The True Story of the Nevada Lens Mine

Think about it? How do SO many ecclectic antique lenses end up in Tonopah Nevada? It's like the Bermuda Triangle of old photo lenses.

We've had some fun throwing around the Nevada Lens
Mine myth but the truth is even stranger.

I've decided to come clean because no one will believe me anyways.
But before I start, think about it. How do so many ecclectic antique
lenses end up in the middle of nowhere? I think I'm up to about 250.

As some of you know, I work in the Nevada desert at a Gov't installation.
Over time I began a rapport with what we'll call for lack of a better term,
the little green men. Turns out they're friendly, and they're bored.
So here's the thing...

They're pretty well locked up...unless...someone with the right
combinations turns them loose. We talked about it quite a while
over cribbage and bad coffee until Floyd came up with an
interesting idea. Time travel. Yep, that's right, time travel. The
folks in Los Angeles with their huge long lenses get all worked into a
lather if they go out for a joy ride in the present, but what if........
hmmm......just might work. What if they slipped through a crack,
went out on a little joy ride, and came right back in through the same crack.
No one would be the wiser if we were careful right?

I was holding a 24 point hand of 4's 5's and 6's and feeling pretty smart so I
said, "OK, but it'll cost you". What? What did I require? Here's my plan
I said. Say you're in 1951 Baltimore. I want you to bring me back some cool
old forgotten large format lenses. Bingo! No problem said they.

So with one small slip, that's how we've done it. I type in a code, out they go
for as long as they like, in whatever year they like, and then they slip back in
before the boss gets done stinking up the crapper.

So what was the one slip? My fault totally. You know that little incident in
Roswell? Yep, my fault. I had heard about some 210mm Xenotar's and got a
little greedy. OOPS! Cost a bunch of your tax dollars to cover that one up.
Sorry 'bout that. So now we stick to relatively banal places. This group you're
looking at in the classifieds this weekend came from 1946 Cleveland. Some old pro had just died and this stuff was long since old and out of use. The green guys left all the stuff anyone would notice, and brought me back these.

So there you have the true and complete reason that so many antique lenses
find their way to Tonopah, Nevada! Happy shooting :D:D:D

Very funny Jim! The macro lens fault is here, but I don't have no green
men doing the work for me, so I decided to materialize them - think
about a lens hard and intensively enough and swushh... in due time it
is here. About 600 by now ;) ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jim Galli

How do so many ecclectic antique
lenses end up in the middle of nowhere? I think I'm up to about 250.

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Oh, no! Not fair!!! :(

Must catch up with Jim...
Must catch up with Jim...

Jim, your story sounds ... ah ... aprocryphal ... ;)

Steve

There's probably more than a grain of truth in Jim's story. After all, Art Bell broadcast from there in the mid 1990's.

No, it's just a cover story for Jim's connection to Howard Hughes. According to the stolen Hughes memos, the lenses were wanted for a secret project. The actuality of it was that they were being tried as flight goggles by Hughes.

Finally, we know what happened to DB Cooper!

"...they go for as long as they like, in whatever year they like,....."
I'd go to Akron, with apologies to Cecil Kellaway, poor thing, poor poor thing .