An Abandoned Boat on the Maine Coast

I spotted this boat lying in a field next to a deserted house in Harpswell Maine.

The house looked like it had been deserted awhile. Note the two abandoned Saabs.

I love how the leaves gathered in the eddies.

I wonder how old this dingy is? I am sure countless kids learned to sail in this dingy in the numerous protected bays along the Maine Coast.

This gaping hole once housed the boat's centerboard.

The cracks in yellow and white paint expose the boat's past colors.

If only this boat could tell its story.

Here are some more links,
A Boat in a Field in Harpswell Maine (Picasa),
Maine Coast (Winter) (Picasa).

Spring in Harpswell Maine

The snow is melting on the Maine shoreline. No longer do ice blocks litter the beaches like driftwood. Early Saturday morning, I walked around taking photos of Harpswell, a small, stereotypical Maine community centered around lobster fishing and tourism.

This shed has seen numerous Nor'easters, cold -22° winter storms, and hot Maine summers. The paint shows it.

Fog lying on Pole Island. If Rogues Gallery were a Maine fisherman, this is where he would live.

The modern Maine College preppy look; Vineyard Vines Tote, Jcrew sweatshirt and Madewell Jeans.

Maine Lobster boats.

Here are some more links,
Spring in Harpswell Maine (Picasa),
Maine Coast (in the Winter) (Picasa).

Meikai Switchable Panorama Camera Walk Through Waterville

This afternoon, after laying in a field musing about last fall's leaves, I walked across the street to the Goodwill to have a look around. While sifting through old waffle makers and LL Bean fleeces, I found this Meikai Switch Panarama camera sitting next to a sprinkler timer. The geniuses at Meikai spelled panorama "Panarama," so you know it's good. The Meikai's ability to switch between Panorama and Standard mode caught my eye, so I took a 99¢ leap of faith. I loaded the Meikai up with Fujifilm 400 film and walked around Waterville with my Canon 5d Mark II on back up.

The exposure reader works like two legged stool.

The Meikai is 100% plastic, even the lens.

The Meikai is manual winding like a disposable camera.

Meikai in Panaroma mode, note the plastic cropping that partially covers the film.

Meikai in Standard Mode, all of the light hits the 35mm film.

Meikai in Standard Mode. Mainards often put insulation over the windows to cut down on heating costs.

Meikai in Panarama mode. I have no idea whats going on with the red rectangle.

Canon 5D Mark II.

Meikai. While taking these photos I often looked at the back of the Meikai after every shot expecting to see a 3 inch LCD displaying the recent exposure.

Canon.

Meikai.

Canon.

Meikai into an abandoned Dollar Tree.

Canon. I really like these two.

Meikai.

Canon. That's my dojo in the background, second floor above the front door.

After half an hour and 24 exposures, I walked to the neighborhood CVS to develop the film. It took Laurie 10 minutes to pull the film from Meikai. I had low expectations for the 99¢ and the $3 setup and awaited the developing like seven year old at five thirty on Christmas morning. Grab some 400 speed film and go to a Goodwill near you. I am sure you will smile like I did.

Here are some more links,
Waterville Through With the Meikai (Picasa),
Meikai vs Canon 5d Mark II (Picasa),
Meikai Switchable Panorama Camera (Picasa).

Resurrecting a Well Worn Bean Boot

I arrived at 8 Industrial Park Way, Brunswick Maine at exactly 10:31 AM. I was already late. I frantically grabbed my two cameras, their accompanying lenses and a flash and bolted for the door, dropping my sunglasses as I gingerly pried the door open with my pinky finger and then propped it open with my foot. Three weeks ago, Max from all plaidout emailed me asking if I would be interested touring LL Bean with him and taking some photos for some stories he’s writing on American brands. I eagerly agreed, and I was told to show up at 10:30 on the morning of Friday the 13th at the Brunswick factory to meet up with a guy named Max and some PR people from LL Bean to see how Bean boots are made. Other than that, I had no idea what to expect from one of the handful of remaining shoe factories in the US.

I have always associated LL Bean with Bean boots. As a six-year-old I remember trying on my Grandfather's size 14, 8-inch boots that he used for shepherding and tromping around the living room. When I arrived at Colby in the fall of 2006, I was surprised to see kids from boarding school wearing their parents' old Bean boots the moment the sky turned gray. These Barbour clad New Englanders covet the distressed leather uppers of decades ago. Unlike a pair of Nike or Adidas, Bean boots improve with age like a pair of raw denims and I wanted to see LL Bean's legendary tradition of replacing any product at anytime in action.

This well used, fifteen-year-old Bean boot originated from Pennsylvania and needed fresh rubber and shiny new eyelets on the uppers.

First, a bandsaw cuts the rubber lowers off and automatically shoots them into a bin at the end of the work station.

These boots all received a lot of love.

The uppers are then removed from the machine and the old stitching and remaining rubber bottoms are cut out by hand.

The eyelets are then replaced one rivet at a time.

Factory workers inspecting the reworked uppper.

The boot is now ready to be matched with a rubber bottom and sewn together.

A factory worker triple stitching the leather uppers on to the rubber lowers.

Mac McKeever, the man behind LL Bean's Outdoor Discovery Schools, inspecting a shelf of finished, resurrected Boots, ready to be shipped back to their eager owners.

Check out Max's article for more photos and a more encompassing description of LL Bean, the factory, and the iconic Bean boot.

Come back tomorrow see our trip to the company headquarters where we met with folks in production and design.

Here are some more links,
LL Bean Factory (Picasa),
All Plaidout.