Down the Road

Photographs and stories by Jim Grey

Recommended reading

Jim Grey
17 comments on Recommended reading

💻 It’s easy to think of creativity as being something inspired from outside you. In fact, creativity comes entirely from within. All you need to do is tap into your experience. Daniel Miessler explains. Read Your Experience is Your Creativity

Dresses
Olympus Stylus, Kodak Plus-X, 2015

💻 We underestimate ourselves in social situations, say Brett and Kate McKay. People like us more than we think! Read 9 Mental Distortions That Are Sabotaging Your Social Life

💻 In the early 50s, before TV was widespread, small, local amusement parks kept the kids entertained. Ted Shideler looks at one, long defunct, that used to exist in Muncie, Indiana. Read Crossing Paths with Muncie’s Kiddieland

📷 The Olympus LT-1 is essentially an Olympus Stylus in a sleek fake-leather-covered body. I’ve always wanted one, but they’re pricey. Dmitri has a review. Read Olympus LT-1 Camera Review

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Comments

17 responses to “Recommended reading”

  1. Ted Shideler Avatar
    Ted Shideler

    Thanks for the shoutout!

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      🙏

      Reply
    2. brandib1977 Avatar
      brandib1977

      Hey Ted! I enjoyed your story and shared it with a friend who recently moved to Muncie. Thanks for telling this story!

      Reply
    3. Russ Ray Avatar
      Russ Ray

      I loved that story as well. I’ve always loved stories about these small and regional amusement parks and the challenges they faced and grew up on Indiana Beach and Old Indiana, which both have had some wacky and sad histories.

      Reply
      1. Ted Shideler Avatar
        Ted Shideler

        Thanks! Old Indiana was the first park I went to, just before the accident, and Indiana Beach is my favorite park of all time. I would love to compile a post about Old Indiana.

        Reply
  2. brandib1977 Avatar
    brandib1977

    NICE roundup today!

    I have been making an effort to say something nice to people at work for the last few years. Expressing gratitude for the small things they do or just complimenting their new top can make a big difference in someone’s day. In a world where morale is a hot topic in the work place I like to do my part – even if it is small. And you know something? I usually feel better for it too!

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      Thanks!

      Sing it, Glen:

      Reply
      1. brandib1977 Avatar
        brandib1977

        I love this song!

        Reply
  3. adventurepdx Avatar
    adventurepdx

    I know it pre-dates the post-WWII small amusement park boom, but Portland still has its trolley-park era Oaks Amusement Park, which has been operating continuously since 1905!

    As for the LT-1, I remember there was a reasonable price specimen (about $100) on our local Craigslist for a bit. I should have picked it up!

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      I love it that that park still exists!

      I’d like to just try an LT1 and see how it feels before I lay out what one of these costs used.

      Reply
      1. Andy Umbo Avatar
        Andy Umbo

        The review says the LT-1 is for all intents and purposes, an Olympus Stylus. Much love for the Stylus, I owned three (!), but two blew out with eventual gear wear, and one of those also started missing focus. My third seems ok, but also misses focus on occasion, and the gears are starting to sound funny, although rarely used now. I can tell you the two big bug-a-boos with the Stylus, are of course, missed focus, and the weird programming that keeps the lens open to the widest aperture until the shutter speed is almost at its highest, then it starts shutting down (and why missed focus is a problem). I would have rather seen a program that started shutting down the aperture to 5.6, after the shutter speed hit a 1/30th, and then started boosting the shutter speed. I have many pix in bright sunlight with asa 100 film, where you can tell not much is in focus, sometimes not everything I wanted to be in focus. It also seemed like my first camera and earliest was the one that lasted the longest, and the subsequent models lasting a much shorter time. Cheapening up as they went along? Who knows…

        I mention all this because IF the LT-1 IS a Stylus underneath, I don’t know that I would spend a premium used price on-line for this based on the whims of the on-line used camera community, it might have a very limited life. As for repairs, I tried that once with Olympus, and it basically came back not particularly working well; we all sort of considered them disposable. I have another pro photographer pal that used the Stylus as a pocket note taker, like I did, and he says he has 10, with only a few working. He gets them at church resale shops and yard sales. He says even if they work, they maybe work for a few rolls and that’s it.

        Buyer Beware!

        Reply
        1. Andy Umbo Avatar
          Andy Umbo

          BTW, I checked after this entry, and my Oly Stylus is broken and long gone…I found my three Oly Stylus Epics, one broken for sure, and the other two I can’t remember. I remember buying two of them at once, with 722xxxx numbers, two numbers apart, and an early one with 541xxxx. I can’t seem to find a date/serial number list for these models, but have found a person saying that the models he has in the 7xxxxxx, are made in China, and the model he has in the 5xxxxxx range was made in Hong Kong. Could this be the difference in the “life” I’ve gotten for my Epics? Are the China ones less well built or have cheaper parts?

          Reply
        2. Jim Grey Avatar
          Jim Grey

          I’ve owned two Styluses and the first did crap out. I forget how now, it’s been years. My second one is still going strong.

          It’s not just the Stylus. These P&S cameras are all loaded with electronics and plastics. They will all crap out eventually.

          Reply
          1. Andy Umbo Avatar
            Andy Umbo

            Interesting that the closest I can figure, the Olympus group used the “down line” Stylus innards, with the three element f/3.5 lens, for the inside of their “O” product, as well as their “Ecru” camera, instead of the upper scale Stylus innards with the f/2.8 four element lens. Those were pretty pricey on inception, and still seem to command a pretty high price today! Too much, in fact, for the tech inside!

            Reply
            1. Jim Grey Avatar
              Jim Grey

              I’ve read that those two cameras used the AF-10 innards.

              Reply
  4. Kevin Avatar
    Kevin

    I know I’m late to the party, but just FYI, there still exists an original Kiddieland park in San Antonio. I took my kids there a few years ago when they were in the target demographic (6 and 3 years old), and we had a great time. Inexpensive, neat rides/games, and no huge crowds to navigate. And when we were done after a couple hours, the car was parked only 100 feet away instead of 2 miles away.

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      Nice! And I’m glad you got to experience it with your family.

      Reply

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