperature all its life. It was certainly worth an experiment.

Here are some examples from the Olympic Peninsula in the grand Pacific Northwest. During my July trip there, I loaded a roll in my little Voigtländer Vito BL camera with its remarkably capable 50mm ƒ/3.5 Color Skopar lens and took snapshots. Please click any picture to expand.

Wishkah Blue Artists Studio, Hoquiam, Washington 

I photographed the little studio in 2022. This year, it looked a bit more forlorn. I am not sure how active it is.

Waiting to get moving, Hwy 101, Humptuips

Pizza Grill, Route 101, Lake Quinault

Lake Quinault is a gorgeous elongated lake in the west edge of the Olympic Mountains. I photographed the old Kestner-Quigley homestead farm near the lake in 2022. 

Sunsets West Co-op, Clallam Bay (with polarizing filter)

We stopped here en route to Neah Bay and bought some nuts and dried fruits. The food options in the far northwest of the Olympic Peninsula are rather limited.

Fixer-upper house, Woodland Avenue, Neah Bay

Tall house, Bay View Drive, Neah Bay

Red house, Bay View Drive, Neah Bay

Native Grounds and breakfast stop, Neah Bay

We stayed two nights in Neah Bay. It is a quiet little town on the Makah Reservation in Clallam County. From town, it is a short drive to Cape Flattery, the furthest point west on continental USA (excluding, of course, the Hawaiian Islands and Alaska, where Sarah Palin* could see Russia). At Cape Flattery, we saw some new birds for us, the Pigeon guillemot and Pelagic cormorant. And in town, we saw the Glaucous-winged gull. 

The Gold 100 experiment was a success. It is probably lower contrast than when new. I definitely like this version better than the new Gold 200, which is too grainy for my tastes. The 100 looks similar in resolution to the contemporary Portra 160, which I will probably use in the future once my 3 remaining rolls of Gold 100 run out. Maybe Kodak can reintroduce it (we can hope). My little Vito BL camera, with its 50mm ƒ/3.5 Color-Skopar lens, performed well, as usual. 

In the future, I will post a series of Gold 100 frames from the 1990s in New York City. Stand by.

* Sarah Palin was a former Alaska governor. She was a genuine ding-a-ling and doomed John McCain's presidential hopes. How does the R party generate these brash goofballs and then champion them? Is it a political death wish?

Footloose in Costa Rica 2000-2001

Some 24 years ago, the family and I took a 3-week Christmas season trip to Costa Rica to look at birds and nature. Wilderness Travel of California operated the trip via local guides and drivers. We had a great time. We visited both coasts, stayed in the rain forest, tromped through the jungle, ate black beans and rice, drank coffee at 05:00, and flew on small propellor planes. Our fellow travelers were friendly and the guides knowledgeable. I had not been to Latin America since my oil industry years in the early 1980s, and it was nice to get back to the foods, smells, sounds, and vivid colors of the low latitudes. Here is a small sampling.

San José

We flew into San José and were immediately whisked off to a luxury hotel. Wait, I prefer to be downtown where one can wander around and look at the shops and stalls. San José is a bit rough - possibly the trip organizers were concerned about security issues. Or maybe the typical American tourist does not like to mix with the locals. Before we returned to USA three weeks later, we opted to stay in a hotel downtown, and we spent time walking around.

Supplies and soda

I think they like Coca Cola here

Sunglass Hut San José style

Don't forget your Coca Cola

Well, San José is a bit beat-up. We had to constantly scan the sidewalks where we walked because often paving stones were missing or there were construction holes. I can't recall where we walked or where we ate, but it was fun. The city does not have ominous overtones like San Pedro Sula or Guatemala City. The local citizens were cheerful.

La Fortuna

La Fortuna is a nice little provincial town in the central highlands. It serves as the gateway to rafting on the Arenal River and to visiting Volcan Arenal. 

Kapok tree near La Fortuna

You occasionally come across one of these astonishing kapok (Ceiba pentandra) trees. They can grow over 200ft high. The tree produces pods that contain seeds. These are surrounded by a fluffy, yellowish fibre that was formerly used in pillows and life jackets (therefore the term kapok jacket that you hear in World War II movies).

More chance for a Coca Cola

Waiting for a call

Monteverde Cloud Forest

There is the Resplendent quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) - way up there

Taking milk to market

There is the Violet Sabrewing hummingbird - way up there

The Monteverde Cloud Forest is an astonishing biological preserve of hundreds of species of birds, mammals, and insects. It rains often, like every day. Pack your rain gear and camera protection. What do you do there? Arise at 05:30, drink a strong and delicious Costa Rican Coffee, don your boots, and head off with your group to looks for birds. It does not get much better than this.

Costa Rica is a fantastic destination. Book a trip with a company that provides a naturalist, buy top grade binoculars, and have fun. And be sure to drink the coffee and eat the fresh fruits.

I took these photographs on Kodak Gold 100 film via an old Nikkormat FTn that I borrowed from a friend. The Nikkormat was a beater and I was not sure if the back was still light tight. But some electrical tape ensured a safe seal. For color slides, I used my Nikon F3. But after all the dampness and rain on this trip, I opted to send it to Nikon USA for a thorough cleaning and checkup. I scanned these negatives on a Plustek 7600i film scanner operated by SilverFast software.