Short Window

Every year in the fall there is a short window of time that color can be found in a lot of places. I caught a hint of it last year and loved it. Today as I ventured out, I found myself at the same place as last year and with different intentions. My plan was to take black and white images and just have my digital along just in case. I was not disappointed.

The color of a maple across the small river gave me the light I wasn't looking for. I did not start with this image. This one and the next were actually taken as I was beginning to leave.

Photoshop not needed here just a steady hand.

The light under the tree was just as beautiful.

Expiration Date

I have chosen not to use the remaining film in the bulk film loader I bought a couple of years ago at an estate sale. After shooting and developing the film.  The films speed(ISO) is 400. I shot a couple of rolls of it at a lower speed 320 to get more density in the negative because of the films age. I found that the negatives just were not holding up.

 This image taken with the older film with a Kodak Signet 50/Portra No. 2 Lens. The exposure was 1/250 @ f5.6 and was not too hard to print. However, The exposures on the roll were just too thin to justify taking a chance on having a failure due to something that I had control over.  So this morning, I loaded a fresh 100ft. roll of Kodak 100Tmax into the bulk loader and will move forward.

gone.

Note: 100Tmax film has a purple tint it.

Some images are left to interpretation. What is included? What is left out? Simple or complex? This mural, painted on a barn in Polonia, was here long before I had seen it. Could I have given it a different meaning?

Everything Is Not Always Black and White

Lately I have been carrying around a couple of cameras. One is a film camera containing Black and White film and the other my digital camera. As I drove by a church this morning, I saw an amber glow coming from its windows stained glass. I thought to myself, how cool it would be to gain access inside and enjoy all of the colored light being thrown about by the  morning sun. A few moments later, I found natures stained glass in a decaying leaf of a weed. Today color fills the viewfinder.

Work In Progress

    Work In Progress. Who has not heard that statement before? This is my first attempt to use a product that has been around for quite sometime called Liquid Light.  It is a Liquid emulsion used in Black and White Photography. It is to be applied to just about any surface and developed in a darkroom just like any light sensitive paper. The other day I picked up a roll of some brushed aluminum at a yard sale. When I handed the man my money he said that he was going to use it to dress up a utility trailer but never got around to it. He just looked at me funny when I told him what was in store for it.

My lovely wife, Melissa.

Springwater River, Waushara  County, Wisconsin.

    Holding the image at different angles shows detail and contrast. I have found I am learning lessons as I go. I applied some to a sheet of glass. The emulsion set up so fast because the glass was cold. Looks like I will need to heat the glass next time before I apply the emulsion. I exposed it and got an image but I could not bring myself to post it. 

Sandhill Crane Outing

The plan was simple join some friends in the evening and scout out a place where Sandhill Cranes congregate. These birds are truly magnificent creatures. Last night was the first time for me to hear there call as they looked for a roost for the night.

I had taken this image a few days earlier in my travels.

More than seeing the cranes was spending time with friends and enjoying the evening light as twilight approached.

The Barn Door

This Log caught my eye earlier this week.

For the longest time I have driven by a barn with a Native American depicted on the door. I thought it looked like a classic Indian Motorcycle brand. I have not seen anything like it in their archives for brands. I am not sure who put it there but the simplistic of it is great. I have been sitting on the image so to speak for a couple weeks until I could get a black and white image of it. I took several digitals of it but could not wait to see the grain that only silver could produce.

Jordan Park, Portage County, WI

Self Portraits

Profile pictures are all over social networks. How many do I need? I don't know. I first started taking self portraits in 2003.

I took all of these one afternoon for class. The assignment was cross process of film. I had a roll of color film and had it processed as color slide film. I remember shooting these when Melissa and I lived in rural Franklin County, Illinois.

Thursday Roll

Thursday, I had the opportunity to run a roll of film through a camera that has been idle for quite a long time. The camera's battery was dead. This camera is a little more automated than most of the cameras I own. The camera will do nothing if the battery is exhausted. After a trip into town to get a new one, I loaded it with a roll of 400 speed Tri-X pan and started to shoot. The images fell in this order.

Bare feet on a window sill.

 The Monarchs are still hanging around but their sightings have become less frequent.

Self Portrait.

Dramatic Skies

All images printed on 8x10 Ilford Multigrade IV.

Migration 2010

My wife, Melissa,  mentioned a couple of days ago that she had noticed many butterflies hanging around. I didn't think anything of it. I thought she was just talking about some little yellow butterflies that always seem to be out in the field just behind the back yard.  Yesterday, afternoon I noticed three or four Monarch Butterflies out on a branch in the backyard . The Monarchs were very wary of me. As I got close, to get a picture they fluttered off to different parts of the yard. My plan was to go out later in the evening and try to catch them where I had seen them on an elm tree limb earlier. I got to witness firsthand and capture something spectacular.

I saw hundreds of them floating around the yard looking and finding different spots to roost for the evening. I hope they stay for a few more days.