photo sharing and upload picture albums photo forums search pictures popular photos photography help login
Canon DSLR Challenge | all galleries >> Challenge 109: Mechanical Art (Hosted by Barry Shaffer) >> Eligible > Pearly's Wheel
previous | next
19-DEC-2007 Kelly Bellis

Pearly's Wheel

Ellsworth, Maine

When she was about nine years old, my wife learned how to sew on her grandmother’s treadle sewing machine, a Singer built in 1914 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Pearly worked the treadle while Pam sewed until eventually at the age of eleven or so, Pam was able to work the treadle by herself. Pam has sewed and quilted ever since then and has just this year started her own small business, Wildrose Patchwork. These photos submitted for your consideration were all taken of that classic machine.


other sizes: small medium original auto
share
Canon DSLR Challenge25-Dec-2007 19:56
Very nice. --mlynn
Canon DSLR Challenge25-Dec-2007 15:58
Thanks Lydia!

Merry Christmas!! Salaam, Shalom, Peace to all. - Kelly
Canon DSLR Challenge22-Dec-2007 22:03
Kelly, it's a really beautiful machine. What a treasure! Thanks for showing it to me/us. People used to make so much prettier things than they do now... perhaps they took more pride in their work and now we're on assembly lines... .*sigh*

Anyway, back to the subject....That second shot is a good one... the motion blur contrasting with the still parts with that punch of red... really good. I like it better than a couple of your others, but they're all really good. ~Lydia
Canon DSLR Challenge22-Dec-2007 00:36
Thanks for the explanation. I think the machine I used didn't have a nob in that location, hence my explanation. I've notice such things varied quite a bit from model to model. This is my favorite of the series, by the way. -- Victor
Canon DSLR Challenge21-Dec-2007 16:08
Thanks Nico, Lydia and Victor for commenting.

Lydia, there' just no accounting for taste ;) - this is actually my favorite of the whole series - from over a hundred shots and two days of work. Yes, of course, I'm tickled to show you the straight-on shot - see below. Pam has quite a collection of old Singers including seven with electrical motors and she talked me into photographing them at the same time - some of which I had to improvise electrical connections in order to get their individual lamps working - scroll down below.

Victor, good guess but not quite. The photograph was actually taken looking from the right side about 9' away from the balance wheel and the image above is a small crop out of the image shown below. The OOF knurled knob behind the wheel is a screw for securing an access plate on the back of the machine. I tried several shots trying to capture a sense of the balance wheel in motion. I'd set the timer and then pull on the long leather treadle belt at different rates, sometimes stopping like in "Give it a spin"http://www.pbase.com/cslr_challenge/image/90553924



Canon DSLR Challenge21-Dec-2007 02:58
Believe it or not, I used to love using my mother's treadle machine. This modle seems to be similar to hers, except this one is much more decorative. I'm guessing that what we're seeing here is a view from the left of the machine past the tension adjustment dial (out of focus on the left) on past to the balance wheel (in focus). The focal length would have to be pretty long for this shot, and I see by EXIF that it was, indeed, shot at 200mm. Am I right? -- Victor
Canon DSLR Challenge21-Dec-2007 00:49
Ya know? I like this... I keep coming back to it. I think it's the mystery of it. WHAT IS THIS? I ask myself... but it's beautiful. Any chance you'll show us a complete, straight-on photo of the sewing machine, Kelly?? ~Lydia
jnconradie20-Dec-2007 06:30
Wow... that is an interesting take on this subject. You have a good eye and compose very well. Regards Nico