Not your everyday 3-in-1 printer!

Fellow blogger, techie Rich Charpentier has just joined the Prescott art community with a bang. Over at the Ian Russell Gallery is a display of his photographs of the local scene , processed into spectacular, sometimes other-worldly HDR prints -- a technique from the age of PhotoShop and its successors. Dotter & I paid a call on Rich yesterday (below); I wanted to get a good look at his fancy new machinery & she (OmegaMom) wanted to buy one of his prints. We both achieved our goals.

Here it is, in the gallery back room: Rich's new HP printer for high-res, high fidelity giclee prints from photographs, paintings or other art work. Take a look at those ink cartridges, not one of the six is a standard printer color -- these are among the extra inks that are needed for exact matching of the colors in a work of art. All told, the printer uses 12 separate colors, including three blacks! Rich's business is the first and only such service in this area. In fact, the prices are reasonable enough that I am thinking of ordering a few large prints from my LH's wonderful nature photography.

Did I mention that Rich's machine also makes H*U*G*E prints?

This reproduction of a painting of Thumb Butte was printed on canvas -- just one of the possibilities of the new technologies. Do I sound enthusiastic? Yes, I am. Indeed.

The Pinzgauer arrives

Saturday I arrived home from the Prescott Photo Walk to find this lovely parked at my house. The Sson's new back country toy had arrived from Iowa. A Pinzgauer, a military vehicle of choice in Mittel Europe and many other countries, originally made in Austria.

As yet, Sson had not driven said vehicle and it was time to give it a whirl. See all those controls? It's apparently a good enough off-roadster for the Swiss army to take almost anywhere in the Alps, for example.

And so, after he was comfortable enough, he invited me for a spin up the Thumb Butte Road. I have to say that we got plenty of respect on the road (below), though this is a much smaller, lighter vehicle than either the German Unimog or the American Hummer.

Before parking off the road, to give me a proper photo op, the Sson did suddenly pull off, circling over stumps and some pretty rough territory. Vehicle did fine, especially considering that its clearance is much higher than our civilian 4-wheelers, not to mention other serious features.

And, oh, what glorious shooting I could do through that high, wide and handsome flat front windshield. Assuming, of course, that it had been cleaned and no new splats had occurred.

Cool lacings!
According to Sson, there are fewer than a thousand of these neat trucks in the US, all made in the 70s and 80s. Though the machine is still made, now in the UK, the newer trucks don't meet our current American safety & other standards, though they're good enough for the picky folk in the European Community. Besides, they cost upwards of $100Gs+. The older vehicles basically qualify as collectibles; the Governator, for example, owns several.

I suspect the Sson has been lusting for a Pinz ever since he was stationed in Germany during the 70s. Though we have a nationally known Pinzgauer/Unimog dealer out Iron Springs Road, he was fortunate enough to find this particular vehicle on an eBay auction at a much better price.

Photo Walk Blogs: Several local bloggers have posted their pictures and reports of Saturday's big picture-taking extravaganza, including Rich, Sadira, Tombo and Dagny. Worth a visit to each!

Walking Prescott, 50-strong

Prescott Photo Walk 2008. We gathered at the Sharlot Hall Museum grounds, 50 strong, to celebrate our town in picture. Only two hours to discover all manner of sights, from the museum grounds to the Whiskey Row alley to Courthouse Square. I was as fascinated with the photographers as I was with an area of town I've walked with my camera many, many times.

The Corn Mother -- from a different angle, one that I can only wist after at my age and condition!

Ditto for this close-up in the alley. Not to mention a dash up several inviting staircases, such as the cool, angular set at the city parking garage below. Did I mention that the day was clear, which means that it was Hot -- and the lighting Garish, not something one can easily PhotoShop away.

The crowd reached the courthouse. Here (above and below) are two opportunities to play Count the Cameras!

At the end of the trail, refreshment time at Pangea Bakery, inside with the air conditioning and outside with a breeze.

Even though it was time to relax, more than one last photo was taken -- after all, we had clouds finally forming after a week of hot and dry.

And here's Rich, who organized the entire affair. Many thanks to you, Rich. And just in case you'd like to see some wonderful pictures of Prescott, just hop over to Flickr. FYI, a similar event was happening in many cities around the world. Scott Kelby, a PhotoShop guru, was the mastermind.

Prescott stars in blogger's photo debut

The Old Firehouse Plaza has added a collection of scupts along the back entrance (next the city garage) -- a group of fire hydrants! Couldn't resist photographing them on the way to the Ian Russell Gallery (below), celebrating its first birthday.

I had been invited by Rich, who also blogs Prescott. He was making his debut as an artist, with a collection of strange and remarkable photographic prints, primarily of the Dells. It's been a fascinating evolution to observe, from high techie to a possible new career in the arts.

While at the gallery, I couldn't resist photographing this warrior; with Norwegian ancestors, I have a weakness for Vikings.

Here are the principals -- Ian Russell, gallery owner and artist, and Rich, my blogging friend. It was neat to have a chance to see more of Russell's work; a print of his Kitchen Opera has been in my SIL's kitchen for years!

Another blogger of my acquaintance, Sadira, she of Fooleswoode, tells visitors about Rich's photographic approach.

And the Sson had a long conversation with Rich, also about how he turns high quality, standard photos into a science fiction experience. You should take a look at his work at the gallery or visit him on-line.

An explosion of local books

If anything measures the growth in affluence during my lifetime, it must be the availability of Things of the Mind: music ... art ... education ... publications. The number, the variety, especially the quality of what I can enjoy today in a smallish Arizona city would absolutely astound the girl who began coming of age intellectually in the early 40s in a much larger Florida city which was not big enough to keep her.

Right now, I'm thinking about just the wealth of books focused on our little world in Central Arizona. I've pulled these books, pamphlets and monographs from my own shelves.

Geology, wild flowers, critters, history, railroads, archeology, trails -- each subject is covered in one or more of these publications. My most recent addition (a week ago) was Stories of Early Prescott. A chapter on major snow storms piqued my interest -- I wanted to know more about the famous Winter of 19-aught-67.

I realized, in staging the pictures, that there's a good reason the Prescott region in its many manifestations keeps my interest: the whole is not too big to wrap my mind around. Our history here does not have deep roots in time; the population is not large and the number of old families is limited. A good subject for amateur contemplation, in other words. (A side note here -- just for the helluvit, I popped a another local sort of publication, the guidebook to the DeAnza-Borrego area in the picture immediately above just for Gadget and Foolsewoode, who recently returned from a grand adventure over in the California desert; do read about it in their blogs & be sure to scroll down!)

The next three pictures, taken at the Sharlot Hall Museum gift shop, give an idea of the shelf space dedicated to local/Western topics. The Worm on Whiskey Row showcases Prescott and Arizona books at the front of the store. Periodically, the Book Nook will display one or two recently published local items; however, Marilyn also has an excellent section of used books on Indians, the West and its history.

BTW, the museum operates a small press with a handful of titles, all of local interest.

At times, you have to go to a very special event to locate a local book. Here, at a big signing sponsored by the Ash Fork AZ Historical Society, I bought both Marshall Trimble's new book and a previous publication prepared by members of the society. My Paulden Pioneers came from an outdoor event in that Big Chino Valley settlement last September. Of interest is Arcadia Publishing, which lists some 5000 local historic books, from Bangor, Maine, to Ash Fork and Prescott.

In previous years, the Annual Book Festival at the Sharlot Hall Museum grounds was a great place to buy books of the west, though the festival may not be held in 2008. This picture was taken at the Primrose Press display; the press is owned by the ladies Ruffner (Elisabeth and Melissa), who have most recently published Chris Hoy's The Elk in the Attic to benefit the ongoing renovation of the Elks Opera House. The Ruffners have been very active in Prescott historic activities, writing books as well as conducting tours.

Another author/publisher, Agnes Franz here at the Book Festival, also wrote a Prescott history.

At the annual barbecue of the Yavapai Cattle Growers Association, the Yavapai Cowbelles sell copies of their collected tales of ranch life, now grown into a 3-volume set. Other important venues for local books are the outfitter shops, where trail books, maps and even booklets detailing best climbs in the Dells are stocked. It is, indeed, a wealth of information -- and detail about Everybody's Home Town, as the Chamber of Commerce styles us.

Prescott by zoom

To readers from far away, here are views of downtown Prescott; to local readers, your chance to get a hillside view of our town so you can pick out all the details. Obviously the place to start: the Courthouse, with the city parking garage in the foreground and Union Street going up the hill on the other side.

Gurley Street, from the McCormick Street condo building (left foreground) all the way to the Hassayampa Hotel. including even a few Victorians at the very top. Plus the old Masonic building on Cortez peeking over the other buildings.

Compressed buildings over on Godwin Street, starting at the corner of Montezuma and looking east, including the post office, City Hall and the Chamber of Commerce.

Yavapai College buildings are at the very top of this view; the red brick structures are the Fine Arts Assn. building and the former movie house converted into offices for the Social Security Administration.

Here you can look all the way from Albertson's and the old Depot to the many white buildings of the VA hospital complex and up to the top of our local volcano, Glassford Hill.

A hillside full of houses.

The hillside scar that always accompanies a new building...

Though only a Big Box (Lowe's) would make a scar like this one! In the foreground, the balconies of the old Head Hotel show, as well as a major antenna tower.

McMansions near the Senator Highway, which leads into the forest south of town. As you can see, our downtown is very compact -- and full of trees, which, at this season, are barren and gray. The gray green foliage you see in many of the pictures is primarily scrub oak and juniper. Pictures, using the extreme zoom lens setting, were taken from a nearby hillside on the west side of town. When I got back to the house, a hungry robin was on a juniper, gobbling down the berries. The only picture I was able to get showed the tip of its tail and its beak. Ah, well. Win some, lose some.

Linkages: Some splendid pictures of remnants from days past by friend Bobbi (all local, by the way); Firefly Forest who takes wonderful nature pictures has just posted desert-in-bloom pix from down Picacho Peak way. And if you're looking for something strange, I give you the World Dream Bank. Speaking of dreams: if you happen to have a spare $5 mil, you might want to buy the acreage at the top of Mt. Tritle; it's on the market, according to Prescott Style. Tritle is the middle peak of the three highest mountains due south of town.