Balance

This is a scanned image from one of my darkroom prints.  The original print is a 11x14 and it was selenium toned and dry mounted before scanning.  There is always a lot of noticible dust and image quality lost with the scanning process.  The scanned image usually requires a lot of work in Photoshop to get it to look close to the quality of the original.  I also work with a fluid mount scanning process of my large format negatives.  It renders a better image quality but still requires a lot of work to process the image to get the final image.  When working with Black and White images, controlling the contrast (tonal range) and tonal balance (evenness of tones) is one the most important part of the process.  In this image the light is contrasty and uneven.  The subject is defined by the shapes and shadows on the sand.  The low angle light is both direct and reflective creating a difficult image to balance the tones. Back in my darkroom days when I was close to a having a finished print I would always flip the wet print upside down on my viewing board to look for the overall tonal balance of the print.  I found that looking at the print this way let me focus on just the tones and not the subject matter of the image.  I could easily see where I needed more dodging or burning to the print to help balance the overall look of the final image.  I still do this as a final step with my Photoshop work today.  I process the image using numerous tools and layers to get a satisfactory image and then as a last step I rotate it 180* to check the overall tonal balance to the image.  I am usually surprised how out of balance the inverted image can be. 

Face in a wall

While hiking in a remote canyon in Big Bend Texas I came across this demon face in a rock wall. I could have easily past by and not have noticed the twisted face looking at me.  It was when I took a rest in a shaded alcove that I saw the image starring at me from from across the narrow canyon.  Hiking alone in the wilderness can sometimes be a soul searching experience.  Walking in the quiet desert where the only sound is the crunch of the gravel under your boots can clear your mind of unwanted thoughts.  Sometimes certain canyons have a strange feel to them that is hard to explain. This particular canyon was one of those and after sitting across from this face for several minutes I had an uneasy feeling and decided to move on.

Gleeson Ghost Town

In a remote area of Cochise County in southern Arizona is the old mining town of Gleeson.  It was once called Turquoise because of beautiful turquoise stone that was mined by the Indians for trade.  Later the area was mined for copper and silver and the town had a population of 500 people.  When the mining ran out the town died and became a ghost town.  Gleeson is like many old mining towns in the West with a erie quietness surrounding it.  It is always fun to locate these remote old mining towns and look at the old buildings and equipment that has been abandon for years.  This photo is of the old Gleeson Saloon, one of the few buildings left standing in the town.  I use a few filters in Photoshop to give the image a look and feel of an abandon building found in a remote ghost town.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleeson,_Arizona

Santa Elena Canyon

 A nice place to visit and camp is in Big Bend Texas. The National park is in one of the most isolated regions in the country, located in the Southwest area of Texas. The park consists of thousands of acres along the Rio Grande River that separates the U.S. from Mexico.  Santa Elena Canyon is a short hike that takes you into a narrow canyon where the Rio Grande Rivers flows.  In this picture the United States is on the right and Mexico on the left. The river and the steep cliffs are the only things that divides the two countries.  If you like to hike in a quiet wilderness landscape, Big Bend Texas is the place. The image was taken in late afternoon as the sun was setting.  As with all landscape photography it is always good to plan your hike to take advantage of the best light.  We made this hike earlier in the day and found the scene was too contrasty with the intense sun shinning on the cliff wall on the right. This image was made with a Canon 5D11 camera and 24~105 zoom lens.

http://www.nps.gov/bibe/planyourvisit/secyn.htm

Graffiti

                                  Indian Petroglyphs - Sears Point Az.

                                  Steel door - Mexico

                                                   Tattoo Artist- Mexico

Graffiti is an expression mankind has done since its origin. It is evident with the ancient petroglyphs  that can be found around the world.  These rock art panels show symbols that were typical of ordinary life at that time. The meaning of many of symbols are left to our imaginations.  I am certain that there are many people that would take offense with my equating ancient petroglyphs with graffiti, but if you look around our world today you will see that the need for human expression using symbols is very much alive as it was thousands of years ago. Today our cultural expression is done with tattoos on bodies and painting highway overpasses. To paint up a building or mark your skin is a modern form of cultural expression we tolerate as a norm in society.  When we look at petroglyphs that were created thousands of years ago we instantly develop a respect for them as being markings from an ancient civilization.  If someone today was to mark up a canyon wall with modern day rock carvings we would call it graffiti, a destructive act.  Our current method of making human symbols can be debated by some as an art form and by others as a destructive act. 

Equivalents

I call these images Mother and Child.  The first image was taken at Point Lobos in Ca. and the second  a number of years later in Natchez Ms. Each image although taken many years and miles apart still have an emotional connection.  One represents birth and the other death or separation.  After many years of photography I have numerous images that connect to each other on an emotional and spiritual level, yet can be very different in subject matter.  All of us connect things together in our lives either consciously or in our subconscious minds.

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=571
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natchez,_Mississippi

Sailplane

Last summer we were back home in our former little town of Big Flats, N.Y.  and took a trip up to Harris Hill.  At the top of the hill there is a beautiful scenic overlook of the valley we use to visit to watch the sailplanes take off from Harris Hill.  Living in this area for many years we were use to seeing sailplanes taking off and gliding in the skies over the valley.  It was always a sure sign of summer to see the first sailplane in the sky after a long N.Y. winter.  I made this five minute exposure  using a -13 ND filter pack.  It was a windy day with some interesting storm clouds in the sky. The sailplane was tethered to the ground but it still rocked back and forth with a good gust of wind.  Even though the sailplane would occationally rock to one side and back during the exposure the image was sharp.  This is because a long exposure doesn't record a shore duration of movement.
If you are ever in the area you should visit the Harris Hill Soaring Museum and take a ride in a sailplane. It is thrilling experience.


http://www.soaringmuseum.org/

http://www.harrishillsoaring.org/HHSC/Home.html