Biosphere on Easter Monday
Good Friday: The Photo Story
From the Riverside Cemetery, Denver, Colorado.
This post IS for Good Friday. But there is also a Story to be told. This was my second visit to the Riverside Cemetery in Denver. Dragging around my Mamiya 645 in its rolling case. The Riverside Cemetery is a place to go for History Addicts, as it is the oldest Denver Cemetery. It needs some love, but is now being managed by The Friends of Historic Riverside Cemetery.
But things aren’t as they seem, when I scanned the film from my second visit I reversed the negative. And on my first visit I had taken the Long View. The original perspective and correct orientation is below. What do You Think?
Notice the lovely Oil Refinery in the background, which is why on my second visit, I moved in closer to “crop in the camera”, and show the face of Mary. I also had better light on the second go around.
Range Testing of Realty So Subtle is Done!
We spent an afternoon at Arcosanti, Paolo Soleri’s Urban Laboratory. They had a wonderful path that allowed me to test the pinhole range and estimate the distance. I wanted to do this because when I tried it before I was way off in my range estimates. I got exactly what I needed, and a nice image of their sign:
I plan on going back for Pinhole Day and capturing some interior photos.
A Quiet Tribute
As student of Art History, and a practicing religious person, I was devastated by the Fire at Notre Dame. No, I’m not Catholic, but I revere ALL sacred places of ALL Religions.
I’m not at home, so I don’t have much that I can post at this moment. But I Love Gothic Architecture. When I had a chance to live in England, I visited all the famous Cathedrals that I could get to during my short stay. So I post a Quiet Tribute from Wells Cathedral. A gem that you should try to see if you are in western England
And what I am going to do this summer is scan all of my best English Cathedral images (Old ECN-II Transparencies) and Post Them!
Inspired By: Where the Series is Going
I thought about starting this Series when I heard that “Mountain Light’, Galen & Barbara Rowell’s Gallery, was closed, and that was my first post. Reading his books was a turning point in my use of E-6 films. I wanted to start acknowledging the Photographers that have influenced me and what about them I find Inspiring.
So I thought of lots of “Famous” Photographers”, some of whom I’ve actually met, and put them on my ‘to do list’. But Lately I’ve realized that my ‘colleagues’ (people that are amongst the best but not famous yet?) are perhaps MORE inspiring. People whose Blogs and Tweets I care to follow must mean something to me, right?
Unfortunately, some of those who Inspired me, Like Galen Rowell, have passed on. Their websites may no longer exist. But I will share with you wrk that I never would have tried without their Inspiration.
So, If I’m following you, especially if we communicate a lot, you may see yourself here.
Favorites from Silberra PAN 100
Similar issues with PAN 100 as I had reported for PAN160. All images here have been significantly altered for brightness and contrast in Photoshop.
Arizona Skies have been generally more interesting than in Front Range Colorado. Back in colorado that dead blue sky that frequently shows itself is anathema to Photography.
Through The Glass: Passing the Halfway Point
I’ve completed half of my Proton Bean Treatments. Wooooo Hoooo! So I’m sharing one of my husband’s digital images of: Argentine Giant (Echinopsis candicans). Happily blooming in a median at the Mayo Clinic.
My Film Cacti Photos Coming Soon!
My Personal Ilford FP4 Party at the Salt River Bridge
My Emulsive Secret Santa sent me one roll each of 35 mm and 120 size film. I know about the FP4 Party on Twitter, but had never participated and never shot any of this film before. This Month I did post my best FP4 35 mm images.
So I was shooting on a drive through the mountains north of Phoenix. We ended up at Roosevelt Lake (water very low as you can see) and the Salt River Dam and Bridge:
But my real interest was the Bridge. So I did a study of it. First, a panorama made from two images using Photomerge:
Remember when making a Panorama your images must overlap by ~30%, as you can see from the parts below:
And the most wide angle I could get from a single shot using my Minolta X-700 and Tamron 28-200 zoom lens with a nice reflection:
A slightly different view, with interesting vegetation:
As my Previous Post suggested, I’ll try the 120 FP4 film that I was given, but I’m probably going to stick with Delta100 or 400 when I want lower contrast than T-MAX 400.
Through the Glass: It’s Beginning to GLOW in Here……
Yes, this is me in my Proton Beam Radiation Mask. It was custom fit and molded to my face during the Radiation Simulation Session. You literally have to be tied down. The method is so precise that any motion would cause the beam to miss the tumor and hit something inside that you might not want to zap. The lasers and pink tape are used for rough alignment. Then low-level X-rays are used to “see” the four pins in my skull for fine alignment. If it looks uncomfortable, it is! And I go in twice a day for treatment. Best thing, I get to take it home with me. I’m going to make a shadow box and display it in my Living Room…….
The pressure from the Mask caused some swelling on the left side of my head to return. Ooops! But it is better this week. It’s stretched a bit and I’ve been working with the Technical Staff to get a better fit.
So I found out the details of the GLOW Club and will be attending on Thursday. Hopefully I can see the accelerator and take picture. I’ll post an update if pics are allowed. Fun Fact: you can actually see the blue flashes of the Proton Beam as it passes within the inter-cranial fluids. Your optic nerve can detect the flashes so your brain can ‘see’ it.
The focussed beam comes through the “screen” behind my head. The screen is so big because it needs to be focussed across a wide range of angles. It moves along the metal track for positioning. Below, a longer view showing the hand grips for more stability against motion. What you cannot see is that my feet beneath the blanket are tied down to the table also.
I’m keeping my hair very short so I can moisturized my scalp to minimize burning. In the image on the right, you can see a hint of the Surgery #2 Scar.
Keeping it short for Radiation
Below, a handy dandy summary graphic taken from the Mayo Clinic Website. CLICK HERE for better viewing.
Results of Film Expertise Survey and My Personal Thoughts
I have my favorite films and I ask myself whether it is worth the time to learn about new films? My favorite B&W: Kodak T-MAX 400, Ilford SFX-200 and I when I want less contrast Ilford Delta 400; I also want to spend some more time with Ilford Delta 3200. My Favorite Color film for now is Kodak Portra 400; I am presently testing the new Kodak E100. So I have 3 main films (bold); one that I use under certain conditions (bold italic and posted image below); and two that I am experimenting with (plain text italic).
So I posted a Survey on Twitter and asked the followers of both of my Blogs to add their comments. The Twitter Survey ran for a week with the following Results:
Most of my blog followers are also on Twitter, so their votes are included above. I agree with the survey results: 48% of you say 3-4 films and 23% say 1-2 films. Total for less is more: 71%. So most of us agree that you cannot be an expert with dozens of films. My husband said that his answer was 5+ films. He really likes to find special films for special circumstance and does more experimentation than I do, which is a film multiplier. @donkittle on Twitter wrote to me supporting different films for different situations also. I typically shoot 3-4 different types of scenes/subjects. So following this approach may explain why I only need/use 3-4 film types. And I think that most photographers in that 71% are doing the same, typically shooting select films for their preferred subjects and no more.
I am open to experimentation on a limited basis, or using a certain film according to the conditions if I know that it will perform better (Delta 400) than my usual B&W (T-MAX 400). We should all consider new films from time to time. But film testing is time consuming, and I think that my days of trying new films are pretty much over once I’m done testing Kodak E100. If I like the new E-6 film, then it will largely replace Portra 400, since ISO 100 films are better for travel (i.e. they survive possible airport X-ray mishaps better; also some film travel tips here and more here). But since I already understand Portra 400, I can pull it off the shelf when I need it. And although I don’t like the color balance of Portra 160 for my landscapes in general, I can recommend it for Pinhole Cameras. So another case of a special film for a special case.
Now lets consider some Favorite Films of Famous Photographers. I’ve tried researching this on the WEB. Lot’s of discussion of gear (cameras, lenses, etc), but very little on Films used by the Famous. So isn’t Film part of your Gear? Isn’t that why we choose certain films for certain circumstances? Hey, if you become famous, please include preferred Film Types in your Gear…….. Here’s what I found after a few hours of searching for a some of my Favorites who considered the Film a part of their Gear:
- Richard Avedon: Tri-X
- Clyde Butcher: T-MAX 100
- Imogen Cunningham: Developers used but not Films
- Sally Mann: Collodion Process
- Galen Rowell: Fuji Velvia 100 (used Kodachrome through the 1980’s)
- John Sexton: T-MAX 400
- Kim Weston: FP4 (Current Choice; Past films used: Tri-X, T-MAX 400, HP5)
I realize that it may be harder to find this information for deceased Photographers. But if you are still alive, please let us know what type of film you most recently used (even if you have switched to digital).
A Final Thought from the Weston Interview linked above:
“…..If you use a film long enough, you get to know its characteristics. I don’t use a meter, I just know the light…..”
