Southwest Photography - Arizona Treks Blog

Entries in winter (4)

Friday

Jan222010

Paper Again

Friday, January 22, 2010 at 7:36AM

All week I have taken some time every day to do a little printing. All prints were 8X10 and I started with a partial box of Ilford Neutral Tone paper. I was having a little trouble getting what I wanted out of the paper and was a little frustrated because I thought the negative were good and I really liked the images. But as I worked through the last of the paper it became a little easier. Then, finally, the last sheet was printed and time to open a new box of the Ilford Warmtone paper. The very first print was WOW! Great tonality, contrast, I got what I was looking for out of the paper. Instead of compromise the prints were quite pleasing, rich beautiful prints you can be proud of showing rather than the much work for compromise.

Now, to hear this compared with even 6 months ago is rather surprising to me. I was barely able to discern the difference between the papers at that time. The difference in the tones (neutral vs. warm) was obvious but the subtle differences in the papers was only marginally visible. This time it was almost a slap in the face with a wet rag.

So vision continues to develop as you work. This one was obvious partly because it has been a while since I printed with the warmtone paper and partly because the negatives were better than usual. They were little more dense and had higher contrast than usual, This was deliberate as part of a suggestion made by Randy Efros almost a year ago. It is nice to see that coming together as well.

The photo above was scanned from a print. The scan of the negative was lower quality. My knowledge and skill in scanning is weak and may not improve. I scan the negatives as a way to provide something like a contact sheet for myself. From those scans I decide which negatives to print. This works well for me and I see no reason to change it or to work hard to improve the quality of the scans since they are never printed. On the rare occasion I shoot color, I scan and will sometimes print that file. But those are for my own use. When I wish to show or sell a color print I take it to a professional.

Arizona Treks |

Rain Rain Go Away

Thursday, 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.

Arizona Treks |

Oak Creek

Monday, January 18, 2010 at 6:25AM

Last Friday a friend and I went to Oak Creek near Sedona. We planned to hike the West fork Trail but found it covered with ice and chose to avoid injury to self and camera gear. We worked the ruins near and the confluence of Oak Creek and the West Fork. Then we went to Red Rock Crossing. This was an unusual trip in that I was pleased with most of the photos made there.

Recently, few of the photos I make please me, at least the ones made on outings. Another friend mentioned the Ansel Adams quote a week or so ago.

"Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer - and often the supreme disappointment."

- Ansel Adams

This has been so true of what I have shot recently that I find myself not venturing out quite as much as before. Waiting and hoping I would get past that for I believe it is a temporary condition, being hyper-critical of my own work. I like to think this is merely something many who do subjective, creative work find along the way and that it will help me to improve.

There have been few posts recently, partly because of the lack of satisfaction in my work, and partly because I have several critical software projects to be done and have been focusing on them.

The top photo is in the West Fork just above the waterfall at the confluence. The ice, still clinging to the logs but above the water created some interesting lines and reflections. The photo below is part of the ruins near there. The ivy-covered stone column caught my eye. The sun was filtered through the trees and made interesting patterns on the column.

That was one of those days that there were no clouds so we had to be creative with what we shot.

Arizona Treks |

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Tuesday

Jan122010

Flagstaff Area

Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at 7:05AM

Last Sunday a friend and I went to the Wupatki/Sunset Crater area in search of snow on the ruins and in the lava fields. Alas, no snow on the ruins, but plenty in the lava fields. I have been to this area many times and never found snow on the ruins in Wupatki, it is a bit lower in elevation than Sunset Crater and so when they get snow, it doesn't last long.

It was another exercise in bold contrast to shoot B&W in the lava field. I am looking forward to printing a few to see what they are like. The scanner does not do a very good job with them. Perhaps later today or tomorrow I will make some time to print a few.

The clouds had the sun obscured most of the day, totally flat light, we celebrated when we spotted a shadow. So it was a game of waiting for the right light and looking for things to shoot that did not depend so much on shadows. The sun did make a brief appearance in the afternoon just before we started for home. Then the clouds almost all dissipated while we were driving home.

Arizona Treks |