Ralph Brandi
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pixelfed.thereisnocat.com
Ralph Brandi
@pixelfed.thereisnocat.com
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Vine-O-Lite

Another artifact displayed at the Autophoto photobooth museum in Manhattan. Pentax 17, Kodacolor 200, ECN-2 development.

#BelieveInFilm #halfframe
An aging yellow steel box with the words “Protect Your Photos! With Vine-O-Lite Cases 2 for only 10¢"
December 7, 2025 at 5:27 PM
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Entrance

The entrance to the Magic Beach Motel. Pentax 17, Kodak 5222 (Double-XX), Rodinal 1:50.

#BelieveInFilm #WWHFCD
One palm tree and another fake tree with most of its trunk removed sit in front of a covered entrance to a motel. A door with a large glass panel sits at the center of the frame, with glass panels on either side and bas relief flamingoes in escutcheons on either side.
December 7, 2025 at 3:53 PM
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Cylinder

I’m not sure what this is; looks kind of like a short, stubby silo. Whatever it is, it’s next to the barn and the cow. Leica R4, Kodacolor 100, ECN-2 development.

#BelieveInFilm
A black short cylinder filled with grass sits in a field next to a barn, which is partly visible at left.
December 7, 2025 at 12:24 PM
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Three Trees, Three Rooms

Another shot from early September, when the Magic Beach Motel was still operational. Pentax 17, Kodak 5222 (Double-XX), Rodinal 1:50.

#BelieveInFilm #WWHFCD
A single story motel under a partly cloudy sky. Three palm trees stand in front of three rooms. Flamingoes are present in the walls, carved into little escutcheons. The numbers on the rooms’ doors are, from left to right, 108, 109, 110. Cars are parked in the parking lot.
December 6, 2025 at 7:08 PM
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Barn

This barn is right next to the cow. Leica R4, Kodacolor 100, ECN-2 development.

#BelieveInFilm
A white cinder block barn with windows and a red tiled roof. Black grain siloes stand behind it.
December 6, 2025 at 3:48 PM
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Hibernating Restaurant

In the summer, this is Jake-A-Bob’s, a fun restaurant to eat at. In the winter, it’s not. Smartflex 3445, Kodak Tri-X TXP 320, 510-Pyro. I shot this yesterday. I developed this for 8 minutes, the time for Tri-X 400, because […]

[Original post on pixelfed.thereisnocat.com]
A barren porch stands in front of an open structure that contains a bar. String lights hang overhead. A Miller Lite sign is visible at far right.
December 6, 2025 at 12:47 PM
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Fog

We got some fog on the DXpedition. Not a lot, and it burned off pretty quickly. But it was pretty while it lasted. Hasselblad 500cm, Shanghai GP3 100 (220), Divided D-76 for 5 minutes in each bath.

#BelieveInFilm
A firepit and an antenna are visible looking down a hill despite fog that dims trees in the middle distance and makes the river and mountain beyond them completely obscured.
December 5, 2025 at 6:00 PM
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Cow

Just outside Sligo, Pennsylvania, there is a cow. Or rather, a statue of a cow. This is that cow. Leica R4, Kodacolor 100, ECN-2 development.

#BelieveInFilm
A statue of a black and white cow stands in a field. A wreath of Christmas lights hangs around its neck.
December 5, 2025 at 3:44 PM
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Demolition

Found this color close-up of the demolition of the Magic Beach Motel. Pentax 17, Fujifilm F-64D, ECN-2 development.

#BelieveInFilm #halfframe
The shadow of a chain link fence and a chair falls on a wall where there is a flamingo sconce with black spray paint around it and two holes in the wall next to it. Stripes run along the wall in blue, pink, and orange.
December 5, 2025 at 12:27 PM
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Chairs

From September, when the Magic Beach Motel was still in operation. Pentax 17, Kodak 5222 (Double-XX), Rodinal 1:50.

#BelieveInFilm #WWHFCD
Three chairs sit in front of a motel. One is plastic, one is metal and wood, and the third is a folding carryable chair with the logo of the Jacksonville Jaguars on it. The wall has three colored stripes on it, and flamingos in relief, flanking a room window in the center.
December 4, 2025 at 6:02 PM
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Magic Beach Motel

This is the Magic Beach Motel in Vilano Beach this past Friday. Fence around it. A hole bashed in to the wall at the left. Another hole barely visible in the shadows next to a flamingo with a spray painted black line around it […]

[Original post on pixelfed.thereisnocat.com]
An art deco hotel hides behind a chain link fence. Holes in the walls indicate its future.
December 4, 2025 at 3:46 PM
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Sparrow Books

Any town with a functioning, open book store is doing okay. Seen in Clarion, Pennsylvania. Leica R4, Kodacolor 100, ECN-2 development.

#BelieveInFilm
Two storefronts. The one on the left is a bookstore, and the sign in the window and one above the window say it is Sparrow Books. The building is blue stucco, and the second floor has three windows with striped awnings. To the right, a yellow brick and wood storefront with a sign that says Husted Plumbing & Heating, with the phone number 814-226-4425 on it. There is also painted text in the window with the phone number (minus area code) and a URL for the business. An SUV is parked in front of Husted, and an orange pickup is partially seen at left.
December 4, 2025 at 12:54 PM
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Magic Beach Motel

I really don’t understand how you can demolish such a beautiful building. This is from September, when the motel was still operating. Pentax 17, Kodak 5222 (Double-XX), Rodinal 1:50.

#BelieveInFilm #WWHFCD
A cement building in an art deco style with a towering front and a sign that says “Magic Beach Motel” where the i in Magic is a rabbit coming out of a hat. There is a flamingo under the word “Motel”, and a clock with a starburst at its center between “Magic” and “Beach”. Two cheap plastic chairs sit in front of a double door under the sign. Bits of flamingoes in relief on the walls are visible.
December 3, 2025 at 6:01 PM
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Made Ya Look

The Autophoto photobooth museum had a few artifacts from the past other than photobooths, including this reminder of the casual sexism that was so pervasive in western society in the past. This is part of what is meant by Making […]

[Original post on pixelfed.thereisnocat.com]
A sign showing a drawing of a woman’s torso with prominent breasts covered by a red bra, pearls around her neck, holding up a sign that says “Made Ya Look”.
December 3, 2025 at 3:44 PM
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Michelle’s Cafe

And other businesses on the main drag in Clarion, Pennsylvania. Leica R4, Kodacolor 100, ECN-2 development.

#BelieveInFilm
Three storefronts. The closest one on the left has a sign that says “Michelle’s Cafe” with coffee cups inside ovals on either side of the words. A sign hanging over the doorway below the main sign says “Shermer High School”. Painted in the front window are the words “Go Golden Eagles”. In the center is an old style building with the word “Corbett” at the top of the building. A sign in the window says “Montana Realty” with a phone number. At right is a two story brick building with a sign that says “Shirey Hardware & Appliances”, with the latter half of “Hardware” obscured by a lamppost. A pickup truck and a crossover are parked in front of the stores, and a man is getting out of the crossover.
December 3, 2025 at 12:11 PM
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Selfie

It may seem a little odd to take a selfie in a place devoted to what are basically machines to take selfies. Whatever. Pentax 17, Kodak 5222 (Double-XX), Rodinal 1:50.

#BelieveInFilm #halfframe
Man with full head of hair and a beard, face obscured by a camera, shoots a photo of himself in the mirror on a photobooth. He is wearing a t-shirt that says “Imperia Vrage”, which is Ukrainian for “The Empire Will Fall”.
December 2, 2025 at 6:07 PM
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Flamingoes

Diptych of one of the distinctive features of the soon to be demolished Magic Beach Hotel in Vilano Beach, Florida. I saw a couple of holes in the wall last Friday when I was there, right next to a couple of these. I think they may have […]

[Original post on pixelfed.thereisnocat.com]
Diptych of stone flamingoes inset into an exterior cement wall, facing each other, mirror images.
December 2, 2025 at 3:50 PM
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The Bake Shoppe

Established 1989. This looks like a vocational program more than strictly a business. Seen on the street in Clarion, Pennsylvania. Leica R4, Kodacolor 100, ECN-2 development.

#BelieveInFilm
A sign stands out over the sidewalk from a storefront. The sign says “The Bake Shoppe” in script lettering, with an oval above saying “Est. 1989” and a banner below saying “Clarion Vocational Services ISO”. Below that, a second sign has the address 614 Main Street and the phone number 814-226-1076, with illustrations of a loaf of bread with one slice cut, a donut, a piece of pie, and a crueller. A bit further down the street is a vertical banner that reads “Antiques”.
December 2, 2025 at 1:08 PM
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Booths

The Autophoto photobooth museum was pretty packed the day we were there. Pentax 17, Kodacolor 200, ECN-2 development.

#BelieveInFilm
People mill around a small space with three photobooths visible behind them.
December 1, 2025 at 6:02 PM
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Magic Beach Motel

We went by this place this past Friday and it is not long for this world. There is now a fence around it, and there are a couple of holes in the wall where demolition has started so they can build fucking condos. So much for magic […]

[Original post on pixelfed.thereisnocat.com]
A single story motel has a neon sign spanning the roof in front of the entrance. The sign says “Magic Beach Motel” and has neon rabbits jumping out of a hat. Cars are parked in the parking lot, and one visitor is at their car. There are palm trees scattered around.
December 1, 2025 at 3:57 PM
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Dancer’s Studio

Seen on the street in Clarion, Pennsylvania. Leica R4, Kodacolor 100, ECN-2 development.

#BelieveInFilm
A storefront has a sign above the first floor windows reading “Dancer’s Studio” with two ballet dancers in silhouette between the two words. Supposedly they can’t both fit in the studio at the same time since the studio is singular. There is a second floor with several red framed windows.
December 1, 2025 at 12:18 PM
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George’s Barber Shop

Seen in Clarion, Pennsylvania. Leica R4, Kodacolor 100, ECN-2 development.

#BelieveInFilm
A storefront in a two story yellow clapboard building has a sign with a striped background and the words “George’s Barber Shop” painted on it. The ubiquitous SUVs are parked on the street in front.
November 28, 2025 at 12:09 PM
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FL Crooks & Co

The nearest town of substantial size to where we hold our DXpedition is Clarion, Pensylvania. It has a sizable downtown. This is a small part of it. Leica R4, Kodacolor 100, ECN-2 development.

#BelieveInFilm
The view across an intersection at a two story red brick building with a neon sign on it reading “F L Crooks & Co”. A traffic light is visible in the foreground, and buildings recede into the distance.
November 27, 2025 at 1:04 PM
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Finding treasures.

I have a lot of our old family photos, but I didn’t have this one. My dad had a timer for his Polaroid 250, which he clearly used to get this photo of him, my mom, and me on the couch in our house on Newport Drive in Sterling Heights.
1960s Polaroid of a married couple sitting on a solid blue couch with a young blonde boy sitting on the floor looking at them
November 25, 2025 at 8:38 PM
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Only The Stones Remain

I liked the way the light was hitting these in the fire pit. Leica R4, Kodacolor 100, ECN-2 development.

#BelieveInFilm
Late afternoon light hits some rocks.
November 25, 2025 at 12:26 PM