Sepia Scenes: Julia with Daddy & Her Doll

Julia turned eight on Sunday so I thought I’d celebrate her birthday with a portrait I shot more than six years ago.

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All the elements came together for this photo. Julia’s expression, especially her eyes and the position of her hands are the real clinchers. It’s been so long that I can’t remember when I made the picture or which camera/lens I used, but that doesn’t really matter anyway.

Julia went from being the youngest of our four granddaughters to a big sister when the twins were born in 2008. Now we have six beauties. And they will all be over for Easter dinner. Think I might have my camera(s) ready for them? I will or my name isn’t pop-paparazzi.

A big thanks to MaryT for hosting Sepia Scenes. Stop by and visit — there’s more.

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Monday Musings: Fallen Trees

I was walking up the trail in Ceres a few weeks ago and decided to move in for a closer look at one of the fallen trees.

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From the looks of it, this tree stump has been here for awhile. Look at all the “stuff” growing. Interesting view but…

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This view is a lot more fun. Here on this side, close to the ground, the tree has morphed into a stump eating beast.

Be sure to visit Lisa’s Chaos for more Macro Monday photos. Thank you Lisa. Thank you for giving us this opportunity to share.

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Monochrome Photography: Light & Shadow

The interplay of light and shadow, the time of day, the mood of the season fascinate and inspire. The first three images are from my latest visit to Ceres, at mid-morning with bright sun and the special quality of morning light. The last three were taken a few weeks ago on a dull day in a light rain.

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I had just come down a steep section of secondary trail and turned back to look. The light was wonderful, coming from the side and giving form and texture to the trees. I moved about until I found this composition. I like the juxtaposition of the large old tree with its textured bark against the line of younger, smoother trees.

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Here I’m on one of my favorite sections of the main trail. Emerald lake is on the left out of sight. The light was working it’s magic and I wanted to capture the wonder and the airiness. I kept my shadows open, the way I did in the first shot, to pay homage to the light.

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This shot should look familiar. I took this picture from as close as I could come to the identical spot using the same lens I used for the lead image from last week. The feel of this photo is different. It was about 30 minutes later in the day (different day too) so the sun was in a different position and once again, I kept the shadows more open to get a truer sense of the lovely light that day.

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A few weeks ago we had a severe storm. I took this photo a few days after the storm on a chilly, cloudy day. This is a wide angle shot (24mm lens) of the Atlantic White Cedar that you see in the previous photo. It didn’t make it through the storm.

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Here’s another shot of that same tree. Look at the light. It’s flat. No shadows at all. The mood is somber and it was beginning to rain lightly.

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I was standing in the middle of the main trail changing my lens when a man and his dog came by. He stopped and we chatted for a few minutes then we went our separate ways. I suddenly realized that “Hey dummy, you have a camera in your hand and there’s probably a good image behind you.” I spun around and shot this picture.

Would this have been a better shot if I had a longer lens mounted? I didn’t have time to think about it, I simply framed and shot. The lens was my 24mm. No time to second guess and I have what I have.

The first three shots were taken with a new film (Fuji ACROS 100) that I wanted to try. It passed my tests and I like it. I’m down to half a dozen rolls of Ilford FP4+ and I need a medium speed replacement because the Ilford films are too expensive in the US. My high speed film of choice is (and has always been) Kodak Tri-X.

Drop on by The Monochrome Weekend, especially if you are a monochrome maniac. There’s lots links to some great monochrome photography. And some of the monochrome maniacs still use film like I do.

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Reflections: Keepers

Keepers are what you hope for when you go out to make images. You shoot your film, develop it and hope. Most of your output are maybes. You don’t throw them out right away. You let them percolate to see if they are worth keeping. Then there are the “Eeww, did I actually think this was a decent photo?” These go into the trash can. Then there are the keepers, the images that just seemed to work. You may not know why they are keepers, but you know.

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This one is a keeper. It’s from the second roll I shot last week in Ceres nature sanctuary. I developed it last Saturday and when I saw this image I knew I had my keeper. This image was taken from the ridge trail. Emerald lake is in the background. The image talks to me. Yeah, it’s the best one on this roll and one of the best shots I’ve taken inside the park.

So how do you know you have a keeper? Instinct. I operate almost entirely by instinct. Sure I set exposures (or let the camera do it when I get lazy), but that’s the technical stuff that can get in the way of your vision. Why do I/we frame a scene? Because it seems right, it resonates and we hope the image matches the vision of the moment.

This time it did.

This keeper comes from a roll of Ilford FP4+. It’s great film but costly and I only have seven rolls left. I went back to Ceres earlier this week and shot a roll of Acros, a high tech Fuji emulsion that I’m testing as a replacement for the Ilford emulsion.

I developed the film Thursday and spent all evening working with the scans. The verdict? So far so good.

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Here’s one for you James. I know you like the view from the bridge. I do too and I always save a frame or two for the walk home. This one was shot from bridge. What do you think? Acros? Looks pretty good to me.

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Sepia Scenes: Noticing Roots

When you walk around with a camera you notice things. When you do, take your picture right then and there. Don’t ever say you’ll do it later — you won’t. And even if you did return to the same spot, it could never be quite the same. Almost doesn’t count.

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A few weeks ago, while hiking through Ceres Nature Sanctuary for the second time, I noticed the roots of this tree so I hunkered down and shot this image. I don’t remember if I noticed at the time, but I’m reminded of an octopus.

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I came across this huge tree a little further down (or up I should say because the way was getting pretty steep here) I couldn’t help but notice the mass of roots I was about to climb over. The next time I came by this spot I noticed differently and my image was much different.

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This tree is much smaller. The arrangement of the roots stopped me in my tracks and I really hunkered down to the level of the roots to get this shot. A grasping hand perhaps?

I was using a 28mm lens on my 35mm camera and moved in close. I found a pleasing composition and here it is. I was back to Ceres today and noticed this same tree but didn’t stop to make a portrait. Another time.

I was busy noticing other things today. The weather was great. Blue skies, morning shadows, quiet but for the sounds of a few birds. I noticed a pair of geese swimming in the lake. I couldn’t get a clear shot because of the undergrowth in the way. I was quiet so as not to disturb them as they climbed up on a small log in the water to groom themselves. I walked on looking for a better place. I found a few but the geese never came my way. Maybe on the way back I said.

While walking back (I’ll save some of the other things I noticed today until after I develop my film and post more images) I noticed a large turtle sunning on a log. Further on I noticed another turtle. I thought I heard voices and sure enough this old guy who I’ve seen many times riding his bicycle on the roads was sitting on his bike in the middle of the trail.

He was pointing to the lake. When I got up to where he was he pointed again to a family of turtles, one tiny one and two big ones all in a row sunning themselves on another log. I switched to the longest lens I had with me (85mm) and shot a couple of frames. Next time I’m bringing my 75-150 zoom.

Speaking of noticing things, I was carrying two cameras today, my usual camera loaded with B&W film and another loaded with color film. The latter just in case I noticed spring colors that begged for color. I shot about 12 color frames today.

Spring has sprung and the earth is awakening once again. It’s a beautiful thing, especially when we take the time to notice and to make new images.

So, when you notice something that intrigues you or makes you smile or pleases you in some way, stop and if you have your camera, make a portrait of the moment because that moment will never repeat.

A big thanks to MaryT for hosting Sepia Scenes. Stop by and visit — there’s more.

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Monday Musings: A Whimsical Color Shot

A tap into my archives and a change of pace with some color. A bit of green is appropriate for the beginning of spring and a wee bit late for St. Patrick’s Day.

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I made this whimsical image a few years ago while looking for interesting subjects in my back yard. The image was scanned from a color transparency.

I like the colors, textures and the composition. Making the image was fun. I see things but I won’t give anything away. Enjoy.

Be sure to visit Lisa’s Chaos for more Macro Monday photos. Thank you Lisa. Thank you for giving us this opportunity to share.

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Monochrome Photography: Ceres Trees Revisited

Thursday morning was glorious. The sky was clear, temperature in the 60s and the morning sun was perfection. My three earlier trips to Ceres Park were all on overcast days with flat lighting. I went early and was the only person in the place — outstanding.

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This shot was taken from almost the same spot as last week’s first image. I was back a bit and used a 35mm lens instead of a 28. What a difference dramatic side lighting can make in an image. All was not perfect however. Look closely along the line of trees on the right and you will see a majestic white cedar that fell victim to our big storm last weekend.

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After I emerged from the cedars, I struck out on a section of trail I hadn’t visited yet. I was attracted by the vertical lines of the trees contrasting with the shadows and how the shadows followed the contours of the ground.

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The shadows in this shot are even better.

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This is a view I took earlier when I stopped by Emerald Lake to explore a bit before moving on. The light here was special and I had to make this image.

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Again, I’m going back to another earlier shot taken looking down from the main trail.

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And this shot was the first one I took that day. I was standing on the ridge trail. The light was coming from behind me so it’s hard to pick out the mass of trees down below.

I had a wonderful time wandering, climbing around the muddy spots on the trails and shooting pictures. I shot the entire first roll with my new 35mm AF lens. I wasn’t sure I’d like the perspective of the 35mm focal length but I like it a lot so far.

I mounted my 50mm lens for a few shots after I loaded the second roll, then switched to my 85 because I wanted a shot of a few trees that caught my eye on the opposite side of the lake.  Took a few more then put the 35 back on. I finished that roll Friday while out riding my bicycle on another glorious day. I’ll develop and scan some time over the weekend.

Spring is finally here and I’m glad of it. Can you imagine what Ceres Park will be like when it’s green and lush? Many places I’ve been (off the trail) will be impossible to get to once mother nature gets her spring growth tuned up. Then again, there are so many opportunities to make images that I’ll never run out.

I did visit on Monday and used my 24, 50 and 85. The day was overcast and raining lightly. I’ll share some of those shots some other time.

Drop on by The Monochrome Weekend, especially if you are a monochrome maniac. There’s lots links to some great monochrome photography. And some of the monochrome maniacs still use film like I do.

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Reflections: Ceres Park IV

What a day! I knew the weather was supposed to be nice but wow, who knew that there wouldn’t be a single cloud in the clear blue sky, who knew that the morning light would be perfect for photography, who knew that some of the best reflections ever were waiting for me on Thursday morning.

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Well, I really did know. That’s why I set out early for Ceres Park. I had a quick breakfast and one cup of coffee and off I went for the one mile trek to Ceres. This reflection is subtle. Hint — the tree fell into the ….??? Yep, the water. I found this scene while taking a short cut from Emerald Lake over to the Cedar Swamp. I had to leave the secondary trail to get this shot. Doncha love the morning light and the long shadows?

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Ah, here we are at the Cedar Swamp. I was the only human being in the park. So quiet, so beautiful and the light was wonderful (for a change).

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Remember last week? I made this image from the same spot. What a difference the light makes, light and shadows on the surface of the water, below the water and on the shore. Hey, this is a reflection and who needs the shore. This is pure reflection.

I’m in love. Ceres is such a neat place. I’m in love with Ceres. The morning light was everything I’d hoped for. While I didn’t get up at the crack of dawn, I did get to the park a bit after 9:30 DST so that makes the real time about 8:30, good enough for some nice light. I wasn’t disappointed.

I shot the entire roll using my 35mm AF lens, the new one I bought last month. I’m in love with that lens. I loaded a second roll of film and switched to my 50mm lens for a few shots, then to my 85mm lens. I couldn’t wait to get back to that 35mm perspective. I shot another 18 frames before I got home.

What a difference a few days can mean. I visited the park on Monday — nothing but clouds and a light rain. I shot an entire roll in the flat light. Got some good images too but I bypassed those for the images I shot Thursday. I’ll revisit the Monday shots later.

That second cup of coffee (and sitting down to relax) sure felt good. I got to thinking and decided to develop the film Thursday instead of waiting for Friday morning. I couldn’t wait. I’m like a kid in a candy store. Is it soup yet?

Oh, one more thing I’m in love with — matrix metering. Sorry Canon folks, Nikon invented matrix metering. I could never use it with my manual focus lenses. Now I can with my new 35mm AF lens and it works great. I got 25 good exposures out of a 24 exposure roll.

I finally nailed my workflow with Thursday’s film. VueScan can make and save raw files from scans so I scanned the entire roll of film in less than an hour. Now I have all my negatives saved as raw files that VueScan can process later. This is important because it means I only handle my negatives one time and don’t put them at risk.

It took me about 25 minutes to develop the film and another two hours to scan the negatives, process the images with VueScan and fine tune each one with PWP. Interestingly, I didn’t crop any images this time. I tweaked the curves and sharpened with PWP — that’s it.

What’s next? A misty, foggy morning at Ceres. One of these mornings I’ll be there to play with still another kind of magic light.

Cost for Thursday’s adventures? Film and the chemistry — less than $5. Benefits? Who’s counting!

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Monday Musings: Portraits of A Special Tree

I found all kinds of interesting possibilities while meandering through the Ceres Nature Preserve last week. I spotted this tree early in my visit. I used very simple equipment, a single hand held camera body and two different lenses — 50mm and 28mm, to make the following images.

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This weathered old tree is a fascinating subject, especially in black and white. By using a fast 50mm lens and shooting almost wide open, I was able to isolate the tree from the surroundings, particularly the background. Notice the very narrow plane of focus and how the foreground is also distorted. Look carefully and you can also see where the hill drops off abruptly just behind the tree.

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This shot was taken with the same lens in almost the same position but with the lens stopped down. Now the background is clearly visible and clutters the shot — not very effective and the drop off isn’t as obvious.

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Here, I switched to a wide view  with my 28mm that puts our tree into context. All the trees are in focus and our special tree is lost in the clutter. I’d like to repeat this shot with my 24mm lens shooting even closer to the tree. Maybe next time.

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Here, I moved a bit to change the composition. This is better because the tree is dominant again. I stopped down to bring all parts of the tree into focus but the background is too sharp and detracts from the image. I may try this shot again and next time I’ll open the lens enough to blur out the background.

I was working very carefully because this tree is right on the edge of a very steep hill, almost a cliff. I love taking pictures but not enough to risk falling and hurting myself.

I learned a lot from these few images. I love the perspective of the 50mm lens for 35mm photography. With a fast lens like this one, you can do some amazing things simply by controlling the distance to your subject and choosing the right lens aperture.

The series was an experiment. I wanted to play with depth of field. I also wanted to see how well my 50 would render the marvelous tones, forms and textures of this neat old tree in black and white.

I think the first image tells the best story, but the last image is a better composition that’s flawed because the background is too strong. I had fun and learned a lot from this exercise. Think of these as “rough drafts” that help flesh out ideas rather than finished works.

Be sure to visit Lisa’s Chaos for more Macro Monday photos. Thank you Lisa. Thank you for giving us this opportunity to share.

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Monochrome Photography: Trees II

I returned to the Ceres Nature Preserve again this week for another adventure. One guy passed me on his mountain bike a few minutes after I arrived and I never saw him again. I wandered for over an hour and only saw one couple in the distance on another trail. It was so quiet. It was wonderful.

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Reading about the Atlantic white cedars is interesting but being among them is much richer. Here’s a shot looking back along the trail. These trees reach 90 feet tall and some are three feet in diameter. They grow in swampy areas. I shot this with a 28mm lens. Next time I’m going with my 24mm.

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Nothing lasts forever. I found this fallen tree a bit further down the trail. Again, I used the 28mm for this shot.

My 28mm lens is an old SMC Takumar screw mount. It’s small and slow (f/3.5) but has a feel of quality that you simply don’t find in today’s plastic lenses. I have another SMC screw mount Takumar, my 50mm f/1.4 lens. Both of these lenses are from the early 1970s when Pentax was competing with Zeiss.

I tested my metering skills and passed the test. No automatics here. With the old screw mount lenses, you must stop down, read the meter and then set the f stop and shutter speed manually. I have a Bessaflex body that Cosina made about 6 years ago. I bought it because the meter in my Spotmatic doesn’t work and the Bessa has a modern meter (takes silver oxide batteries), a brighter viewfinder with a higher eyepoint and a faster top shutter speed. It’s lighter too.

Manual focus, manual metering and an all mechanical camera body — how retro is that? Yes I like my aperture priority automatic F3 and the matrix metering in my N8008s, but you don’t really need all that automation when you’re shooting contemplative images. Throw away those crutches. Exposure meters are an aid (they lie you know). Once you get to thinking about exposure, you can usually guess the right exposure for a particular lighting situation. The meter is only an aid.

Ceres is a fantastic place that I’ve just begun to explore. Next week, I’ll walk over (it’s only about a mile up the road) carrying my F3 and a few more lenses. I want to play with serious wide angle (24mm) and experiment with my 85mm portrait lens. Of course I’ll have one of my 50s with me because I love that focal length. Who knows, I may even (blasphemy) bring my 75-150 zoom.

Drop on by The Monochrome Weekend, especially if you are a monochrome maniac. There’s lots links to some great monochrome photography. And some of the monochrome maniacs still use film like I do.

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