March 1941. "Girls at trailer camp for defense workers. Ocean View, Virginia, outskirts of Norfolk." Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon. View full size.

I never did get the full skinny on how it all went down that day. All I know is that it was my brother and his pal, this guy. A couple of ex-Catholic high school boys; you know the type - four years in, walk out with a fancy piece of paper, the whole nine yards. Then two years later they're back in town, cruising the mean streets, past all the usual joints - Montgomery Ward, J.C. Penney, F.W. Woolworth, Thom McAn, The Cottage Bookshop. That's right: San Rafael, California.

When it happened, it happened fast. First his pal pulls up and parks, lights himself a cig, happy as a clam, not a worry in the world. Then my brother hauls off and shoots him with his Lordox, a German 35mm job loaded with Kodak Tri-X. For years afterwards my brother keeps this pic pasted in a book or something. What a crazy guy. View full size.

Dearborn, Michigan. "1956 Ford Customline Fordor Sedan in Meadowmist Green." A stylish suburbanite and her toothpaste-toned transport. Color transparency from the Ford Motor Co. photographic archives. View full size.

Circa 1910. "St. Mary's Church and Ambery house ('Foxley'), Walkerville, Ontario." In the foreground, holders for the photographer's glass plates. "Foxley," designed by Detroit architect Albert Kahn, was the residence of Clayton J. Ambery, an executive of the Hiram Walker distillery. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

Los Angeles circa 1956. "Canadian Club imported whisky -- In 87 lands, the best in the house." No. 4 in a series of billboard photos from the files of Pacific Outdoor Advertising. View full size.

Walkerville, Ontario, circa 1900. "Hiram Walker & Sons. Malt house from bottling works." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size.

The Granite State circa 1906. "Pile bridge at New Castle, New Hampshire." You'll come for the bridge but stay for the bushes. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative. View full size.

New York circa 1911. "Grant's Tomb and rubber-neck auto on Riverside Drive." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

Los Angeles circa 1955. "New Chiffon -- bathroom tissue that is facial tissue." No. 3 in a series of billboard photos from the files of Pacific Outdoor Advertising. View full size.

Pittsfield, Massachusetts, circa 1910. "North Street and Hotel Wendell from the park." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

New York circa 1910. "Riverside Drive and Riverside Park." Replete with spectral strollers. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

Chicago circa 1912. "Peoples Gas Company Building, Michigan Avenue." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

The Detroit River circa 1910. "View at head of Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Mich." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

Detroit circa 1900. "Russell House, Woodward Avenue and Cadillac Square." Razed in 1905 to make way for the Hotel Pontchartrain. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative. View full size.

Los Angeles circa 1954-57. "Betty Crocker promises you perfect pancakes." No. 2 in series of billboard photos from the files of Pacific Outdoor Advertising. View full size.