TR photos fall western US explorations 2013

[clikrf8]

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.

[happycamper1942]

Beautiful pictures, thanks

[clikrf8]

Gosh, thank-you all for the kind words. And, I just added clickable URLs to both blog and website.

Gpn: thank-you for the offer but I am set on the Mamiya RZ Pro IID just in case I win the lottery to add a digital back. You have lots of stunningly gorgeous images on your website. Very nice. Lucky you to live in the desert SW.

[GpnAZ]

clikrf8 - Some beautiful images and thank you for sharing, it's always so hard deciding which ones to post. I am also digital now, although I went kicking and screaming into the digital age. I have a Pentax 6x7II medium format system and a couple large format systems that I am finally deciding I need to part with, if you are interested you can always pm me. You might try putting your websites in your signature as a clickable url and it would be easier for people to navigate to. Keep up the great work and keep on posting so we can enjoy your views and also give us good ideas for destinations to travel to.

[btggraphix]

Buzzcut1 wrote:

and cold beer will bind them all

LOL! ".....and one beer to rule them all and in the darkness blind them"?

Truly beautiful photos - thanks for sharing them.

[nycsteve]

A big disadvatage of digital is fading of pictures over time, not that much time either. Traditional darkroom prints last much longer without fading. I have BW's my Dad did in the 60's in a home darkroom that look the same today that they did 40 something years ago. Even though Dad spent time teaching me darkroom procedures and a class in school , I never quite mastered the art. While digital is way more convienant, I havnt mastered Photoshop either. I rely on massive output, possible with digital very cheaply, to come up with a few pics Im really happy with. The rest go on a disc and never see the light of day again. But given the 2 , film ,in the right hands,is the richer of the two.IMO of course.

[ejfranz]

Great pictures, I will need to share them with my wife. She takes all the pictures.

[dadwolf2]

Love the landscapes. Felt like I was standing next to you, waiting for the right light or discussing F-stops. Of course posting beautiful pictures in the truck camper forum is the right place!! : )

Perhaps I was never a good photographer but I thoroughly enjoy my digital camera and what today's cameras are able to achieve, especially in such small packages now. I grew up with 35 mm SLR and spent some time in a darkroom (very limited black & white) but don't miss taking film in to get developed or not knowing until a week or more later if the picture came out the way I had intended/hoped.

I suppose it like the music debate of listening to vinyl albums vs digital CD's or solid state amplifiers vs the warmth of tubes.

I am impressed and pleased that you've found beauty in the Nevada desert. It has it's own unique beauty.

[clikrf8]

"Someday my prints will come" pending the magic of chemistry and light.

Yes, we truck campers (some of us) shun the RV parks and playgrounds for adults for the off road adventures and explorations. As I said, Nevada is the new Utah for us. You can Google Bryce and Zion and be overwhelmed with the number of sites and images. Google the Sump or Lunar Crater and the numbers are lower. No hordes of tourists and sheer beauty unblemished by kiosks and Visitor Centers.

Hope to see you all out there.

[Buzzcut1]

67avion wrote:
I spent my career in photography. I'm still captivated by the magic of darkroom development. I chased news stories for much of the time, then turned to advertising and Hollywood. In retrospect, chasing the news paid less, but it was better for the soul.

What we do with our truck campers reflects our deepest concerns. We have guys that are dedicated to the the unspoiled wilderness. We have folks who simply want to travel and camp and be free. It's a fraternity of irascible and loveible travelers. It makes sense to me that we admire the authentic, the hard to know, and the memorable.

and cold beer will bind them all

[67avion]

I spent my career in photography. I'm still captivated by the magic of darkroom development. I chased news stories for much of the time, then turned to advertising and Hollywood. In retrospect, chasing the news paid less, but it was better for the soul.

What we do with our truck campers reflects our deepest concerns. We have guys that are dedicated to the the unspoiled wilderness. We have folks who simply want to travel and camp and be free. It's a fraternity of irascible and loveible travelers. It makes sense to me that we embrace the authentic, the hard to know, and the memorable.

[clikrf8]

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]

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]

"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.

[iwon415]

What's film?