THE ARGUS WORLD ARGOSY

Richard Reeder - Mesa, AZ

17.Jan.2004, PhotoWorks film, ASA 100, 1/30 second, f/4

This is a photo of yours truly on that proud day when the World Argus C3 arrived in the mail from Mike Huck.  One can see the camera bag, one of Ron Norwood's light meters in it's box, the camera case, a baggy of Ephemera, The World C3 itself, the little red book with the running collection of photos of every place under the sun it seemed, papers of the Rules, List of Participants, various emails, etc., and the box along with me on the back patio.  Later that day I discovered the shutter escapement problem with the camera, and then a few days later, I actually lifted the front plate and replaced it with the one that Jaye Waas sent to me.  I felt humbled to be working on it.  It's like some holy icon or something. Anyway, it was great to shoot photos with it (like I've never handled a C3 before!).

Here in the Great Southwest, open spaces abound.  'Superstitions' (26.Jan.2004, Fuji Superia film, ASA 100, 1/300 second, f/10) is a photo of the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix, Arizona.  The Lost Dutchman Gold Mine is supposed to be located somewhere close to, if not directly in, these mountains.  People still go off in there to look for it, and some never come back out.  (No kidding)  The Indians hold the place as sacred.  I was target shooting in there once, and in climbing around found a little cave with a corn grinding mortar (like in Mortar and Pestle) ground right into the bedrock.  I was standing on Indian's front porch of 500 years ago.  All of a sudden it felt strange to be plinking there, so I left.

'Saguaro' (26.Jan.2004, Fuji Superia film, ASA 100, 1/300 second, f/10) is a photo of a saguaro cactus, pronounced 'sawarow', and is probably the image most people think of when the subject is Arizona.  It's flower is Arizona's state flower.  At about 100 years old, they start to grow their 'arms'.  This is a close up shot, and as a photo of just the needles would not generate too much interest, this shot looking up from the base of an old specimen looks a little better.  They are supposed to be able to hold gallons of water, but the only time you'd want to drink any of it is if you are actually dying of thirst.  First off, the authorities get all irritated if you start carving into one, and the liquid tastes like, well, let's just say you wouldn't serve it at dinner.  But in an emergency, the stuff would keep you alive, for a little while at least.

'RedMountain' (26.Jan.2004, Fuji Superia film, ASA 100, 1/100 second, f/10) is a photo of a local landmark here in the east valley (east of Phoenix, Arizona) called Red Mountain.  The Salt River flows from the northeast, through the Phoenix area, and has several dams along its course.  One of the dams is called Granite Reef Dam, and has an
associated lake behind it.  I honestly just stumbled on this scene.  In a picnic area on the south bank of the Granite Reef Lake, with the accompanying trees, etc., suddenly this view of Red Mountain presented itself.  Trout and other assorted fish live in the lake and the fishing in just about any of the lakes around here is pretty good.