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clikrf8's avatar
clikrf8
Explorer
Dec 14, 2013

TR photos fall western US explorations 2013

I wasn't sure where to post this so placed in the Pictures section of Around the Campfire. I received a message about a reply but when I clicked on the link it said Topic not Found???? Nope, it disappeared without a trace. Wrong place I guess plus I feel more comfortable in the TC forum.

I am working on a TR but stopped part way through as I really need photos to jog my memory of where and when we were. Over 2500 RAW images to cull and post process down to around 200 was a major job which I have yet to finesse. Thus, I have uploaded about 4 or 5 times as many as should be on there. The last choices are the hardest. As we were in some gorgeous places, it was difficult to choose.

Before we left in September, my photography site host SmugMug decided to revamp the site. All new templates plus new ways of customization and site navigation. When I migrated form the classic version to the new, it did not translate to what I wanted. After hours of frustrated tweaking, I am still not pleased.

I am seriously considering a move to medium format photography. A Mamiya RZ 67 Pro II D system is fairly inexpensive used and a digital back can be added later (at a BIG cost). Just thinking that maybe returning to film will slow output and increase contemplation. Of course when the light is magic, she who hesitates loses. Just a dream.

So, I present a half-baked version, mostly to appease friends and family who have been nagging at me to get some photos up. How will we know where you were if we can't see for ourselves through your photos?

FOTOS

Thanks for looking and comments are very welcome.
Truck Campers
  • clikrf8's avatar
    clikrf8
    Explorer
    Dec 15, 2013
    I did use film. From grade school on when I used a Brownie Starflex (or Starflash??), I enjoyed capturing moments in time. For my major in Visual Communications, we did darkroom work in B&W and even some color (way too tedious and variable-darn filters and water temp). My first SLR was a Nikon F2 Photomic that i recently sold to Adorama which was probably a mistake. I wasn't that involved for awhile due to raising a family but bought a used F4 in 1999. My first digital camera was a used Canon G4 that actually allowed RAW file capture. I have always shot manual, always shoot RAW. F2 was all manual even focus.

    A return to school 8 years ago introduced me to that behemoth marketing monstrosity Adobe Creative Suite including Photoshop. Created by engineers it does an action using 20 different methods but I rely on plugins like OnOne to smooth the workflow.

    That said, I have been thinking about MF for years and it occurred to me if not now, when. I want to think in film again, to really study a scene like I used to instead of a P&S.

    I agree with 67avion, very eloquently stated, btw. B&W film will never be supplanted by digital, imho. The next time you visit Yosemite, check out Ansel Adams B&W prints. There is a luminosity and depth captured in the silver and gel that digital will not achieve.

    Thanks all for looking.

    TC appears in my blog. The images on my website are for landscapes and rockstars (check those out, you may see some familiar faces-there would be more but I signed contracts to be up front: KISS, Motley Crue, Joe Bonamassa, etc.)
  • Led_67's avatar
    Led_67
    Explorer
    Dec 15, 2013
    67avion wrote:
    "What's film"? It's a medium with an unparalleled richness and virtuosity. It is controllable, predictable and part of an historic legacy that spans 2 centuries. It is composed of malleable silver halide particles in B&W and layers of silver in color - not square or rectangular pixels. It has far more potential for personal interpretation than the algorithms developed in Mountain View or Cupertino.

    It's a craft that has to be learned over a long period of time in order to make a decision at the point of exposure about the final result after exposure-development-printing.

    You will not be sorry to work in film. You will be sorry to use a digital camera like a Gatling Gun.


    Very well said. I grew up and had film cameras when I was a kid and remember the challenge of waiting and choosing the right moment to take a picture, Unlike digital cameras where you can play with and adjust your picture after the fact, and I have friends that still prefer film over digital.
  • 67avion's avatar
    67avion
    Explorer II
    Dec 14, 2013
    "What's film"? It's a medium with an unparalleled richness and virtuosity. It is controllable, predictable and part of an historic legacy that spans 2 centuries. It is composed of malleable silver halide particles in B&W and layers of silver in color - not square or rectangular pixels. It has far more potential for personal interpretation than the algorithms developed in Mountain View or Cupertino.

    It's a craft that has to be learned over a long period of time in order to make a decision at the point of exposure about the final result after exposure-development-printing.

    You will not be sorry to work in film. You will be sorry to use a digital camera like a Gatling Gun.
  • cewillis's avatar
    cewillis
    Explorer
    Dec 14, 2013
    Beautiful pictures. I predict that someday you'll be sorry if you go back to film.
  • Scott16's avatar
    Scott16
    Explorer
    Dec 14, 2013
    Great photos and TR report. Just trying to wet everyone's Appetites on where to head to. Too many Choices! Thank you for the post.
    Scott
  • 67avion's avatar
    67avion
    Explorer II
    Dec 14, 2013
    Gorgeous photos. One thing I can assure you about film photography as opposed to digital: you won't have so many choices to make. It will definitely "slow output and increase contemplation".

    And that's a good thing.

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