Back in the early 70's, stereo receivers such as the Marantz 2235 were the audio components many budding audiophiles wanted to buy. Why? They were built like tanks and sounded better than most other components in its day.
In the late 70's and early 80's my family owned a stereo store in Skokie, IL and we sold (among other brands) Marantz components. I was always impressed by those old receivers, but little did I know that in subsequent years, Marantz would undergo great changes and those great monster receivers would go the route of becoming "mediocre" stereo equipment.
I always wished I had kept one of those old receivers just to remember the days when I worked in our family's store. Now years later, while checking out the offerings of eBay, I found that some companies have been restoring these great stereo components and selling them again! Well, I snatched up three different models of Marantz receivers as quick as I could, and I hope to get one or two more in the future. This one above just arrived today, so I waited to post this just so I could take a photo of it to show it off.
But as I was preparing to take the photo, I thought this might also serve as a lesson on photography as well.
If you look at the first photo only, you might say, "Wow... nice shot." But if you look at the second photo, you can clearly see there's a lot more to that old Marantz 2235 than you thought! Yes, you can see the nice glow of those gorgeous blue lights that helped define the look of those classic Marantz receivers! And in case you are wondering, the light are ON in the first photo... you just can't tell.
How did I get the lights to show in that second shot ?
Well, it's actually a "time exposure" shot along with a flash! It's called, "Dragging The Shutter," and it's a technique I often use in wedding photography when shooting the formal group photos!
You see, the first shot is just a typical flash shot. It exposes the image properly for the majority of the receiver, but it does nothing for the glowing blue lights. So, by leaving the shutter of the camera open longer and mounting the camera on a tripod, the flash exposes the whole receiver but the long exposure allows the lights from the tuning dial to record on the image sensor of my digital camera as well. In wedding photography, this technique allows me to get those nicely lit photos of my clients as well as getting nicely lit backgrounds of the church!
For the technically-minded reader, the first shot was taken at 1/60 second at f 8.0 with a flash. The second shot was taken at 1 second at f 8.0 with a flash. The second shot is properly exposed by the flash with an aperture of f 8.0, but because the shutter remains open for a full second (much longer than 1/60 second) it allows the light from the receiver's tuning dial to record as well.
Cool, huh?
:)
For more information on old Marantz receivers, check out this site: http://www.classic-audio.com/marantz/mindex.html
4 comments:
Russ,
People collect all kinds of things, and especially when it brings back some good memories. I’ve heard it said, and I’m guilty of it myself, people eat memories. Once a year I will go with a group for the specific reason to eat a special meal, very plain and full of calories, but this all we got to eat during the war. I will buy a can of spam every once in a while and consume it in one sitting, you see the American troops used to give them to us at the end of ww2.
By the way Russ, my cousin collects tube radios, most of them are large furniture pieces. At last count he had 200 plus in perfect working condition. Too bad he is 3000 miles away; otherwise I’d take you there to see them. But if you get the right client and I hit the lottery, we can fly over to see him.
Keep up the good work.
Chris
Spam! Wow, haven't eaten any of that in a long time! Reminds me of the old Monte Python series on the BBC though...
Yes, I've been going a little nuts collecting old stuff it seems. Kodak Brownie cameras and now these Marantz receivers!
What next?
Thanks for your comments.
Russ
I get a lot of "spam" email every day though... does THAT count?
I must get around 30 or 40 email spam messages a day! Viagra, counterfeit watches, mortgage refinancing are among the many messages that come in every day. I suppose since my email address is on my main website, I'm a good target!
Eh?
I have been using a marantz 2235B since I purchased it new in 1979. But it has Two meters, not just the one on the model you've photographed.
It still sounds wonderful and does great justice to my 40+ year old LPs.
Oh, by the way, nice photo(s)!!
- Reg
Post a Comment