Views of the World, Palmetto Avenue, Los Angeles

I went through the junk in the hall closet and dug out my 2002 Thomas Brothers Guide,  (If you're not from my part of the world, you won't get the reference.)  and looked for Palmetto Avenue, L.A.  I found a Palmetto Ave. in Covina, a Palmetto Place in Pasadena, and a Palmetto Street in Los Angeles.  The one in L.A. is between the L.A. River and downtown. An area better known for warehouses, small factories, and scrap yards.  Things do change.

Click Views of the World in labels to bring up the rest of this collection.

Views of the World, Big Tree, California

This postcard is driving me crazy.  I'm sure I've seen the original black & white photograph.  But where? Haven't a clue.  I've just spent far too much time searching the net looking for the original and couldn't find a thing.

Anyway, in 1890 Congress passed a law creating Yosemite, Sequoia, and General Grant National Parks.  General Grant National Park?  Yes, in 1890, 10 or so acres of giant sequoia trees were protected as General Grant National Park.  In 1940, the park was folded into the newly established King's Canyon National Park.  Oh for the good old days when Congress was able to actually do things.  Don't know which park this photo is from, but it has to be either Sequoia or General Grant.

This card is part of a collection of cards Iv'e has since high school, and that was far too many years ago.  Click on Views of the World in labels to see what's been posted.

Snow Leap

As a rule, I don't keep seasons on The New Found Photography.  If  I've got a nice beach picture, and I've got a few in the queue, I'm as likely to post them in January as in July.  But, since the last post was so summery, I thought this snow scene was a great follow up.

 I bought this image here, in southern California, so it's a good bet that I've driven this road.  I doubt that stone structure is there anymore, but it made a good spot to take a leap into winter, though I've got a funny feeling that there's a bit of stage craft in this photo.  I think the leaper didn't leap, so much as pretended to leap for the camera.

Now, let me get into printer mode for a bit.  Notice all the white spots and lines.  That's not snow, it's a dirty negative.  This must have been printed in a home darkroom.  Pro printers don't last if they can't be bothered to clean the neg before exposure.

Eating Watermelon

I grew up in a small, rural town where people, during the summer, sat around and ate watermelon.  Locally grown watermelon.  Watermelon with seeds.  Imagine that.

U. S. Army Air Force

This one is the full 8x10, heavy, double weight, fiber paper print meant to be displayed in the silver frame on the mantle piece.

I had a couple of threads to pursue on this photograph.  There is an embossed studio mark on the bottom of the print, part of which is visible.  "FRANKLIN DUNCAN, HOLLYWOOD, GR 1037."  I thought it would be easy to find something on Mr. Duncan, but sadly, I struck out on that front.  I tried Franklin Duncan, Hollywood, California, as well as Franklin Duncan, Hollywood, Florida and couldn't find a thing.  Who ever he was, he was skilled, but not necessarily talented.  I've seen a very similar pose on many a print.  Even when I was working as a professional photo printer, and I'm way too young to have been working in the World War 2 era, this pose showed up all the time.

The other thread, the shoulder insignia on the young man's uniform.  I recognized it as the mark of the United States Army Air Force, organized in 1941, disbanded in 1947, with the founding of the separate Air Force we know today.  I had hoped to find out who were the officers and who were the enlisted men.  Pilots, co-pilots, and navigators were the officers, like out lieutenant, while gunners, and mechanics were the enlisted men.  The one position I'm not sure of, bombardier.

Nice looking woman.

Mom's Friends

Well, I'm going to stick with the military stuff, at least through the weekend.  This one looks like the World War 2 era.

Written on the back, "Mom & Friends."  But, which lady is mom?  If the writing on the back was written when the photo was taken, Mom is probably the older woman.  If thirty years latter, probably the younger lady.  Significantly, the man is neither son, nor father.  Personally, I think Mom is the younger of the two women, and she went through a number of  boyfriends through the war years.  But, did the man in the picture not live up to Mom's standards, or did he not live?

World War 1, On The Move

More from the camera of O.D. Caldwell.

Both of the Caldwell posts seem to be about movement.  Most of the battle damage photos look like they were taken from a moving train, and they were all of different locations.  Today's post show men in trains and men on ships.  But, are they on the way to war, or are they on the way home?  I prefer to think that the war was over for these men, and they were headed back to the U.S.  That's why I put the Statue of Liberty picture last.