Category Archives: presentation

About This Photo – Summer 1970

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Memorable Photos

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed photography since I was a youngster. So my picture taking has spanned more than five decades.

The photos that I take belong to one of two “camps” – snapshots and memorable.

This article is the another in a series I’ve named “About this photo” to draw attention to a few of those memorable photos that may be hiding in a shoebox or on your hard drive.

Some individuals have photographic memories. I instead have memories about certain photographs.

Most of these special photographs were taken long, long ago. They are indelible and remain riveted in my mind. And so, in this “About this photo” series, I’d like to key in on one of these unforgettable photographs to bring me back to the time and circumstances under which it was taken.

Taken late summer 1970, this is a photo of my girlfriend along Lake Michigan. We spent many weekends at this beach that summer.Usually the beach was very crowded, but on this cloudy and windy day, we had the run of the sand and shore to ourselves.

The red lighthouse was a familiar site to anyone who knows this area and remains a key attraction to the beach today. It’s a lucky coincidence that my girlfriend’s jacket was about the same shade of red as the lighthouse.

The reason that this photo is etched in my mind is that I’ve been married to this lovely lady for 50 years now.

Now let’s skip forward some 40+ years.This photo was taken a few summers ago. Here we have two young girls having fun at the same location on Lake Michigan.

You can see the same red lighthouse along the water albeit at a slightly different angle.

These are two of our young grandchildren. As we were walking along the beach I was reminded of the 1970 photograph when we approached the red lighthouse.

I asked the two girls to pose on the bench in the foreground. This photo captures the familiar feelings of warmth and affection that has somehow remained with me for more than 50 years..

Along the way, I’ve taken a huge number of snapshots. However, the number of memorable photos that I’ve taken is far smaller. Yet it’s the memorable ones that have a magical ability to steer emotions, feelings and pleasure into our minds, even years later. Simply amazing.

Written by

Arnie Lee

Sign, Billboards, Posters

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I’m always adding to to this collection.

These photos are comprised of billboards, posters, placards, events and humorous street signs that I’ve taken over the years.

I enjoy looking at them as it reminds me of some of the places that we’ve visited in the past.

This is a fun way to keep track of your experiences. Give it a try and snap away and you’ll also have a record of dates and places.

Riding The Rails

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A 70 Mile Journey in Minnesota

I grew up the the New York City area and would regularly take 45-minute long ride on the passenger train from New Rochelle to Grand Central Station. Did this qualify me as a rider of the rails? Let’s see.

Some 20 years ago I was involved developing software for personal computers. One of our projects was to make simulations for trains. We found an interesting and unique train route that delivered raw materials from a mining area in Minnesota to the awaiting freighters along Lake Superior – known as the Erie Mining Corp route.

My task was to research the terrain and surroundings along the route so that we could reproduce the journey in a simulation. After arranging the “special” trip with the LTV Corporation (which owned the EMC route), I drove to Hoyt Lakes to meet with two members of the staff.

When I arrived, I was escorted to the rail head where we climbed aboard a vehicle that was outfitted to travel on the rails. I was seated in the front with a video camera where I would record all 3-1/2 hours of trip through the hills, mountains and flatlands to Taconite Harbor on north shore of Lake Superior.

This modified Ford pickup truck was specially fitted to ride and self-propel on the standard tracks.

On the right is one of the diesel freight locomotives that pulled the taconite pellets from Hoyt Lakes to Lake Superior.

It was an interesting ride – the tracks took us through forests, into narrow canyons, along open and hilly fields, passing rocky mountains, traversing bridges, through a tunnel and over rural road crossings.

For me the highlight of the trip was the 30 seconds or so that are illustrated below.

Erie Mining Corporation Route
Here we slowed down as we came upon a local resident as we were riding the tracks from Hoyt Lake to Taconite Harbor, MN

Towards the end of the route we arrived at Taconite Harbor. Below is the large unloading area where the taconite pellets are unloaded onto large lake freighters.

Approaching Taconite Harbor
Quadruple speed arrival into Taconite Harbor

This journey in 2001 was the only time where I actually felt that I was riding the rails. An interesting and memorable ride.