Hal Copples SPF in Car Craft ?

JAM1775 · #1 (**permalink**) 01-31-2003, 11:26 AM

Is that what we see in March Issue, Page 27 ??
Nice Photo write up !

Hal Copple · #2 (**permalink**) 01-31-2003, 08:36 PM

Thanks for mentioning it. I was kinda suprised myself. Several months ago, i noted that they were soliciting pictures of cars of our military, so i sent in some stuff. I live near where the Mel Gibson movie "The Patriot" was filmed, so the authentic homes and log fences and cabins and such are a wonderful back drop for photography, i sometimes take my car out there for a some photography. Same place my daughter had her HS pictures taken.

I shoot with Nikon, Minolta, Hasselblad, and my favorite and trusty Asahi Pentax, bought in Vietnam in ' 71, and taken by me all over the world. One of the only possessions i still have from that time.

Anyway, i sent them some nice Hasselblad enlargements, along with some other 35mm track pictures. I doubted they would put my sort of car in amongst the Muscle Cars they feature, and forgot about it. Actually, the other stuff was much better, but they needed something that would not be lost among the background of log cabins and such.

I have found the timeless appeal of these cars to be a powerful force. My car was featured in Richard Griot's catalogue a year ago, and he still uses some comments of mine in every issue. Plus had a letter in Autoweek last fall, about my car's use as a daily driver.

When i order some part, i send a picture of my car along with the order, and when i call back to Pegasus, Canton, and others, and say "this is Hal in SC, the SPF guy" they are happy to remind me that they have a picture of my car up in their office.

It makes for really personal service. Patty at Canton wrote me "i got the picture of your engine, i want one of the car!"

Liana at Griot's sent me one of their chocolate Cobra's. The Lass at Pegasus tracked down a custom German washer for me, as a favor.

All in all, it is nice to let folks who help me out with this or that know that i appreciate it. Plus i like seeing my SPF in Ron Davely's calendar. Twice.

I am pretty sure when some one at some place pulls one of my Hasselblad enlargements out of the big envelope i send them, they show it to the office staff and comment "you know, these really are handsome cars.

Thanks for the opportunity to brag....

JAM1775 · #3 (**permalink**) 02-01-2003, 04:04 PM

No brag...that's good stuff...Congrats !

Excaliber · #4 (**permalink**) 02-01-2003, 07:05 PM

Hal,,,,,you da man! A real inspiration.

Ernie

Lew the taxman · #5 (**permalink**) 02-03-2003, 07:41 PM

Hal

I also, have a Pentax. I bought mine while in the Air Force in Germany ’68. Best camera ever built. I had a problem with mine. Took it to a camera repair shop, and they said that Pentax took all the repair parts off the market. (I sure they want people to buy new cameras). The guy told me to contact a camera club. They might have the part I needed. That’s what I did, and it worked out ok.

Lew

P.S> how’s your new full width roll bar coming along.

Alex Donghi · #6 (**permalink**) 02-04-2003, 08:23 AM

Hal
I also have Asahi stuff... a couple of bodies a good assortment of lenses. Its in my colection with the Rollie and the nikon and the minox etc..It was great but the new digitals make it soooo easy. Is there a link to your pictures?

Hal Copple · #7 (**permalink**) 02-04-2003, 06:40 PM

Hah, i sorta wondered when I slipped in the Asahi thing if any other old guys would come back on that!! I bought mine out of the PACEX catalogue for $125, of course, it came with nice leather cases for the camera, each lens, and even the lens hoods. Bought several lenses too. I carried that camera everywhere with me in my first five years outside the USA, used to parachute with it hanging around my neck, so i could shoot coming down. I shot thousands of Kodachrome, which still look so stunningly vibrant. I was an MACV Advisor in the Delta for a year. I took it to Desert Storm, and shot a lot there, too. A manual camera can really teach one a lot. Eventually, acquired a lot of Pentax and Takumar stuff, which still renders good service. You can indeed get batteries now for them, and i have mine serviced occasionally by the pro's. I even have a rare 85mm 1.8 Takumar. I used it to take a sideline photo of the longest pass completion in the history of the Big 8, fabulous picture, ball just over the shoulder of the receiver, etc.

When i was a SF A Team Commander, we had two M3 Lica's in our Team Kit, but i always prefered to take my own Pentax, as i knew how it performed.

I like the 'Blad for stationary work, but now recently bought a Nikon pro system, based on a F100. What an incredible camera, for someone like me who doesn't see to focus so well or so quickly any more.

I came back from Vietnam to a wife who had sold/discarded every possession i had, so i only had my Pentax and my knives, that was all i owned when i got off the plane at Travis. So those two items are very precious to me. My Buck knife is in a wooden display case now. The Buck people lovingly and carefully restored it for me, for no charge.

As we get older, the memories of our past adventures and experiences are all the more important to us.

Alex Donghi · #8 (**permalink**) 02-05-2003, 08:20 AM

Hal
Did you realize that that was your 427th post?? What do you mean by "old guys'??? I think I have the 85mm too. I also have a macro lens with bellows plus a 200mm. My old man bought the first camera in chrome and used it in Vietnam also. but he was far east bureau chief for NBC news some time around 64 -68. I started to add to the collection in the early 70's when I had an interest in a boat manufacturing yard in Taiwan. Used to fly through Tokyo. Picked up a black body. I got it all laid out in a nice aluminum case. The rolliflex was 'liberated' from the Germans in WWII again thanx to my. Anyway congrats on the '427th' post