With the exception of photographing a few snowflakes during the winter, the cameras have stayed on the shelf for WAY too long. And I needed to get them back in my hands and back out shooting.
Trust me. I’ve got an itch that only a camera can scratch.
Last Saturday, I packed my three-dimensional Nimslo camera – a film shooter that takes four simultaneous pictures, which can be converted into a magic-motion GIF or a lenticular physical print – and decided on a plan.
The plan was to smuggle the camera onto the Comet roller coaster at the Great Escape and take some way-awesome three-dimensional images of the hills and turns.
Mind you, this is dangerous. I would never take my Nikon Df or Leica Green or the Rollei on such a crazy journey.
But a plastic, lightweight Nimslo camera … sure, why not?
So let’s see… parking – $30 for a good spot. A ticket to the park – $65. Yeesh, I’ve already spent nearly $100 and I haven’t even made it to the Comet.
I get there. The Comet’s being tested for safety. There’s a line.
Finally I get on the Comet. Prime spot. Front car. Front seat. I’m ready for pictures.
“You need to put that camera in the box over here,” an attendant said to me.
I half-heartedly asked if I could simply wrap the camera strap around my wrist. No dice.
So if nothing else, I rode the Comet and there were no pictures for it. And after riding the Comet, I realized that if I even tried to take pictures on such a fast coaster, my camera would have flown out of my hands faster than the money flying out of my wallet.
Dang.
I tried some other rides – the swan boats, the Storytown train, nothing really captured a great three-dimensional image.
And at the last moment, I decided I would ride the gondola. The gondola is a gentle ride that floats from one end of the old Storytown campus to the other. And as long as you don’t spit over the rail, you’re okay.
I made it onto the ride. I took some pictures, but the subjects were so far away, the three-dimensional perspective just wasn’t there.
And as my gondola was about to turn around and head back to the ride entrance…
Hey, wait a second. There’s an empty gondola about to pass me.
If I get a shot of this …
Miller, stop talking “if” and start shooting “now”!
Okay. There’s a few scuffies and scratches on the film, but I can work with that if I decide to take this picture to the next level.
But for now … I’ve got something here.
And for now … I’ve got my camera action flowing again.
Let’s keep this going. Maybe I still have time to capture something amazing for Competition Season 2019.
I can only hope.
Chuck The Writer 