December Rain

It's been some time since I came to the realization that good photographs can be made in almost any lighting conditions. As long as you're not object oriented you will find it's always the right light to photograph something. Well, I have been somewhat object oriented lately but now that I'm through with the shooting end of my pond scum series I've been longing to just go wandering with the camera again, looking for something without knowing just what...

It's now early December in western Pennsylvania and if that means anything it means clouds and rain. The clouds didn't scare me off but the cold rain sure did. It did until I began to think about some of the incredible photographs that I've seen which were made in the rain. While my bellows don't like to get wet any more than I do there is no reason for them to get soaked. I decided to venture out before work and during lunch breaks (bean burritos travel well) to find some dry places to photograph from during the showers.

My first stop was at a local park and I hurried to the large covered decks of the Buhl Casino. It took me almost no time to find a photograph and just like that the showers were no longer a hindrance. In fact, they forced me into new places which allowed me to work in quietly beautiful conditions when I might otherwise have just stayed inside. No big surprise, a rainy day has a certain mood and charm all it's own. What did surprise me was the fact that I am not alone in my new found appreciation for precipitation. There were by no means many people at the park with me yesterday but it certainly wasn't deserted. People were walking with umbrellas, driving slowly in their cars and some were huddled on benches gazing out into the damp air and seemed to be enjoying themselves. Those brave, foolish or smart enough to be out in the weather tended not to regard me with the typical "what the hell are you doing with that strange camera" look that I usually encounter. Instead I got smiles, nods and passing hellos that seemed filled with understanding and a mutual admiration.

The same held true again this morning when I made my way out to the old Erie canal area of the Shenango River Lake. Not many people but all friendly and enjoying the moody environment which we shared. I had no doubt I would find something to photograph on such days but I never expected to discover a group of people, albeit small, with a similar sensibility. If it's taught me anything it's not only to keep an open mind about my photography but to simply keep an open mind.

Project Update

I've reached the end of the shooting phase of Project Pond Scum and have begun making prints from the remainder of my negatives. I've got maybe 15 or 20 left to go so I'm hoping to pull another 5 promising prints from those and then begin to narrow it down to 25 or 30 final photographs for the series and a show. As tough as that may be, choosing 10 for the portfolio will only be that much more difficult!

My fingernails will be going black again as I've found that using dirty old Amidol makes it possible to change the contrast of Kentona on some prints to a degree I can't reach with my Ansco 130 developer. I can't complain though, it's well worth the extra mess for those images that require it.

I've been considering adding subtitles to some of the prints and also need to finish an essay to accompany the body of work. Add that and the printing to my list along with scanning, mounting, framing, entering contests and looking for places to hang it and suddenly finishing the shooting no longer seems so much like the end.

Neither Snow nor Rain nor Gloom of Night...

With the shooting for Project Pond Scum wrapped up and no graded paper to finish the printing until UPS brings my next box of Kentona, I was looking for something to do. I bought a huge light table a few years back and had been toying with the idea of shooting back lit leaves. The weather hasn't been pleasant the last couple weekends, be it wind or rain or simply lack of sunlight. It finally convinced me to take the work inside and I collected a couple handfuls of interesting leaves from all over the farm. I decided to light the front of the leaves as well and simply used my desk light with it's positionable arms. I have to really stretch my camera out to focus as closely as I like which causes the exposures to total about 20 seconds despite shooting directly into a light source. It's a bit more difficult than I thought to get everything into focus and composed as I want but the results so far have been well worth the effort. A little more time collecting specimens and I'll have enough subject matter to keep me busy all season, regardless of the conditions.

Pond Scum for the Holidays!

I've released two new Special Edition Prints for the 2007 holiday season. Due to the considerable interest in Project Pond Scum I have chosen #1 and #64 from the series which will be available for the reduced price of $50 each. Both photographs are 4x5 silver contact prints mounted and over matted to 8x10inch white Artcare Alpharag 4 ply board. They are numbered and signed on the front - stamped, dated and titled on the verso. Once January rolls around the prints will revert to their normal price of $100. Check out my WEBSITE for more information. (#1 is above and to the left, #64 is directly below, the first image in my last BLOG post.)

Fall at the Farm

While fall is undoubtedly one of the most temperate and beautiful seasons in western Pennsylvania it always brings with it a familiar sense of melancholy. Like spring the center of the sun may be passing the equator at a certain time but the real first days of autumn are unmistakable and never marked on the calendar. Those days came unseasonably late this year and with almost no gradation. The warm weather broke and the leaves seemed to suddenly burst into flame.

The chores of fall; splitting wood, painting the roof, cleaning the chimney, raking and grinding the leaves... they have a certain sense about them as well. Pumpkins are everywhere, gracing doorsteps, windows, the front page of the local paper almost daily and they even showed up in the beer at the nearby brewery. Farmers are in overdrive with the year's final harvest and the sound of the high school marching band drifts up the hill from town heralding the arrival of a new football season.

All of a sudden you're wearing a jacket, long sleeves and keeping an eye open for the first sighting of your long invisible breath. A weekend campfire becomes more than a novelty and place to toast marshmallows and it doesn't take long to find it's way to the wood stove inside. Chestnuts and pumpkin seeds are the snack of the hour and finding a silly Halloween costume (Ansel Adams this year) becomes a serious priority.

One of the more subtle signs of fall around Campbell's Farm is the recession of the pond scum and it has taken on a new significance for me this year. I've noticed that the algae has a way of collecting things on it's surface; helicopter seeds in the spring, grass from the mowers and weed eaters in the early summer, even goose feathers in late August and September. Now colorful leaves float whimsically from the overhanging branches to dot the green and dark waters like radiant constellations, brilliant against the Milky Way on the clearest of nights.

Tonight I loaded holders with the last 9 sheets of film I had dedicated to my Pond Scum Project. While there is still much printing, mounting, scanning, and publicizing to be done I couldn't help feeling a similar melancholy to that which fall brings with her. Of course it's mixed with excitement to realize the completion of my first major project but the mystery and unlimited potential of the unknown seems to be disappearing like those leaves hanging over the pond.

It seems the cycle persists indifferently, the air will continue to cool and the light to fade until the snow comes and with it a new set of happenings, emotions and photographic possibilities.