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My name is Michael Morris, I am a photographer who came to photography later in life.  I started with digital and found it unrewarding so after a short time with MF, I moved to LF 4X5.  Almost everything I do now is large format B&W.  I am working to improve my technical and artistic skills constantly.  Living in Phoenix, I have access to some very good photographers who are willing to help and teach.  I am on a journey exploring photography, the US, and myself to some extent.  Along with my wife Mary, we are traveling the US together, cameras follow us everywhere and as we travel, this BLOG is updated.  It is very much a journal of my journey with ramblings about everything from the photograph I took while traveling, to the ah-ha moments when something new is grasped.

The old masters work is enthralling to me and I spend a lot of time looking at their work as well as most other work I have access to.  

 

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Entries in rain (3)

Friday
May072010

Adventures in Printing

DateFriday, May 7, 2010 at 2:21PM

FrontYard-03.jpg?fileId=6836621 This photo has been used with a post before right after it was made. I did a print of it and was never really happy with the print. So I showed it to a couple of people to ask about how to do a better print and then put it aside until this week. I decided to go ahead and print it and have been struggling with getting a print that I am happy with. Trying not to accept a GE print (good enough). This is one I plan to show at the finals next week and all I strive to be proud of all that the work I show. So the dynamic range is quite high and getting some texture in the highlights and shadows is tough. After making 5 prints at different settings then looking at them after they were dry, none were satisfactory and I was unable to tell which one used which settings. So i began going at a slower pace, make a print, wash and dry it, look at it and decide what to try next. It is very close now and I think with a couple more I can get a print that I will be proud to show. I am going to try to dilute the developer a little more and increase the contrast on the enlarger. Hopefully that will pull the overall contrast in where I want it. Other things to try would be a water bath, but there is not really any room in the sink to do that, so diluted developer is the next best option.

AuthorArizona Treks | CommentPost a Comment |
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Monday
Mar082010

Nighttime Storm

DateMonday, March 8, 2010 at 6:32AM

A lot has happened in the last week.  There are significant challenges ahead for my business and that means change.  It is at this time, too early to know the extent of the changes but I am hoping for an overall improvement over time.

One of the reasons for buying the 8X10 camera was to get back into some alternative processes.  After working with the digital negatives I found them to be unsatisfying.  The 8X10 analog negatives have their own set of challenges but I have been learning what they are and also trying to learn how to shoot for the alternative processes.  I hope to have some examples soon.

I bought some different film to try and am happy with it.  There are 2 reasons for using this film.  One is cost, it is about 1//2 the price of TMax.  The other is feel, TMax is a great film and I have no intention of abandoning it, but I want to explore other films and get a feel for what they are like.  Last time I did that it was Efke 25 and the exposure problems were tremendous.  I was shooting it at 2 stops below the rated speed and the negatives were still too thin.  This film is Adox CHS 50 and 100.  So far it has worked very well and I am pleased with it.

 As seems to have been the pattern for a while now, we had storms over the weekend.  Yesterday we had rain for a large part of the day.  Our home has some nice brick walkways and I have been trying to capture them for quite some time.  I have tried with digital, MF film, and 4X5 but none have been what I was looking for.  however, as is the norm, with each failure another problem was eliminated until last night I got the one above, almost exactly what I am looking for.  I hope to have a chance to refine this further during the next storm.

AuthorArizona Treks | Comment1 Comment |
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Thursday
Jan212010

Rain Rain Go Away

DateThursday, January 21, 2010 at 6:09AM

Well, that does not really echo my sentiments about the current storm.  We see this kind of weather in Arizona so rarely that I love it.  If you are unaware, we are in the midst of a series of winter storms here in Arizona.  A lot of snow in the mountains and a lot of rain in the desert.  It has been many years since I have seen a storm of this magnitude here.  Going through my library I found no rain photos but a few snow related.  The photo above is along the road to Canyonlands - Island in the Sky and the one below is among the first 20 or so photos taken with the 4X5 on the Mogollon Rim in Arizona.

This storm is exciting because it opens up so many opportunities for photography, and different than the usual photos.  The storm is warm so snow levels will probably stay pretty high, over 6,000ft.  But rain, rivers running, snow in a few locations that it leaves quickly, just be there soon after the storm, if the roads are clear.

The possibilities are so great it is tough deciding where and when to go out and shoot.  The storm is forecast to linger through Saturday but taper off.  Saturday could be a good day to catch some snow but it could be dangerous if the roads are not cleared.  Today and tomorrow would be nice days to shoot rain in the desert but I am really not outfitted for that as well as the consideration os high winds today.

Perhaps I will stay here and attempt to shoot some in the back yard where I can keep the gear out of the weather.

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