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Thread: The True Story of the Nevada Lens Mine

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Dec 2000
    Location
    Tonopah, Nevada, USA
    Posts
    6,334

    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

  2. #2

    Re: The True Story of the Nevada Lens Mine

    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
    Klaus

    http://www.macrolenses.de for macro and special lens info
    http://www.pbase.com/kds315/ for UV Images and lens/filter info
    http://photographyoftheinvisibleworld.blogspot.com/ my UV diary

  3. #3
    Mark Sawyer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Stuck inside of Tucson with the Neverland Blues again...
    Posts
    6,268

    Re: The True Story of the Nevada Lens Mine

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Galli View Post
    How do so many ecclectic antique
    lenses end up in the middle of nowhere? I think I'm up to about 250.
    Oh, no! Not fair!!!

    Must catch up with Jim...
    Must catch up with Jim...
    "I love my Verito lens, but I always have to sharpen everything in Photoshop..."

  4. #4
    Cordless Bungee Jumper Sirius Glass's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    1,123

    Re: The True Story of the Nevada Lens Mine

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

    Steve
    Nothing beats a great piece of glass!

    I leave the digital work for the urologists and proctologists.

  5. #5
    http://www.spiritsofsilver.com tgtaylor's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Posts
    4,729

    Re: The True Story of the Nevada Lens Mine

    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.

  6. #6
    Format Omnivore Brian C. Miller's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 1999
    Location
    Everett, WA
    Posts
    2,997

    Re: The True Story of the Nevada Lens Mine

    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.

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Jun 1999
    Location
    NE Missouri
    Posts
    328

    Re: The True Story of the Nevada Lens Mine

    Finally, we know what happened to DB Cooper!

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    CA Central Coast
    Posts
    613

    Re: The True Story of the Nevada Lens Mine

    "...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 .

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