That smile and her laugh went with her everywhere, and was contagious.

Today we’re getting all the Bucholtz families and friends together today to remember and celebrate the 96 years of smiles she shared with us all. Family gatherings were never without laughter, and I don’t see us changing that tradition today either.

Eleanor V Bucholtz, at the age of 96, passed away at 8 PM Sunday, May 23, 2010. A two year resident of The Sanctuary at St. Paul’s Healthcare Center, South Bend, she was born June 20, 1913 to the late John J. & Blanche (Holewinski) Otolski.

On April 29, 1939, she was united in marriage in South Bend, Indiana to Remont (Joe) F. Bucholtz, who was the love of her life.

Surviving are three sons, Terry (Susan) of South Bend, Randy of Mishawaka, and Bill (Susan) of South Bend; 9 Grandchildren, Jeffrey Bucholtz, Lisa Bucholtz, Randall Williams, Samantha Hazelton, Eric (Sara Bassler) Bucholtz, Aliya (Ray) Caldwell, Genna Bucholtz, Wendy (Francisco) Jaramillo, Zack (Alethea) Williamson; 7 Great Grandchildren, Olivia Bucholtz, Adrian and Madeline Bucholtz, Olathe and Davia Williamson, Leonardo and Gabriel Jaramillo.

Preceded in death:
She was preceded in death by her husband Joe, in 1961; her parents; and four brothers, Edward, Joseph, Henry, and Clement Otolski.

Eleanor’s devotion was to her family and especially her late husband, Joe. Her eyes would light up whenever she could share her memories of their life and travels together.  She taught the importance of family values, Sunday worship, and prayer. She enjoyed humor, was a great polish cook, loved reading, and prayed every day for her family and friends. She will be remembered for many things, but mostly for being a loving and compassionate mother and grandmother to all. She was loved and will be greatly missed.

A memorial and Celebration of Life Service will be held on June 6th 2010, 3:30 PM at Historical Hamilton Church located at 31519 Chicago Trail, New Carlisle, IN.

Why is it I can’t get enough of looking at black and white photos from the early 20th century? These guys. Grandparents. Legends.

Last Sunday my Grandmother Eleanor V. Bucholtz passed away a few weeks after my 30th birthday and a few weeks before her 97th birthday. She was more than ready to meet her Jesus and see her beloved Joe again – the two people she never stopped talking about. Grandpa Remont “Joe” Bucholtz, a US Navy veteran of World War II,  passed away when my dad was just 6, 16 years after the end of the war. Grandma never ran out of stories to tell about him, and I never got tired of looking at old photos with her.

Grandma B -a name that stuck from before us grandkids could all say “Eleanor” or “Bucholtz”- was nothing short of an amazing woman. Friday I went to the hospital to be with her and my parents, aunts & uncles and 2 older cousins that live nearby when the family was notified that she was very near to going home to heaven. Even amidst somber moments reflecting on her life the gathering of family was the same ornery bunch and told the same crazy stories of our times over the years. It was there I realized it most that it had never taken a relative in the hospital to get us all together and talking on good terms; she had helped put so much love and care for each other into our family already.

That love and peace is a legacy and immeasurable inheritance to leave as an example for your family.

We’ll miss Grandma, without question, every time we think of her and tell her stories. She loved hearing about all the places I traveled so she was my pen pal when I traveled Scandinavia, Central America, and southeast Asia. I’m thankful for the 30 years I shared with her and all the time we spent together as a family. I’m grateful she was able to meet my 2 children, too. (My son Adrian even got to help push her “wagon” (wheelchair) for her when he visited.) Lots of her grandkids’ friends had her as an honorary Grandmother. She raised 3 sons and helped to weave a family together with genuine love for each other.

Also notably, she helped to instate the food groups of pirogi and Polish sausage as staple foods at family gatherings. Our matriarch Eleanor is the reason my family with a German last name calls itself Polish in honor of her heritage and various phrases said in Polish. (Mostly ones you’d say under your breath when you want to call someone a name they wouldn’t understand – told you she was ornery!)

In closing, the only obituary she wanted: “Eleanor’s gone.”

If you listen I’m pretty sure heaven’s playing Polka this week to welcome her as we miss her and celebrate her life with us from 1913 to 2010.

She hasn’t wasted any time learning how to roll over, working on crawling, and gabbing away to let everyone know what’s on her mind. She’s not a fan of teething but likes the frozen fruit smoothies Dad made for a snack. When she’s not teething or napping she’s pretty much all smiles and giggles. Sugar, spice, everything nice, things like that.

Happy half birthday Maddie! Dad, Mom and big brother Adrian love you!

(She said I could have the last piece of chocolate cake, too.)

Sara saw the kids snuggling up for a nap and one of those sweet, quiet moments that go by way too fast. It didn’t take me twice to think about grabbing a camera! Hope your Sunday is a restful, relaxing conclusion to the weekend! – Eric, Sara, napping Maddie & Adrian

I’m editing through thousands of wedding photos from a recent shoot, preparing the best photos to show the newlyweds just back from their tropical honeymoon. Thousands of photos from one day is something I never managed to fire off when I shot film. Maybe the cost of materials, limited roll sizes, or whatever the reason; I enjoy the added flexibility of shooting as much as I like nowadays.

One of our newlywed couples posted some old family photos on facebook, and though I didn’t know the people in the picture I just had to stop and soak in some 1940s photos of their grandparents as youngsters. Simple black and white photos from 65 years back, just a snapshot really. Out of the bazillion photos constantly added to Facebook these caught my eye. Old photos do that every time.

Classy black & white wedding photo of Sara’s parents. Not from the 1940s, but still a classy couple!

I wondered if what makes these photos most interesting is that there wasn’t the immense volume of daily photos taken and instantly shared as there are today. It wasn’t an instant preview type of thing to have your picture taken. Photography always seemed more magical when you had to wait to see the prints, even in one hour processing. Can anyone else attest to this?

I have rolls of film in the fridge shot with my Holga, I have no idea what I shot or when I shot it for that matter. I’ve forgotten what type of film is even in the Argus C-Four sitting next to the computer, let alone the last images recorded with it. I like these cameras for the fact that I can’t check an LCD for a preview, or delete an image seconds after taking it.

With convenience, instant previews, and the insane volume of photos one can take just to erase, has photography lost some of its magic? What do you guys think?

On second thought maybe the low volume of photos isn’t all bad. My awkward family photo from the 80s. No wonder I wanted to be behind the camera.

Keep shootin! eB

Madeline’s eyes looked hazel when she was born but I’m pretty sure they’re staying blue like her big brother and her Mama’s eyes are. She was rather content to wiggle by herself a bit while I played with Adrian – a welcome break from wanting to be constantly picked up – so I let her stretch out on the turquoise blanket a friend knitted (crocheted?) for Adrian.

Adrian has always been my camera ham. He didn’t want to be left out and hopped right up into the chair when I got Maddie back to her crib. He was behaving so well and sitting still (at the same time no less!) I got Madeline to sit with him for some surprise photos to give Sara when she got home from errands. Two sets of blue eyes melted their father’s heart with a huge smile.

And just like that, they went back to playing. Madeline discussed with her older brother Adrian the finer points of taking extended naps. I think he listened, too, and Daddy got a few minutes to make phone calls while the kiddies slept.

Beat the cabin fever – drop us a line or a call to set up a winter shoot for you, your family, your children or all of the above!

10+ countries visited

9…  years snapping photos for business

8… years since I started dating Sara

7…  years of concerts at the Underground Cafe

6… digital SLRs (Nikon D70, D70s, D200 x2, D300, D700)

5… 35mm Film Cameras (Minolta x-370, 7000i, 600si, Nikon N80, Argus C-Four)

4… Apple computers doing photo work (Mac Pro, MacBook Pro, MacBook, iBook G4)

3… continents wandered (North / Central America, Europe, Asia)

2… wonderful children Adrian & Madeline

1… amazing sweetheart Sara.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

(Full longwinded ramble recap on the way too.)

So far at the Bucholtz bungalo it’s been a day of cleaning, dishes, wrapping, roasting some corned beef for dinner and making more cookies for gifts and snacks. Everything outside is icy and cold and it’s a good day to keep busy indoors watching all the Christmas movies we can find and getting ready for a great Christmas with our growing family.

Merry Christmas everybody! God bless us, every one!

- Eric, Sara, Adrian & Madeline

Argus C4. C-4, C-Four 35mm

(Fans and friends on Facebook have probably read bits about this project along the way… join the fun)

Early last December a friend of mine posted photos of a classy Argus C-44R 35mm camera. Great 1950s design, shiny metal camera body, very clean looked like a fantastic find! It reminded me of a camera I had on a shelf, shutter not firing. I inherited my Argus C4 in early 1999 when my family’s shutterbug, my Grandpa, passed away. I loved photography since I got started snapping with a 35mm in high school, and Grandpa and I talked about camera news of the day like “APS film! Is it as good as 35mm?” The year before he passed away we had great shop talk while I helped provide in home care for him during the day. I’ll fondly remember times of us leafing through our copies of Popular Photography and talking about our favorite hobby.

I wanted to shoot with the Argus camera since I took it out of the box of camera oddities my uncle gave me. Seeing a friend’s photos of a very similar camera only reignited the desire to see it working again. The night I saw the photos I did what any self respecting Bucholtz male would do – I took it apart on the spot.

There’s something marvelous about opening a machine and seeing how it all works. I instantly knew what my dad found so intriguing about working on older cars that are more mechanical than computerized. I saw the problem instantly and began to find ways to repair it. With the camera now open there was no putting it back together without it working again. I wouldn’t do it, it felt unfair to know what needed to be repaired and forget it. (And maybe that’s why dad’s garage is also full of parts for various older cars.)

I decided that before the year was through I would have the camera working again, and this December I heard the shutters snap for the first time in 10 years. It is almost the same feeling of awe and mystery as when I got my first 35mm camera almost 15 years ago.

The day I got it working I posted this bit on facebook, and I have photos and more story to come. Enjoy.

I better understand the mystique and appreciation for restoring classic cars – today I got my Grandpa’s 1953 Argus C-Four 35mm camera snapping again, 10 years after I inherited it from the family’s orignal shutterbug. Shooting a test roll with this stylish mechanical, metal, all manual rangefinder camera feels incredibly nostagic using an early camera one of the people that first got me interested in photography used decades ago. This roll’s for you Gramps.