Another Camera Trick - Minolta Auto Bellows 1 And Nikon D3100

Bellows mounted on a digital camera

In an earlier post, I explained how I was able to adapt a prism lens filter from my old Minolta SLR film camera for use on my Nikon D3100 digital camera. Along the same line - adapting old onto the new - I finally bought a an adapter ring that fits between my Nikon camera body and a Minolta Auto Bellows 1 so I can take very close-up photographs with my digital camera. The Fotodiox Pro MD-NIK works like a charm, so now I can take macro-digital-photographs what were really difficult to do with my old Minolta film camera because of needing to estimate exposure

First attempt at macro-digital-photography

times. With my Nikon set to M for manual, with daylight coming through the window, I have had no difficulty getting perfectly exposed images. My bother-in-law Marc bought the bellows set up for me on his second deployment to Asia in the 1970's during the Vietnam War. I had given him a list of "wants" to pick up for me when he was able to shop at the base exchange on the Sasebo Naval Base in Japan - things were really cheap on base back in those days before Amazon and other on-line shopping.. As I remember, I had really wanted a 300 mm Rokkor lens, but there weren't any available, so he picked up my second choice, the bellows. It was probably around 1985 that I finally bought the Minolta MD Macro 50 mm lens shown in the photograph of the set up. As it would be, it took more than 40 years to finally get everything in sync.

Just Wondering - XC Skiing Dreaming

Ma and Pa giving it a try

The temperatures here in Fort Collins are up in the 60's today, so the snow is melting fast in front of the breeze. Back with the earlier snowfall weeks back in the teens, conditions seemed just right for cross country skiing. We haven't tried to ski since back in early 1990's when we stayed at Black Butte, Oregon. Other than going to REI and Sierra Trading Company stores a couple of weeks ago to just look at equipment, I have really no idea about the right kind of equipment to get. Good thing for the Internet, a quick search and I found an informational video by Ors Cross Country Ski Direct.com at the bottom of the article titled: Don't Make The Mistake Of Spending Big Bucks For XC Skis that gives an introductory overview about skis and boots.

Our Children's Losses

January 16, 2015

An excellent article today in the Washington Post that shows the effects of war on children left behind by lost service parent since the war in Afghanistan started following September 11. A difficult read, but good for remembering - not to turn away from because of the uncomfortableness of it all. Children of the Fallen: Portraits of Loss. A child's story for each year since 2001.

Nature and Artists Juxtaposed - Search for Ellie Bogardus

We have admired Melanee Sylvester's landscape paintings for as long as we have been aware of Cambria. Her style has evolved through the years, slightly, but her work is our favorite of what we have seen on the Central California coast - her work characterizes this part of the world.(1) Jan and I have purchased a half-dozen of her prints and have them hanging on the walls around our house. For what would have been a steal price-wise now, the cost of her oils were more than what we could have afforded then - such it is. When coming into Cambria along Highway 1 as we are approaching the stop light,  I always look for the back of her gallery in the row of stores along West Village on Main Street.

Today I received an email from a blog viewer who kindly furnished a picture of an Ellie Bogardus painting that she and her husband have. They were in Cambria this weekend on a mission to find out more about Borgardus, and were wondering if I had any leads to share. They had checked with a woman at the Artifacts Gallery (another of my favorite places in Cambria), and found that she had used to work with Ellie at the production company that made the Peanuts cartoons, but didn't know of the Cambria connection. I gave a few suggestions, and hope to hear how their quest turns out.

Melanee Sylvester at work

A natural landscape on Park Hill

 Ellie Bogardus' and Mellanee Sylvester's works couldn't be more different - than Matisse and Renoir.

Tracy Sylvester-Harris' work

Melanee's daughter Tracy paints scenes of life along the California Coast as well. Her art is displayed at the Sylvester Gallery as well and information about her is found here, but I saw she has showings at other venues and media as well. Click here, here, and here to view. The later has very nice images of her work. An inventory of her exhibitions are found here.
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 (1) Sylvester's work is even referenced in reports of such prosaic events as the drought and its non-effect on a kind of local flora (click here).

Blue Skies

“Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things—trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have."

“Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones.” Puddleglum the Marshwiggle

C.S. Lewis
The Silver Chair
1953

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Irving Berlin, Blue Skies

I was blue, just as blue as I could be
Ev'ry day was a cloudy day for me
Then good luck came a-knocking at my door
Skies were gray but they're not gray anymore

Blue skies
Smiling at me
Nothing but blue skies
Do I see

Bluebirds
Singing a song
Nothing but bluebirds
All day long

Never saw the sun shining so bright
Never saw things going so right
Noticing the days hurrying by
When you're in love, my how they fly

Blue days
All of them gone
Nothing but blue skies
From now on



I should care if the wind blows east or west
I should fret if the worst looks like the best
I should mind if they say it can't be true
I should smile, that's exactly what I do

Ellie Bogardus - Reconstructed "Kiss in the Moon Light"

I have on more than one occasion left a razor behind in a hotel: Beijing, China; Durango, Colorado; and at least a couple of more places. Remedy: A trip to the grocery store and seven dollars - replaced, nothing really precious. However, when a piece of art left behind, it is a whole 'nother matter - a lifetime of remorse, a desire to reclaim, an inquiry to a blogger.

I received a message a couple of days ago from Kit De Garimore asking if I come across a photograph of an art piece by Ellie Bogardus titled: Kiss in the Moonlight, she would be relieved to know that the painting has survived her move as a teenager from Cambria. An implied hope that an anonymous someone had recovered it after she left it behind. A follow-up email after I replied to her message gave a vivid description, a poem of sort:

Kiss in the Moonlight

The painting was a colaje 

With raised surfaces of fabric, paper and string.  

Dark blues,

A bright moon in the top right,

An abstract smiling women 

In a swooning pose 

In its center.

Reconstruction: The posting: Ellie Bogardus - The Lost Generation, shows a colage style used by Bogardus in 1967 that preceded De Garimore's remembrance of Kiss from 1976. A reconstruction interpreting a wall mural etched into the stucco south wall at Bogardus' Cambria home is posted here. Searching back through all of the postings of Bogardus pieces, I found only one night scene in a painted drawing medium, a couple of images of moons (full and crescent), and a number of abstract women to choose from - but none of these in a swooning pose.

There are a number of options and combinations to choose from to create a reconstruction of Kiss in the Moonlight - it will take some time to figure this one out. Given the artist's background in painting the scenery backgrounds for early era cartoons, it is appropriate that the example above serve as a placeholder until a suitable reconstruction is constructed.

If anyone reads this, and knows the where-about's of Kiss in the Moonlight, please let us know. I don't know of any inventories of her art works. Perhaps there is some record in the Smithsonian files that of her works are not accessible online.
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First inquiry: I had one of Ellie's paintings, I believe it was called Kiss in the moon light 1976? Sadly I left it behind when I moved from Cambria as a teenager, in a small apartment. It was a gift.  My only hope is that it was recovered by some one. I never had the heart to write to her and apologize for loosing it. My greatest fear is that it was not found and cared for. I spent time in her Cambria house and remember some of its beauty. If you come across a photo of this painting it would give me grate joy to know that it survived[.] Thank you. K.DG.

Follow up message: Thank you[,] you are very kind to respond. The painting was a colaje, with raised surfaces of fabric, paper and string. Dark blues, a bright moon in the top right, an abstract smiling women in a swooning pose in its center.  It is probably gone. My father told me that he had run in to Ellie by chance while vacationing in Italy, years ago. I think he even had a photo. If I fined it, will pass it along. Thank you again. K.DG.

Ellie Bogardus - The Italian Period

Occasionally, I get a message from a viewer who happens upon one of the Ellie Bogardus blog postings and has something to share of his or her history with the artist. Back in July, I received such a note: I was used to know her and her husband, the time they lived in Italy, my family still owns some of her works. Few days ago I've found some candles (quite hippy looking!) she had crafted with my mom around 1966!! Lovely person! I remember she was letting me play whit inks and colours (I was 3/4 y.o.), and also with Mammut, their dachshund I loved.

In October, I received another a note on "Turn Back The Pages - More Notes On Ellie Bogardus..." which was his reply to my inquiry for more information: Hi, how can I send u some pics about?!? I'm that "gentleman"... :-)

1988 hand-painted sweatshirt

Alessandro La Villa (who goes by the handle, Bambotron) sent a follow up message with a photograph of a sweat shirt that Ellie had painted for his mother on her "last trip to Cambria." He mentioned that there was once a portrait of his grandmother in an armchair, but at a time in the past someone close to the family had stolen it from her home. He also promised "more was to come."

This past October, Alessandro sent another image with the explanation: This was done for my father (Silvio), after a healt[h] problem for Jean and Bebel (Mammouth)! Jean gave me his authorization to show him naked!!! lol! There was a P.S. again of more to come. The Jean refers to Jean-Marie Bonnard (Ellie's Husband), referred to in earlier posts.

1967 Nursing Diploma

The next day, October 15, Alessandro sent another photograph with the explanation: ... here's another Ellie's work from the "Italian" period. I'm glad to introduce you my "Sicilian" grandmother Agata, in her armchair, Ellie's way! As you can see, it's ink drawn on tissue paper. She also realized a painting  of my Granny, sadly it has been stolen... Anyway, talking with my mother about Ellie it's great, cause she really remembers a lot about... did you know Ellie was also a cookbook writer?!? looks like she has made more than one cookbook, filling those with her "stories" about how she got the recipe and how was the first time she tasted those food. Great people makes a lot of stuffs!!!

Agata, Alessandro's grandmother

It has taken me months to follow up with a post of the information from Alessandro - I need to follow up with him and see if there is more he can share.
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To document another memory of Ellie Bogardus (no images, except in someone's mind) comes from C.H. Crawford posted August 17th on "The Artist's House - Ellie Bogardus": Thanks for sharing. I was visiting Cambria recently and could not remember where Ellie's cottage was located. She was kind enough to allow me, a complete stranger, to stay in the little suite in the back in the late 80"s. It was a fabulous spot right next to the cliff. It was literally just what my doctor ordered. I wish I could have stayed a lifetime. She was very kind to me those few days. We shared soft shell crab out in the gazebo. Magical indeed!