Conoco Station; Shamrock, Texas

(click any image to enlarge)
12mm; 1/13th sec. @ f/7.1; ISO 2000; Exp. Comp. -1.7 EV

These images were made on my recent coast-to-coast road trip.  Briefly, two lifelong friends picked me up at my home in southeastern Virginia and we headed north and west.  We had no specific route nor destination nor timeline for returning home.  I call it ‘stress free travel.’  

We decided to loosely follow Route 66 west, picking it up in central Illinois.  Along Route 66 in Texas is the tiny town of Shamrock.  One of the iconic structures in Shamrock is the old Conoco service station and U-Drop Inn cafe.  In the past, I’ve photographed this place but in daylight.  I had never captured this with its neon lights lit.  For this trip, I waited until dusk to capture not only a completely different feeling but also the lighted neon around the building.

With the exception of the image directly below, which was made with my iPhone 14, all images in the post were made handheld with an OM-3 and the OM 8-25mm f/4 PRO lens.  I just casually walked around over about an hour and a half's time and made these images.  That's why the sky is much darker in some images than in others, the sun set and the cloud cover disappeared.  The images are not necessarily in the order of time of capture.

IPhone 14 Pro Max DNG on automatic exposure.

8mm; 1/13th sec. @ f/7.1; ISO 200; Exp. Comp. -2.0 EV

14mm; 1/13th sec. @ f/7.1; ISO 250; Exp. Comp. -2.0 EV

12mm; 1/13th sec. @ f/7.1; ISO 250; Exp. Comp. -2.0 EV

11mm; 1/10th sec. @ f/7.1; ISO 500; Exp. Comp. -1.0 EV

8mm; 1/8th sec. @ f/7.1; ISO 2000; Exp. Comp. -0.7 EV

11mm; 1/10th sec. @ f/7.1; ISO 1250; Exp. Comp. -1.3 EV

I am pleased with these images.  I think there are other, equally pleasing ways these images could have been edited but I like this rendition.  The learning aspect of this series for me was to notice the changes in tonal range between the luminance of the sky and the building.  An interesting exercise.

One last comment about the camera and lens.  Excellent in every aspect!  As I said, all of these were handheld.  The in-body-image-stabilization (IBIS) worked extraordinarily well and allowed me to stop my lens down to ensure all of what I wanted in focus was within the depth of field.  Not a single image (and I made probably three times as many as I have posted here) was out of focus nor blurred by camera shake.  Noise was minimal and removed in Lightroom Classic.  No Topaz or DXO necessary.  Those who underestimate the quality and versatility of Micro4/3 gear, particularly the OM-3 and OM-1 Mark II, are missing out on a small, lightweight and less costly system that can do just about everything extraordinarily.  Try it before you dismiss it outright.

I made a point of noticing the changes in the structure and grounds between the time I last visited and now.  It seems as though it is not quite as photogenic as it was in the past.  Also, I will advise that I took out a lot of wires that crossed over the subject in most of the images.  Artist’s perogative.

P.S.  by the way, Elvis Presley ate at this little cafe when he stayed at the motel across the street.  He sat in a corner booth, according to the cafe operator.  Cool!

Join me over at my website, https://www.dennismook.com.  

Thanks for looking. Enjoy!  

Dennis A. Mook  

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