Stuck inside because of the downpour this morning, I looked around the house for something to photograph. I ran across an old carpenter’s rule that I found at a garage sale years ago and bought for a quarter. It’s seen better days but it seemed like an interesting subject; it is a 36 inch folding Stanley Carpenter’s Rule, No. 66, made of boxwood, information that can be seen in the photograph. I positioned it on a piece of old growth redwood salvaged from the “Old Silk Mill” in Petaluma, the former Sunset Line and Twine Company (my family’s business for many years); the redwood shelving was put in more than a hundred years ago when the building was owned by Belding Corticelli and they manufactured silk thread there; when the Sunset building was sold, some of the pieces were saved. I thought the old rule and the old hunk of wood made a nice pairing.
I used my OTT lights for the primary lighting and positioned the camera directly over the subject, using the tripod for stability.
Focal Length 35mm
ISO 100
f/1.8
1/40
SOOC
Great subject for a photo! I love the story behind it- love that old building. Nice composition, focus, lighting- well done!