Week 45, November 10, 2013
Time after Time
This was the subject matter I thought about last week when I wanted to do something time-related in sync with the “falling back” to Standard Time. I wanted to make macro shots of clockworks, the intricate gears and cogs of a timepiece. The trouble was, in this age of digital time keeping devices, clocks and watches with the old-style movements are exceeding rare and I couldn't find anything in short order to make my shot, thus the post last week with the clock at Meridian City Hall.
With a bit more thought, it occurred to me this week that we have an “Antique Mall,” a store where people bring their old stuff to sell on consignment. Surely they would have some old clocks and watches. Well, I wanted to keep it cheap as this was only for the photo shoot, so I wasn’t looking for a fancy mantel clock or pricey pocketwatch. After some searching, I found what I was after.
The gears and hands in the first shot where what I found inside my $3 purchase of an old electric alarm clock. A motor once drove the works, but the motion of the hands was still controlled by these gears.
The other shots were from the $6 pocketwatch I found. Too bad it doesn’t work as it is rather pretty, a 70’s reproduction of an old hunting watch made by Caravelle (a Bulova company).
These days, fewer people wear any kind of watch at all, using cellphones to tell them the time. Pity that the intricate workings of these timepieces and the people who made them are fast fading away.
One other note, all of these are done with the "reverse lens" technique I explored back in Week 18 and Week 19 which allows me to take ultra-close shots.
(Click the images below to see them larger)
This was the subject matter I thought about last week when I wanted to do something time-related in sync with the “falling back” to Standard Time. I wanted to make macro shots of clockworks, the intricate gears and cogs of a timepiece. The trouble was, in this age of digital time keeping devices, clocks and watches with the old-style movements are exceeding rare and I couldn't find anything in short order to make my shot, thus the post last week with the clock at Meridian City Hall.
With a bit more thought, it occurred to me this week that we have an “Antique Mall,” a store where people bring their old stuff to sell on consignment. Surely they would have some old clocks and watches. Well, I wanted to keep it cheap as this was only for the photo shoot, so I wasn’t looking for a fancy mantel clock or pricey pocketwatch. After some searching, I found what I was after.
The gears and hands in the first shot where what I found inside my $3 purchase of an old electric alarm clock. A motor once drove the works, but the motion of the hands was still controlled by these gears.
The other shots were from the $6 pocketwatch I found. Too bad it doesn’t work as it is rather pretty, a 70’s reproduction of an old hunting watch made by Caravelle (a Bulova company).
These days, fewer people wear any kind of watch at all, using cellphones to tell them the time. Pity that the intricate workings of these timepieces and the people who made them are fast fading away.
One other note, all of these are done with the "reverse lens" technique I explored back in Week 18 and Week 19 which allows me to take ultra-close shots.
(Click the images below to see them larger)