How's this for a Goodwill Store bargain?

15 years ago

Perhaps some of you might remember the little Foto-Mat film drop off booths that used to adorn the local shopping center parking lots.

About a year ago I happened to find an old Foto-Mat 500mm f-8 to f-45, manual focus, preset aperture lens at Goodwill Industries for the outrageous sum of $15 and they were throwing in a Sears 2x teleconveter with the Pentax PK mount.

The lens was still new in the box with the original manufacturers cellophane wrapping and an old faded price tag that said $79. The lens has a proprietary T type mount and it came with three mount adapters for Nikon, Canon & Pentax.

Now I know that most ppl would have just dismissed it as junk, but it did have a PK mount so it would work on all my Pentax film & DSLR cameras and afford me full aperture control on all my Pentax Film & DSLR's.

Well today was one of those occassion when Jan & I were just going down to the pond to relax a while, and since it was threatening to rain I decided to play with my light weight, cheap lens, and furthermore, I thought this would be a good opportunity to show Jan how we took photos back in the days before automated cameras.

I hung the lens on a tripod, then attached a Pentax K10d DSLR body with a remote shutter release cable and turned the camera mode selector to "Manual".

I then handed Jan a Gossen "Luna Pro" handheld light meter and showed her how to measure ambient light, then set up the camera.

As we were watching the pond a large "Green Heron flew down and landed on a piece of drift wood on the opposite end of the pond about 800ft away. I fired off a few shots, then switched to an 18-55mm zoom and set it at 20mm to give an overall view of the pond from our vantage point. Note in the view of the pond I put an arrow to show where the bird was standing.

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We were at the pond about 6 weeks ago and we saw a pair of the Green Herons and I thought I located where they were nesting but I could't confirm it. Well today while we were there two juviniles flew down to about 450ft away so I once again hung the long lens and shot a few pics of those as well.

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Comments (13)

Olychick
15 years ago
I just accidentally happened upon your post and wanted to say how beautiful your pics of the herons are! Aren't they gorgeous? You should post in the birdwatching forum.
susanjf_gw
15 years ago
a what deal, indeed! and feast for the eyes...

was recently watching that show where people buy the contents of storage containers, and the bidder pulled out one of those old fashion press cameras with the flash attachment...amazing how they used to lug the heavy cameras and take award-winning pictures..
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Thank you all for your kindness and forgiveness. You truly are a special group of people, and I apologize for my offensive behavior. It was from pain and loss, but mostly anger because my brother was the sweetest, kindest soul you'd ever meet, and I was so mad that he had died. He got very few breaks in life, cerebral palsy was only the tip of the iceberg, and because of my anger I focused on the mistreatment he had endured, and I temporarily forgot how much he taught everyone he knew and how beautiful his life really was. His name was Joel. I am surprised to hear of the high prices so many of you have encountered. The key to success, I would think, is to keep inventory moving, and it distresses me that people are turned away/turned off because of high prices or that perfectly good donations are not accepted. I wonder how many of these agencies are tax exempt or have tax write-offs even if they are not employing the handicapped, providing low cost items to the poor, or using a good share of their profits to benefit the community. Ironically, I tried to go to my favorite Goodwill a couple of days ago (reasonable prices, great organization, friendly workers) only to find it was gone because it could no longer afford the rent. I have enjoyed lurking in this forum for a long time (only because I never seem to be able to complete a project so I can have something to post)and reading all of your creative and wonderful ideas. Your generosity is wonderful and your inspiration is endless. I can't seem to throw anything away because I am always thinking of you all and your amazing ability to see the potential in something. Take care, and thanks again for your compassion and understanding, Kate
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Susie - thank you! The doors are part of our new foyer/garage addition, and with the sidelights and transom it's a 10' x 10' entry. We stained them ourselves which was quite a job, and unfortunately the afternoon sun hits them pretty hard so we'll probably be spending a lot of time maintaining them, but I really like them. On a good night, you can see the moon through the transom. Allison, thank you so much. I was thinking it would be about 1 yard for each chair. Surprisingly, there were none listed on ebay. Guess I was hoping some people would want to make custom slips and sell the ones that came with the chairs, but it doesn't appear so. I love what I've seen of your style, and really admire how your casual and more formal furniture pieces work so well together. That's something I need to work on, since I like both. I can't wait to post pictures of other rooms soon and get advice for furniture placement and paint colors. Right now, almost all of the rooms have tools, drywall and flooring piled up in them, since we're just entering the finishing stage of the whole house remodel. I'm so looking forward to having my house back to normal and get to the fun stuff! I think I'll keep an eye on the Highgate table over the next week or so. It has such nice thick legs, and would make a nice coffee table. That will probably be my next post!
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Oklamoni. If you like thrift stores check out the Goodwill Industries online auction site...its an online auction sort of like ebay but the proceeds go directly to Goodwill Industries, which I feel is a very worthy cause and you cannot begin to imagine some of the bargains I have found there. I am into photography and I have bought cameras, lenses and other items for pennies on the dollar. They have all kind of categories...hobbies & crafts..kitchenwares, collectibles, cameras & camcorders, clothes, jewelry, antiques, tools and much more I will caution you though, when shopping through their listings check out the photos real well. I find that in most instances the ppl who write the descriptions know very little about what they are describing. To give you an example of what I have found there, about a year ago I bought an old 35mm film camera that came with three lenses and a carrying case. The camera works fine, but we all know that film is almost a thing of the past. What I was really interested in was the lenses because they all three work with my new Digital SLR. I bought that whole set for $26 + $8 S+H..just one of those lenses in that set is selling on Ebay right now for $199. Here is the web address: www.shopgoodwill.com
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the cashier said she wanted to remind me of their special program going on now through Sept. 29th, where for every item of clothing you bring into the store OR to Goodwill, you get a 25% off coupon! It sounds like the cashier might have been mistaken. I received something in the mail, and think it said donated items were to be brought to Elder Beerman in order to get the discount. In reading a bit on line, that seems to be the case on many sites. From the link below... Elder-Beerman stores are holding their semi-annual Goodwill Sale through September 29. When you donate your gently-used clothing at any Elder-Beerman location, you'll receive a coupon to purchase new clothing from Elder-Beerman. Your donated items will be sold at Marion Goodwill stores, where the revenues fund job training and placement services to help people in Marion find and keep jobs. and this from another site...Customers who donate gently-used clothing at any of the 272 Bon-Ton Stores locations, including Elder-Beerman in Marion, will receive a coupon to purchase Bon-Ton's fall fashions. The donated items will be sold at Marion Goodwill stores, where the revenues fund job training and placement services to help people in Marion find and keep jobs. Here is a link that might be useful: Elder-Beerman Stores Partner with Goodwill, Offers Deal
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lazypup
Original Author
15 years ago
Susan,,,I still have my old Century Graphic press camera and I wouldn't give it up for the world.

I even still use it on occassions.
jannie
15 years ago
Beautiful photos. I still miss my Canon camera I sold at a garage sale.
heather_on
15 years ago
Wow! Your pictures are fantastic. I've never seen a Greeen Heron before.
lynn_d
15 years ago
Now that is making the very best of a great bargain!! Great shots, tho the (former) koi keeper in me really dislikes the subject of the shots!
alisande
15 years ago
Nice bargain! Glad you can make use of it. My dad had a Speed Graphic (among others), and some of the pics I've posted here (his) were taken with it. Susan's comment reminded me that photographers in those old days also had to contend with flash bulbs. No electronic flash attachments for them......they used one-shot glass bulbs. I remember how bubbly they looked after they fired. Today we're so spoiled. :-)

BTW, Lazypup, we have a number of hams at the KT. My son is an avid ham. He isn't at the KT, but he's here.
lydia1959
15 years ago
Looks like you've made good use of the Goodwill bargain! Excellent shots!
chloecat
15 years ago
Great find and wonderful photos!

My hubby (also an avid photographer) found a Manfrotto tripod with head at our local Goodwill for $6 - brand new. He was like a kid on Christmas morning. LOL
Toni S
15 years ago
I recall several older, well taken camera's at our local auctions, len's and all. I thought they was very interesting but hadn't a clue to their desireability. I can only imagine now, what they saw in their pictures. Getting film could be a challange??

Your heron is a handsome dude Richard, really enjoyed looking at him.
alisande
15 years ago
Chloecat, I want to go to your Goodwill!

Thrift stores are a roll of the dice no matter where you are, but some areas have better pickings than others. One of my cousins shops Goodwill in an affluent area, and I sometimes send her on assignment to find certain items for me.
lazypup
Original Author
15 years ago
Here is a tip for all you ladies who don't have a Goodwill nearby...check out the Goodwill online auction.

I have scored some real bargains on the auction .BUT .A word of caution, they generally post 3 or 4 photos of each item and you have to look at the photos close because often the ppl writing the post don't have a clue what the item is but that is the fun of shopping Goodwill anywhere.

www.ShopGoodwill.com
foggyj
15 years ago
Love your pictures! You sure do know how to use your bargain.

How's this for a Goodwill Store bargain?

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