Invasion of the dodos

It might be extinct as a species, but there's certainly no shortage of dodos here this week! Above is a 2D scan of my Nimslo 3D shot, taken in January 1984, of a real dodo skeleton in the Natural History Museum of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC. I finally got around to scanning it. My newer scanner has difficulty interpreting the lenticular laminate on my 3D photos, but the old scanner handles it well.

But these are some recent arrivals, after a bout of dodo madness on eBay:


Dodos from "Primeval" (by Character Options) and Safari


A Harmony Kingdom dodo keepsake box

Nostalgia in 3D, in 2D

The shooting model of the starship USS Enterprise from "Star Trek" the original series. These pictures were taken in January 1984, at the Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC, USA. I used my Nimslo 3D camera, but these are 2D scans, of course. (This is also pre the controversial restoration the model underwent in 1992.)

Battle of the Smithsonian!

I had few hours to kill today, so I decided to catch up on the sequel to the movie, "Night at the Museum"; hard to believe that first film came out at Christmas 2006. Seems like only yesterday!

While this one moves the action to Washington DC's Smithsonian complex, and really ups the ante for potential exhibits that may soon come to life, it doesn't retain the freshness of the first film. Certainly a fun movie, but a bit sequelly and predictable - whereas I found the first one to be quite unpredictable! Owen Wilson, as the feisty diminutive cowboy escapee from a diorama again manages to steal the show with his snappy retorts. (At least this time he takes a screen credit!)

As a free publicity campaign for famous US museums, these films must have worked wonders. They certainly give me itchy feet to return to New York's Museum of Natural History, and the Air & Space Museum at the Smithsonian in Washington.

Today's outing was also a good excuse to snap this 3D display for my 365 Photos project.


Cinema display for "Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian".