Saturday, November 8, 2008

Gray Autumn Skies

Woke at 4:30am this morning and decided to wander around town with the camera. That has not happened very often in the past 18 months. If going into the darkroom was a struggle, actually walking outdoors and trying to see and communicate with nature was an even larger problem.

But this morning I felt the fire of curiosity and hope, and wanted to commune with the autumn season, camera in hand.

I left the house and followed my usual walking route, but instead of seeming old and stale, every corner and street seemed alive with possibility. I followed the direction of the street lights and the heavy early morning shadows mingled with the dried fallen leaves. Gusts of wind blew the cold into my face. I saw an interesting scene down at the National Guard Armory - a fence lit by a bright street lamp, and the two trees which hung over it.

I set the fstop at 22 and for the first time since the early 90's decided to expose and develop the film normally. The first few years I experimented with a heavily contrasted negative by underexposing/overdeveloping. I then went in the opposite direction, overexposing/underdeveloping. The last few years I have been creeping towards center, and this morning I finally got there. The exposure time was 60-90 seconds, and I shivered in the cold while holding the cable release.

After 2 or 3 exposures I went behind some bushes to pee, and I looked up and saw an interesting pattern of wires on a pole. Unfortunately there was not enough light to make it work, so I packed up my gear and walked in the direction of the railyard.

The sun was just coming up as I reached the yard, and the black field turning to gray seemed different to me. Perhaps it was the late autumn trees filled with twirling half-leaves, the rusted color of the field, or the overgrown grass which looked as if it had not been mowed in months. Whatever the change, it seemed like a new place, and I immediately began seeing things in a fresh way. I got a few nice tree portraits with the dirt road twisting into the horizon, framed by a stormy windswept sky. The whole place reminded me of something the 19th century dutch painter Anton Mauve would have painted.


Anton Mauve


By the time I got home my hands were numb from cold, but I had exposed 33 frames, So I went into the darkroom and mixed some film developer, planning to develop the rolls tomorrow.

I then went for an 8 mile run through the South Farms/Meadowbrook loop. When I got to Meadowbrook I ran around the perimeter path, and stopped when I reached the life-sized copper sculpture of the nude female. She normally faces a prairie filled with vibrant life, but recently there was a field burn and the whole swath of visible prairie was charcoal black and lifeless. It was a beautiful scene - the green metallic female looking over a lifeless black mass of earth, with a slate gray sky dropping cold milky light over everything. It struck me as very sad, and a feeling of desolate loneliness sunk into my eyes. I know I want to photograph this, so I will be returning soon to give it a try.

The past few days have been productive in the darkroom, made a print of the railyard in winter a few days ago, and yesterday began working on 2 negatives for David B., a composer who likes my work. I had a good session, making 4 prints of each negative, but had to stop before toning. So along with film development, I am hoping to work on toning schemes for the 8 prints tomorrow.


The Railyard, Winter Study, No. 2
Printed 2008

A video by Smog :

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