On the Waterfront, Raymond, Washington (2024)

Raymond is on an estuary of the Willapa River near South Bend in Pacific County, Washington. Much of the city was built on piles on the tidelands. Like many rural Washington cities, it was originally a lumber mill town with adjacent farming in the river valley. Early in the 20th century, the city was bustling with lumber mills and freshly cut logs trains. Ocean-going ships took lumber to distant ports. Like many Pacific Northwest towns, the Great Depression devastated the local economy. The economy revived during World War II and during the post-war housing construction boom. Logging began to diminish in the 1970s, and the town fell on hard times. Today, it is part of the Evergreen Coast and has partly reformed itself as a tourist and museum town.

Willapa River (Kodak Panatomic-X film, 80mm ƒ/2.8 Planar-CB lens, dark yellow filter)

Weyerhaeuser Raymond Sawmill (250mm ƒ/5.6 Sonnar lens, yellow-green filter)

Raymond Trestle swing bridge, Willapa River (40mm ƒ/4 Distagon lens)

Detail, railroad swing bridge (100mm ƒ/3.5 Planar lens)

The Raymond trestle is another example of the impressive engineering that railroads achieved early in the 20th century. The control house was wood and has partly collapsed. The bridge is part of the Willapa Hills Trail, but the trail needs to divert through town instead of cross the river here. 

Stan Hatfield South Fork Industrial Park (50mm ƒ/4 Distagon lens)

Stan Hatfield South Fork Industrial Park

The Port of Willapa Bay runs several industrial parks with buildings rented to tenants. I do not know what this machinery once did.

Commercial Street, Raymond 

I plan to return to Raymond and look around some more. It is revitalizing, but there is old architecture and housing that I want to photograph.

The 2024 photographs are from Kodak Panatomic-X film and my Hasselblad 501CM camera. Praus Productions in Rochester, New York, developed the film in Xtol.

Inexpensive Gem: My $13.50 Canonet GIII QL17 Camera (Oly 18)

Long-term readers know that I periodically suffer from uncontrollable episodes of GAS. That is Gear Acquisition Syndrome, an ailment that most photographers suffer. 

Well-used Canonet G-III QL17 camera

Background

I have been bicycling more, and with the approach of dry spring weather, a compact bicycle camera might be handy. A logical choice is one of the compact rangefinder cameras from the 1970s and 1980s. But which model? The Japanese companies made millions of these cameras. But many have succumbed to age, fungus, moisture, corroded batteries, or gummed up lubricants. They were designed as mid-range consumer products, and it is amazing that so many are still functional 50 years later. 

The best summary of compact rangefinder cameras is on Steve Gandy's Cameraquest site. PetaPixel presented a summary of the Canonet models. 

I have experience with compact cameras:

• Some four decades ago, I used a Rollei 35S with an excellent 40mm ƒ/2.8 Sonnar lens. Why did I sell it? 
• About 20 years ago, I had a Canon Canonet QL19 camera, which took superb Kodachrome slides. But I sold it in the foolish days when I thought I would switch to digital. 
• For a few years, I used a Yashica Electro 35CC, but it failed via the infamous "pad of death." 
• My Olympus Trip 35 developed a lens alignment issue, so off it went. 
• My Voigtländer Vito BL is compact but has small fonts on the controls and has only a ƒ/3.5 lens. Optically, it is superb, but a bit too fiddly.
• Last but not least, my 1949 Leica IIIC is a compact jewel, but is also fiddly in the field. It is a deliberate tool, so maybe not quite right for a bicycle grab-and-take camera.

Being familiar with my Canonet of 20 years ago, I decided to try one again. Some of the later models cost serious $$$ from KEH and other vendors. The days of finding such a camera at a garage sale for $5 are long gone! On a whim, I bought a GIII QL17 for $13.50 plus minor shipping from the big auction site. $13.50?

Canon made a series of these fixed lens rangefinder Canonet cameras starting in 1961. They were  outstanding commercial successes. The earlier Canonets were big and heavy cameras. In 1969, the company redesigned the line to be smaller and lighter. Canon sold 1.2 million of the last version, the GIII QL17. QL meant Quick Load, a clever mechanism to make loading the film easier. And 17 represented the maximum aperture of ƒ/1.7. Canon also sold lower price 19 and 28 models. All had excellent coated lenses. The lens on the ƒ/1.7 model is a 6-element double-Gauss design, single coated.

A problem with all of these 1960s and 1970s cameras is they depended on 1.35 volt mercury batteries to power the light meters. The mercury battery had a steady voltage output until the cell was close to exhaustion. As a replacement, many people now use a Wein Cell, which is 1.4 volts. Hearing aide batteries, which are inexpensive, also work. 

Clean design with settings visible from above

Film path with Quick Load panel on the right. I removed the old foam light seals.

My camera was dirty, but some alcohol wipes cleaned it. The foam light seal strips had deteriorated into a sticky tar. Alcohol on Q-Tips and some toothpicks cleaned most of the glop. Although the viewfinder was a bit hazy, the rangefinder was accurate horizontally and aligned vertically. Best of all, this body did not suffer from the common sticky Canon shutter blade syndrome. The shutter speeds from 1/4 to 1/500 sounded reasonable, especially after some exercise. Even the self-timer was reliable.

Trouble: the light meter was comatose. I cleaned the contacts in the battery compartment, but there was no electrical activity of any kind. Instead, I can temporarily use my Reflx Lab light meter, a compact unit that slides into the flash shoe. At least ten Chinese companies have recently introduced small shoe-mount light meters with various types of displays and button configurations. I assume many of these meters share a sensing unit and integrated electronic package. 

Olympia

One early morning in March, after breakfast at Bread Peddler and while waiting for a car repair, I walked around 4th avenue and Capital Way. The light was soft. I loaded a roll of Kodak Ektar 100 in the Canonet. (Click any picture to expand it to 2400 pixels wide)

The parking lot located off Capitol Way at the alley that runs between State and 4th Avenues is usually dirty and trashed. But the graffiti is colorful. 

116 State Avenue

Capital Way view south

Capital Way power box

Conclusions

The 40mm ƒ/1.7 lens on this little Canonet is terrific. It is high resolution and shows little or no distortion. No complaints here. However, Canon used a filter mount of 48mm, which was semi-unique to Canon products.

The Ektar 100 film was a pleasant surprise. In the past, I had trouble with the Ektar colors in bright sunny conditions. But in overcast, it is terrific. I scanned these negatives on my Nikon Coolscan 5000 film scanner, while with previous rolls, I used a Plustek 7600. Possibly, the Nikon does some internal data processing in a different way, one more suited to the Ektar color palette. Regardless, I'm pleased and will use Ektar 100 again.  

   

HANDS OFF! in Olympia, Washington (Oly 17)

Blog Note:  I just posted an article about my Volkswagen Squareback car. I will withdraw it and repost it in the future because I want to share some pictures from the April 5 Hands Off protest.

The Hands Off protest gathered in front of the Washington State Capitol on the afternoon of April 5, 2025. This mirrored hundreds of similar protest around the country and even internationally. People here and around the country were protesting the loss of medical research, funding for agencies, the gutting of scientific staff at federal research agencies, a chaotic tariff program, and potential threats to social security and medicaid enacted by Elon Musk and the felon traitor in the White House. I cannot predict if the protests will have any effect at all, but real American patriots are angry and are speaking out. 

View of the Capitol steps

The speakers were on the north steps of the Capitol. It was a bit hard to understand what they were saying. My wife and I walked around and admired the signs. The crowd was in a good mood - no Molotov cocktails, burning effegies, or tear gas.

Here is a sampling of the signs, many quite clever.

A bit further north, sculpture and some handsome mature trees.

It was a sunny hot afternoon, almost a hint of summer. The crowd was peaceful and not too noisy. Several people commented to me that the current president made Richard Nixon and George Bush II look good. I did not hear anyone compliment Ronald Reagan. Hmmm.......

I took these photographs with my Fuji X-E1 digital camera with the compact 27mm ƒ/2.8 Fujinon lens. I set the jpeg output to be black and white but later realized that color was much more effective on this glarey sunny day. The pictures above are from the RAW files as opened with XNView MP software. 

On the Waterfront - Seattle, Washington (Summer 2024)

The Seattle waterfront has changed drastically since I lived in Seattle in the mid-1970s. At that time, the horrible 2-level Alaskan Viaduct snaked along the waterfront. Underneath was a sort of nether-land, similar to the underside of the Southeast Expressway in Boston. But at least there was parking under the concrete. Back then, waterfront Seattle was a working district, with warehouses, small factories, and industrial activities. 

Today, the viaduct is gone! Alaskan Way is sunny. Now there are bike lanes, gardens, and a clean new surface street, Elliott Way. Warehouses have been rebuilt into condominiums, and totally new buildings have been erected. And the traffic flows underneath through the SR99 tunnel. 

Alaskan Way

Pier 50 view north along Alaskan Way (Kodak Tri-X film, Rolleiflex 3.5E camera)

The grotesque viaduct once marred this view. Now this is a cheerful and popular bund or esplanade.

This monstrous cruise ship loomed over the waterfront. I have never been close to a vessel this large. It was like a floating office building. I can understand why more and more popular destinations in the Mediterranean, like Venice, Santorini, and Barcelona, object to these ships disgorging thousands of tourists in a short period. They overwhelm the local infrastructure, water supply, and plumbing. But the merchants like the shoppers.

Pier 70 view south along Alaskan Way from the Olympia Sculpture Park

Sounder commuter train

BNSF tracks near Pier 66

In the past, I wondered where the trains came from that ran on the tracks parallel Alaskan Way. I only recently learned that the Great Northern Tunnel extends for about a mile under the business district. This was a major engineering accomplishment in 1904. The southern entrance is just north of the King Street station. The northern entrance emerges from the mountain almost under the Pike Place Market. The opening is obscured by fencing along Elliott Way.  This is another example of the great engineering that made a nation. 

Great Northern Tunnel north entrance (Samsung phone digital file)

BNSF freight train near Pier 70

It feels like a train comes along about every 15 minutes. The amount of commerce is amazing.

Pike Place Market

Everyone takes pictures and selfies at the famous Pike Place Market. My Olympia photography friend comes here often and does excellent work. I took pictures in the Market in 1973 when I lived in Seattle. 

The famous Pioneer Building is a Richardsonian Romanesque edifice of stone, red brick, terra cotta, and cast iron. It faces Pioneer Square, now rather grungy because of the homeless and filth. 

I remember entering the Pioneer Building when it was being renovated in the early 1970s. There was an inner atrium with iron railings. Somewhere in the basement was the well-known French restaurant, the Brasserie Pittsbourg. I remember eating here with friends and, possibly, my dad. Do I have any photographs from those happy and innocent 1970s?

Entrance to the Brasserie Pittsbourg, March 3, 1970 (courtesy of the Seattle Public Library, photograph by Werner W. Lenggenhager, 1899-1988)

This ends our short walk in downtown Seattle and along the waterfront. I took these photographs on Kodak Tri-X 400 film with a Rolleiflex 3.5E camera with 75mm ƒ/3.5 Xenotar lens. This is a 1959 model still going strong. Most Rolleiflex twin lens cameras are superb picture machines. Praus Productions in Rochester, NY, developed the film.

This was article Sea 05

2024 E. Washington Road Trip 07 - Manhattan Project National Historical Park

Hanford was the last destination of my 2024 eastern Washington road trip. I stayed in Richland for a night and took the tour the next morning.

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park operates tours of the remarkable first plutonium reactor that was built at Site B on the Hanford site. Hanford was one of the top secret sites operated in World War II to build the first atomic bombs. One of the critical materials for a bomb was plutonium, which occurs only in the most minute trace amounts on earth. Therefore, scientists had to devise a means of making plutonium from a reaction using Uranium-238. The Hanford area was well-suited for these pioneering experiments because it was far from major metropolitan areas, had access to cool water from the Columbia River, and had access to ample electrical supply, thanks to the hydroelectric projects on the Columbia River. I will not try to summarize the pioneering engineering and scientific achievements that went on during and after the war. You may or may not approve of the atomic weapons program, but it happened and is part of our scientific history.

The National Park Service offers (or offered) tours of the plutonium reactor in the summer months. A bus takes visitors across the broad scrublands of the Hanford site. Tour guides describe the setting and the background of the immense project. I was very impressed how well the entire tour operated. One of the guides was a nuclear engineer and was able to answer questions of every level. He told us that the first part of his career was creating radioactive materials. For the second part, he is cleaning up the waste.

  

105-B reactor containment building, Site B, Hanford, Washington

This severe and ominous concrete building houses the first plutonium reactor ever built. Workers began construction in October 1943, and the reactor was ready to load fuel in September 1944. This is remarkable productivity considering how long it takes to complete any major project today in the USA.  The tall chimney was for ventilation. The construction of the B Reactor and the Hanford complex was one of the largest engineering and construction projects in the United States during World War II.

Reactor charge (front) face with elevator gantry near the bottom

This is the front face of the reactor. About 2000 aluminum tubes penetrate through the graphite core. Each of the plugs in the photograph above is a cap and water valve over the end of an aluminum tube. To fuel the reactor, workers removed the end cap/plug and inserted aluminum slugs containing U-238. When the reactor was operating, cooling water came through each cap and flushed through the aluminum tubes and around the uranium slugs at a rate of 75,000 US gal. per minute. Highly skilled workers built the graphite pile, intricate piping, complex sensors, and the support equipment. 

Cooling water came from the Columbia River via large water pumps. Electricity was supplied via the grid from hydroelectric plants, but a coal-fired generating plant operated and was on-line in case an emergency disrupted of the electric supply. Our tour guide (a retired employee) told us that once in 1944 or 1945, the electric supply was partly disrupted. The electric grid operators were told to stop all power to the city of Portland immediately to ensure that the Hanford water pumps continued to have full power. 

After the water passed through the reactor, it was discharged into basins to allow short-lived radioactive materials to decay. Then, it was pumped back into the Columbia River downstream (yes, really!). 

Sump below the back face of the reactor

Safety signage

When the physicists on duty computed that a certain set of U-328 slugs had been partly transformed and contained suitable plutonium, reactor technicians stopped the reactor and pushed the spent slugs out the back. The slugs fell into a water-filled sump and rested while short-lived isotopes decayed. 

After some time, workers picked up the slugs by hand with long tongs and placed them into a water-filled cask. Later, a train took the cask to a plant that separated the P-239 from other materials in the spent slug. 

The separation plants are not on the tour, and most (or all?) have been demolished. These were complex and experimental facilities that generated vast amounts of toxic waste. Much of the cleanup that is ongoing, and will last well into the next century, relates to the decaying storage tanks that contain hazardous and radioactive sludge. This cleanup will cost between $300 and $600 billion (which realistically means a $ trillion) and take 70 years (translate: a century). 

The current plan is to mix low level waste into glass, to be buried elsewhere. The Hanford Vitrification Plant, also known as the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, has been in construction for 21 years. It has cost an estimated $17 billion, but the budget has grown over time and may exceed $30 billion. You can see where this is going......

The entire reactor was manual. Humans operated everything. I love the precise mechanical gauges, controls, and valves. Highly-skilled craftsmen built everything with meticulous precision. 

This was the train that carried the water casks to the processing/separation plant. I wonder if the locomotive engineer knew what he was carrying? 

After the War ended, B Reactor was initially shut down at the end of 1946. But with the paranoia of the Cold War and growing tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, B Reactor restarted in 1948 to produce more plutonium. It operated until 1967. The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission shut down B Reactor permanently in 1968.

The other plutonium production reactors at Hanford have been closed and encapsulated with protective covers. I do not know if the remnants will sit for years or centuries. But because of its historic significance, B was preserved and became a tour site. 

The Park Service tour is a fascinating historical visit to another era. Do go. And no, plutonium will not jump out of the graphite and irradiate you. 

I took these photographs on Kodak Tri-X film with my Hasselblad 501CM camera and 80mm ƒ/2.8 Planar-CB lens.