Arizona Treks

Last night Mary and I went to see a movie.  This is not such an unusual thing for most people but we go to maybe 1 or 2 movies a year.  I think we may have gone to 3 during the decade of 1990.  So it is always a special treat and it is always a movie that we would like to see rather than wishing to go to the movies and finid one that looks interesting.  We really enjoyed the casting, acting, and story, but I was left scratching my head over the cinematography.  Most of the scenes, especially the closeups were slightly out of focus.  I do not think it was the projection system because there would be small parts in focus, like a cheek, or ear, but the rest of the scene would be out of focus.  Considering the budgets for movies these days I can not imaging they were using old or poor quality equipment, the people running the cameras are probably capable of shooting a scene in sharp focus so that leaves me thinking it must have been an intentional "creative expression".  That almost makes me laugh be cause there is nothing creative about out of focus scenes if it does not add anything to the scene.

Don't get me wrong, there is a place for that sort of thing, I love well done Holga (hows that for an oxymoron).  I have seen examples of slightly out of focus or grossly OOF that really helped to enhance the photo and make it more expressive.  But more often I have seen someone show an OOF photo that was either an accident they didn't want to throw away or just a failed attempt to be more creative.

The same thing goes for some people who will intentionally hold the camera at odd angles.  Sometimes that works, but not enough to make a career out of it.

So many times people forget to learn the technical basics before trying to be cute.  The creative instrument is the person, not the camera.  Learn exposure until it is second nature.  Learn proper exposure and then branch out and experiment, learn what you can do and what you can't do.  Learn to focus, not depending on the AF, especially allowing it to select what to focus on.  Then experiment with DOF where you are in charge of the focus and can use it very creatively without going anything "cute".  If you want soft, get a lens, filter, or just use a nylon, that is almost always better than OOF.  But experiment with OOF and see if you can shoot something that works as an OOF photo, but do not try to make everything work like that.

What I am saying is, learn to shoot in the traditionally correct manner first before trying to get cute.  You need to learn the language before writing a novel.  And do not depend on tricks to carry a lack of vision.  Shot as much as possible and the vision will come.  

One BLOG I read has posted some tips for getting better at photography quickly.  That matches our society today but there is one way to improve, that is to shoot.  Everyone progresses at a different rate.  So just go out and shoot, have fun and learn.

Happy 4th

Looking back at the trip, I learned a lot about how I work and what I need to work effectively.  As well as how I respond to unexpected situations.  During the trip we were met with several unexpected and undesirable circumstances.  The light was poor most of the trip, the broken lens forced me to use other lenses that are not as familiar to me as 210 and are not of the same exceptional quality.  The issues with the trailer were distracting.

Overall I took more digital photos that any other format.  But there are multiple images for most photos and with digital most people tend to take more photos than with film.  Some of the digital photos are quite good, about the ratio I expect.  

Next in quantity was 35mm.  Not really surprising, I shot about 5 1/2 rolls of 35mm film during the trip.  The thing that surprised me was, I like very few of the B&W photos but several of the color.  In trying to sort this out, I think it is because the B&W was mostly shot while getting to know an area.  The type of shooting I was doing with the 35mm was different for me, entirely.  So I will see over time how that works out.  The ratio of good photos to total is lower than for the digital, but once more I think it was because of the new situations that I kept putting myself into.  

4X5 was the lowest number of photos taken, 113 B&W and 25 color total.  The distinction is, there is a much larger ratio of good photos than either of the other formats.  

I have printed a couple of the 35mm color photos a few 35mm B&W and several of the 4X5 B&W.  None to a final print status, just getting a feel for them at this time and learning the new enlarger.  It is my wish to have some to look through and see which ones I want to print and mount soon.

We worked through the trailer issues with minimal disruption to the trip, I worked through losing my favorite lens.  We worked through the horrible light and still made some good photographs.

I experimented quite a bit with filters and ways of shooting.  The trick sitting in the back of the truck worked out quite well.  I am actually thinking of putting a camper shell on the truck and setting up a shooting platform on top of the camper.  It worked for Ansel.

It was a good trip and I have enough decent negatives that it will take years to get them all printed.  I surprised myself in many ways but mostly in the ability to accept the horrible light and work through it.

Although ghost towns are historic sites, here in the Southwest there are so many ghost towns and they take so many different forms that they deserve special treatment.  Besides, ghost towns are among my favorite places to photograph.

Most ghost towns are not managed by a government agency.  Bodie is an exception, it is part of the California State Parks.  Which may close many of the parks due to the current fiscal crisis.  Many of the towns are on public lands and can be visited freely.  This is unfortunate because that means the people who have no respect go in and destroy the place.  Some are on private property and are managed like Vulture Mine, you pay admission and can visit.  Many today have been re-settled, like Jerome.

Tip Top is an example of a town on public land, well, it is my understanding that it is actually private property but no restrictions are placed on visiting.  Which is part of the reason the buildings are almost completely gone and there is more new trash than artifacts, very little mining equipment, and a lot of willful destruction.  

Vulture mine is one of the best in Arizona because there is not the destruction, however no effort has been placed into retarding the decay and the buildings are falling down.  

Eden has newer houses surrounding the original buildings which make it difficult to shoot exteriors.

Many ghost towns are nothing more than a few foundations.  But with some research you can find places to go and perhaps find interesting things there.  If they are on public land you will find the best preserved sites are those that require long difficult tracks to get to them.

Most of the ghost towns in Arizona were mining boom towns and many have old mining equipment left behind to rust.  These old rusty machines can make very good subjects but require practice to consistently get the best possible results.  So don't give up when you come back with a camera full of mediocre  photos.  Go back, try again and eventually you will learn to shoot those old machines.

Inside buildings you can sometimes find wonderful photos.  If there are old pots, dishes, bottles, cans, furniture, cabinets, etc can be great subjects and with the decay as the background it will support the photo wonderfully.

What do you shoot in the middle of the day when there are few interesting shadows and the light is so harsh you can not make a good photograph.  The same applies as for the overcast days.  Do closeups and abstracts.

Many times you can overcome poor light by doing abstracts.  Sometimes you will find an abstract where the harsh light enhances the scene.  The photo above is a coil of flat cable near the parking lot at Bodie.  I shot these twice, once in the harsh mid-day light and once in the late afternoon when the light was softer.  The original thought was that the harsher light would make interesting surface definition.  As it turned out, the angle of the sun was not the best for achieving the effect.  The negatives made later in the day tend to have better surface definition.

I watch for abstracts most of the time.  They can pop up anywhere and can be a very nice compliment to the series.  

Historic sites can be very good places to photograph and they can be huge disappointments.  For me the thing that make the difference is the placement of signs, plaques, and obvious improvements or repairs done with modern materials.

There are many historic places that we visited during the trip but I am referring to the actual parks, recreation areas, etc., not the historic downtown, or the cemetery, places like Fort Ross State Park, Bodie State Park, Golden Gate National Recreation Area.  I love historic places, for the opportunity to learn and get a feel for what things were like as well as the wonderful photographic opportunities.

One challenge however is the other visitors.  On one trip there was a LF photographer that was very rude, asking or yelling for people to move out of his view.  Some places restrict the types of equipment and I think it may to some extent be due to jerks like that guy.  The place is not maintained for the benefit of photographers but for the general public.  I consider being allowed to photograph in these places to be a privilege, not a right and behave myself in a manner that reflects respect for the other visitors.  I take my time, set up the shot and wait for people to move.  Am friendly with them when they ask questions, do not try to rush them.  It is my responsibility to not take away from their enjoyment and in so doing, exercise some patience and respect.

The shot above, at Fort Ross, took a few minutes to wait for everyone to clear the area but probably only about 5 minutes.  This is not bad, the shot prior to that one took 15 minutes or so because 2 groups of people were wandering around and would enter the shot and leave it.  We waited and I met some other visitors that are interesting people to talk to.  The extreme was at Bodie, I had a shot set up and people would continue to walk in front of me, showing no respect or courtesy whatsoever.  I kept my cool and waited until all was clear, about 45 minutes.  Unfortunately, I do not like the photo enough to even print it.  Other at Bodie took similar time, the worst was one that I would position myself and wait 30 minutes or so, then give up and go back later, I only got the shot after 3 tries like this.  It will print much better than it scanned but I am uncertain of the composition.

We found that even in Northern CA there are extremely rude people.  In many cases we felt like we were intruding.  Of all the travel we have done, California is the most rude place, but the North Coast is worth it.

Historic places can be very interesting to photograph. and they can be frustrating.  Partly it is up to you.  Prepare yourself for waiting, put on your best smile and go for it.  But enjoy yourself as well, after a while, you realize the waiting helps you slow down and see more and possibly better.  I know that when I am going at a slower pace I tend to get better photographs.