OK.... I’m a reasonable woodworker with a wood shop. Normally I don’t sell photos but the MDI Photo Club had a show at Birch Bay(retirement community), and at the show somebody wanted to buy one of my 13 x 19 inch photos.

And so, since it was for someone else, Murphy got involved.

First thing I discovered was that my router would not do the job, too much wood to remove.

Then, I discovered that simple cutting the inside with my table saw did not work. I need a dado blade.

Then I discovered that my old table would break the RSV fence off when the bolt glued itself on by rust.

Then I discovered that I needed to cut to the new blade insert.

Then I discovered that I could not glue up the frame without putting a template on the inside where the glass goes to glue the frame against against or it becomes a RHOMBUS, and one side will not be parallel.

And then I discovered that the hardware store will not cut the glass if it's not square.

And then I discovered that if you use gel stain on the wood instead of strictly water based or oil based, it will form a thick solid top if its not sealed tightly (which is hard to do with gel anyhow)and you can’t get the stain out.

And then, I discovered that if you fall on the ice and need six stitches in your head, you will also break the glass and damage the print and get blood over everything.

And then I discovered that the device that puts the little slips of metal to hold the backing on will break the glass AGAIN if you use it wrong.

And then I discovered that mat board is horribly expensive on Amazon, and that I could cut plastic decking to fit, but that it was almost as expensive as mat board.

And then i discovered mat board for 7.50 each.

And then after ordering 15 pieces for $112, that I HAD GIVEN them the wrong inside diameter, and of course thye would not take them back since it was my error.

And then I order new mat board, with a coupon for $101.

And then I discovered that I COULD NOT FIND a way to put the paper backing on, and so the inside of the frame now needs to be stained when it was not before. Along with this I discovered that it's not a good idea to use a staple gun because unless each one is perpendicular and in the middle it will spit the wood on the outside.

I DID DISCO0VER the nice lady who has been waiting at least a week so far longer than I agreed, is not upset, but does need it by Xmas.

She paid $150. But I have already spent close to $300 to make this one frame.

Of course now I know what not to do.

A recent post on UHH entered into a discussion of color film cost. https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-748476-1.html

Oddly, people still try to compare film and digital. They are two entirely different media that accomplish close to the same thing. I can do things in each that are difficult or impossible to accomplish in the other. I thoroughly enjoy the entire process of taking and processing film photographs.

There were comments made to the effect that film was dead, which is erroneous. There are quite a few people shooting film in various formats and posting them on Facebook.

Another was the cost of film. So, I'll address this cost and primarily black and white film, as that is what I use.
Film expense:
1 roll of 100ft Ilford HP5 - $80.00
1 liter of developer Ilford DD-X - $20.00
1 gallon of Kodak fixer - $13.00

100 feet of film yields 18 rolls of 36 exposures Cost per exposure is $0.12
1 liter of developer - 50 rolls or 900 exposures Cost per exposure $0.02
1 gallon of fixer - 50 rolls or 900 exposures Cost per exposure $0.01

Each exposure costs $0.15.

120 and 4x5 formats are going to be higher. If memory serves, each 120 negative costs $0.75, and a 4x5 negative costs approximately $1.50.

Now, these numbers are from about a year ago. Some of the items may have gone up in price. However, the actual cost is still not all that much. So, people who are declaring film to be too expensive to use are making statements based on other than fact.

For me, nothing compares to the excitement of seeing images on film as it is pulled from the wash and set up to dry.
--Bob

I was on the roof of my apartment building on the East River about 40 blocks north of the barges. The Ed Koch Bridge at 59th St. was directly in line with the blossoms, which at first I thought was going to make it difficult to get some decent shots. Not so, I discovered this morning when I started processing.
I have probably two dozen or more shots like the first, which is typical of fireworks. With the other two, I tried for a different look.
There was a Southwest breeze pushing the smoke over Roosevelt Island and at times obscuring some of the display. It also made for some interesting colors. The light reflected on the river and the river traffic helped me decide to show these.
On the lower right, you can see the cars parked on the southbound FDR to view the fireworks.

I'm not going far from home these days! I've been spending time going through my raw files to see what was worth working on. However, yesterday morning I decided to get something fresh. My back yard is a rambling, disorderly jumble of flowering shrubs and plants. I think of it as a bird and butterfly garden. These shots were just some of the flowers that welcomed me. The sunflowers were the ones that beckoned me to come out but the others were calling once I was there.

These were shot with the D500 and 18-140 lens. I know there is a great lot of talk about mirrorless these days but it felt really good to be using a DSLR. If only the weight were less. I like my Z50 but so far, it just hasn't been the same for me.