Takes place at AJPN Photo Studio and Gallery. 985 Lincoln Way STE 204 Auburn, Ca 95603. Call 530-885-5375 for more information.

Call it a local precompression party and gallery show. Saturday, July 17th, 2010. Starts at 5:00 and goes until 9:30. Get ready for the burn and meet some new people. Feel free to bring your favorite playa snack and drink and yes, this one is a dress up party. We’ll be serving wine and beer and snacks.

Meet members from the themecamps Burntown, Inspriratum, MidTown, Barbie Death Camp, Karma Chickens and others.

Takes place at AJPN Photo Studio and Gallery. 985 Lincoln Way STE 204 Auburn, Ca 95603

the Burning Element

Please feel free to invite anyone you think may have an interest in viewing photographs from the annual even, which takes place yearly the last week of August in the Black Rock Desert outside of Gerlach, Nevada.

AJPN Photo Studio and Gallery is located inside the State Theater at 985 Lincoln Way Suite 204 in Auburn, California 95603. Please call with any other questions you might have. (530) 885-5375. Regular hours are 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday

Check out the event on Facebook.

A standard Novatron P/N 2100C Flash Head

The first time I had to replace one I looked for some kind of tutorial in the Internet to no avail. There were plenty of people who had accomplished the task, but no one who shared any knowledge of how it was completed.

This time I decided to make a tutorial of my own.

Novatron Flash Tube as Mailed

The first thing you need to do is find a replacement tube. There are at least two sellers on eBay who have them. I found the best deal from:

Genesis Lamp

Lights 64 also carries them albeit at a slightly higher cost:

Lights 64

Lights 64 is a top rated seller, so if you’re more comfortable with a seller with 20K+ sales then perhaps paying a buck or two more is not important. I went with Genesis Lamp and I received my tube very well packaged only a few days after placing my order.

the Necessary tools

The next thing you want to do is to assemble the necessary tools. You will need a small Phillips screwdriver, a pair of needle nosed pliers, some wire snips and a soldier iron and soldier.

Now to begin. With the Phillips screwdriver and the pliers remove the screws holding the reflector to the protective case. Once this is completed you will see that the reflector only comes out as far as the wires will allow it (see the top picture).

Nylon Collar in Place

Turn the unit over and find where the cable connects to the unit. There is a black nylon collar that keeps the cable locked in place. Use the needle nosed pliers to squeeze the lock in and pull the collar out. Remove the collar and slip the cable though the body allowing you to move the reflector from the case.

the Collar after Being Removed

Familiarize yourself with the wiring. There is a red shield and a black shield that connect to there corresponding areas on the circuit board. On the opposite side is a brown wire that will connect to the outer wire on the flash tube.

the Flash Head Opened

Use the wire cutters to cut both the red and black wires at the edge of the ceramic insulator tubes which protrude from the rear of the reflector. Make sure you gently pull the red and black shields away exposing the wire before cutting. You will need to reuse these shields. Remove them and put them aside.

Red and Black wires Oppose the Brown Wire

For the brown wire you will want to cut it on the tube side of the shield. Pull it through to the back and remove any excess soldier. Strip the end of the wire and twist the wire so the end is smooth.

If you haven’t already plugged in your soldier iron do so now. Once it has heated up use it to heat the soldier points where the wires you removed the red and black shields from are connected. Gently pull them though trying to leave the holes in the circuit board open.

Connecting the Brown Wire to the Exposed Tube Wire

Tin the end of the brown wire. Tinning is accomplished by heating the exposed wire and melting a tiny bit of soldier on it. Slide the brown wire back through the ceramic tube. Twist the end around the exposed outer wire on the tube. Do this as close to the tube as you dare. You will not want this contact to touch either the modeling bulb or the reflector at any time. Cut the excess wire from the tube.

Push the other two contacts through the other two ceramic insulator tubes. Turn the unit over and replace the red and black shields. Bend the wire so you can push them through the corresponding holes on the circuit board. Pull them into place and make sure the tube is positioned correctly. Once you have done this soldier both connections.

Soldiering the Red and Black Connections

Cut the excess wire. Look over your work and make sure everything looks exactly how it looked before you began. Pull the cable through the case and realign the reflector. Reinstall the screws. Slide the black nylon collar up the cable and install it on the cable in the exact place it was at before. Squeeze the lock down and slide it into place.

the Finished Product

Insert the model light and make sure nothing is touch where it shouldn’t be touch. Plug in the unit and test it. Everything should be in working order.

Viola. You’re finished!




Frank Calabretta's Bail House Bail Bonds

2009 was a fine year. I opened AJPN Studio and have came a long way towards getting the studio to where I would like it to be. I still have a ways to go and I feel confident that before the end of the first year I will be well on my way to exceeding those goals.

Here’s to everyone who has helped my along my way and here’s to an even more productive year in 2010. See you soon.

Tony

Wind Swept (1986)

I was a teenager when I truly discovered my passion for taking pictures. Unfortunately, photography was not offered as an elective at my high school, but I’m sure that had it been, I would have enrolled in the program.

I got my hands on a 35mm Pentax and started taking it everywhere I would go. At that time, even though it as difficult to get developed, I preferred shooting with black and white film. In fact, the only time I resorted to using color film was when I couldn’t locate something monochromatic.

Sel Portrait (1985)

When I finally put my pursuit of music aside it was nearly as much the echoes of those voices as my former passion that encouraged my return to photography.

For several years I shot only with film, but in 2002, I started shooting digital and in 2003, I purchased my first Digital SLR. Since that time, my 35mm SLR has been seeing less and less use. Within a year of that eventful purchase one of my images saw publication.

Another image I took in 2004 was picked POW (Photo of the Week) on Photo.net. It’s quite a prestigious honor and the image has been viewed well over 1.7 million times. Later that image would see publication in two separate magazines.

Bridge into Silence

I began shooting occasional professional work in 2005. Since then I have taken on more and more work as a photographer and earlier this year I decided I would open a studio and pursue it full time. In April, I found a space at 985 Lincoln Way, Suite 204 in Auburn, California. The studio is now open and you are welcome to drop in anytime Monday through Friday. I take appointments on the weekend as well. The phone number is (530)885-5375.

In my next blog I will discuss elements of life’s experiences and the manners in which people communicate and the impact I feel that both have on my Philosophy of Photography.

Soapbox Derby!

Highlights of the parade were the Quinn Family Clowns, lots of free flying candy, a little campaign stumping by Scott Owens and plenty of kids and family friendly fun.

Capping off the entire event were the fireworks later that evening. We were there, but I decided not to take pictures.

Check out the gallery of what I did take here.

Scarecrow Audio Book

Everyone’s a critic, right?

When I first started this blog I reviewed audio books whenever I had the chance. Now that I have my studio open I haven’t had time. I still listen to the books each and every morning on my drive to work. I just haven’t been writing about what I have listened to.

One of the reasons is that I haven’t found anything all that great. Being a Michael Connelly fan I was excited when I heard he had a new book out called, the Scarecrow. I immediately put in a request for both the print and audio versions, respectively.

At the library it sometimes takes months to get a book, but usually you end up getting the audio book within a few weeks at most. The Scarecrow was no exception.

I had no idea what the scarecrow was about and I never read the jacket to find out. When I plugged in the first CD I was secretly hoping it was a Harry Bosch novel. When I heard the voice of the narrator I knew that it was not.

I recognized the voice, but wasn’t sure who it was. I was sure who it wasn’t and that is the reader who has read the last few Harry Bosch novels. I waited until about the second or third CD before I finally had a look. The reader was Peter Giles, who you might know better from one of the more recent Batman movies where he played Two Face.

Peter does a respectable job. I enjoyed his voices and he was a good choice for reading a character such as Jack McEvoy, who Connelly fans might remember from an earlier novel called, the Poet.

McEvoy is a writer from the LA Times and while he is on the hunt for the serial killer, the Scarecrow, we are also introduced to what many writers at newspapers are facing these days; downsizing. I like the way Connelly threads this into the plot. I know two journalists who have recently faced this grim reality, and it’s no surprise that one was laid off and the other is still barely hanging on.

The other part of this story is pretty much standard fair, which is not to say I didn’t enjoy it. But it seems like more and more of these stories are becoming too predictable. I knew what was coming long before it happened.

In a Harry Bosch novel Connelly can get away with this and I wouldn’t think twice. But that’s because of the main character. Bosch is Harry and he’s got depth and grit. McEvoy is a newspaper writer that has the balls of a cop, but seems to be dulled by years of continuously writing everyone else’s story and forgetting to live out his own.

What it comes down to is that I enjoyed this story more than many of the recent books I have listened to, but that isn’t saying all that much. I’ve been going through a dry spell for two or three months and am yet to come across a story that really moves me for quite some time. So for the time being I guess I’ll have to keep looking… or wait until the next Harry Bosch book comes out later this year.