I've been typing more...
Typing at work, typing on my phone, typing my thoughts—and with that, I’ve noticed my handwriting becoming…shit. From time to time, I look at notes I had written to Angie from when we first met, and my handwriting had a lot more flair. It was polished; it felt like every curve had a purpose.
Now it is rushed and sloppy, and I feel like I am having trouble connecting my thoughts to what I put down on paper. This noticeable degradation of my penmanship concerns me, mainly because of the fear that it may transfer over to my practice in photography—but more on those worries later!
I recently went on my first solo trip, visiting Joshua Tree and Death Valley National Park, and it was absolutely stunning! I spent so much time immersed in nature—walking, breathing, sight-seeing, softly smiling to myself— most of it in solitude, accompanied by a vast silence. Packed in my bag were plenty of PB&J’s and my trusty film cameras (which helped form some pretty gnarly knots in my shoulders!)
Experimentation is always an exciting process for me; it just scratches that itch for the scientific method! For this trip, I red-scaled a couple rolls of Kodak Ultra-Max 400 to bring in some DRAMA. For those who want to read a bit more on what red-scaled film is, check out one of my previous posts detailing the process. I figured all the red tones would pair beautifully with the layers of red rock scattered all throughout the desert, and since I was alone for my hikes, that color palette would certainly reinforce a sense of isolation to the images.
On one of the nights, I had planned to do a bit of astrophotography in Joshua Tree (which I had done in Acadia National Park and it had me obsessed!) Before prepping my things to head out, I was sitting in front of the campfire smoking a nice lil’ Montecristo when I was approached by two of the other guests that were staying in the trailer park and asked if they could join me. We ended up talking for hours, which led to a couple IPAs and the realization that there was no way I was making it out that night. Instead, I ended up attempting a shot right outside my trailer since it was dark enough anyway!
Using the same setup I had in Acadia, I mounted my camera on a tripod and left that shutter open for about an hour. I was only able to get one shot, as my camera’s battery ran out of juice, but thankfully there was just enough power to take regular exposures for the rest of the trip.
To be honest, this photo is just okay. I think going forward, I’ll include a subject in the foreground (ex. tree or mountain) so that the image does not look so flat.
Night Skies of Blackwoods Campground in Acadia National Park:
Film: Kodak Ektar 100
Shutter time: 1 hour
Aperture: 2.8
Lens: 28mm
First image used a motorized barndoor, which closes at the same speed as the rotation of the earth, resulting in sharp image of night sky.
Second image did not use barndoor, resulting in star trails spinning around axis (Polaris)
I also brought my Yashica-D for some medium format action, and boy did I land the exposure on these! I didn’t feel like bringing out my light meter for every exposure, so I just used the ol’ reliable Sunny 16 rule. It was pretty bright out, so I locked down the aperture to f/16, and then set the shutter speed at 1/500th since I was shooting Lomo400.
The results:
– Rich color
– Warmth
– Beautifully retained skies
– And some nice shadow detail, too
Now, onto the Red-scaled images! I WAS SO EXCITED when I got the scans back, especially of the ones from Kelso Dunes in the Mojave National Preserve. I look at these and FEEL the isolation…
Spent about 1.5 hours at the peak of the Kelso Dunes trail watching the sunset. The vastness of it all made me feel like one of the tiny grains of sand rolling by
It’s interesting how many different tones of red you can get while Red-Scaling! Metering for shadows/highlights can bring various results!
I hear the desert beetle trickling over the grains of sand, and the distant calls of crows, and the low hum of the wind moving across the dunes. It’s other worldly, and the quiet within these images somehow slows my breathing. In that stillness, I remember why I stuck with photography in the first place, it was because it allows me to relate to my surroundings.
I can become as small as the birds that fly overhead, or as still as a lone tree in the desert. There’s a kind of mutual understanding that forms. And as I continue this practice, the fear of me “just typing” lessens, that is, the fear of not having enough work to show how I feel, how I think, how I deal with the surplus of stresses that come with existing in a world that has become overwhelmingly digital and perpetually at the brink of war. Photography is a handwritten letter to let my beloved Earth know, I see you.
Those red desert photos are absolutely breathtaking and beautiful! Makes me want to visit. Definitely feel the isolation you mentioned in those photos, but not in a bad way. It’s almost enticing. Feels very calm. Such an awesome celebration of all the shapes and textures that can be found in nature! Cheers
The red scale just me Mad Max vibes, so unique dude nice work! (Sorry I typed this, you didn’t give me a choice)
gives me*