Circa 1900. "U.S.S. Chicago. One of the crew." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

May 19, 1925. "Rogers Curtis Johnson." Headed out for a little spin. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.

Washington, D.C., 1923. All it says here is "Dept. of Agriculture." Back when the place was run by the Keebler Elves. National Photo Company. View full size.

Washington, D.C., circa 1918. "U.S. Department of Labor. Model with war poster." Our second glimpse of Gerrit A. Beneker at work. View full size.

Calumet, Michigan, circa 1905. "Just up, Hecla Shaft No. 2." Copper miners topside. 8x10 inch dry glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.

High atop Christmas Tree Hill above Corte Madera, California, I reach out from my fisheye lens to my sister-in-law. Sort of like Michelangelo meets Coca-Cola commercial. In the near distance, southern Marin County's Richardson Bay, Sausalito and the Tiburon peninsula, with San Francisco Bay and the City beyond. The antennas a bit down the crest of the hill are for the Marin cable TV system. The "Christmas Tree Hill" moniker came about because decorated houses on the slope formed something of a Christmas tree pattern when viewed from a distance. Kodachrome slide. Update/correction: my brother took this shot, and it's his arm; I'm actually partly visible back there with my tripod and movie camera. View full size.

May 10, 1925. "Mrs. J.D. Oliphant, President Women's Auxiliary of American Legion, at Mount Alto." National Photo Company glass negative. View full size.