Ian Andvaag A30 submission

Encroaching Dunes and Storm Brewing were taken during the four separate times I visited Douglas Provincial Park this summer. It is a nice ~4km walk out to the dunes, through scrubby aspen parkland full of scraggly junipers and cacti eking out an existence off the dry, nutrient deficient soil. Unfortunately our provincial government has thoroughly defunded our provincial parks, so the nature centre at the trail head has been permanently closed and has fallen into disrepair. So, I don’t know much about this unique ecozone. At least the trail markers remain mostly in tact, so it is still easy to find the dunes, although the trails are not used very frequently. During my visits I only ever encountered maybe 3 groups of people.
The first time I went I discovered rather dramatically at the end of my 5 hour hike that my TL-120 had not been working properly. It was getting dark and I decided to do a couple of longer exposures. I set up the camera to 1 sec and took the shot … the shutter did clicked open and shut without any delay. Uh-oh. I had always thought that the camera had a mechanical shutter, so even if the battery was dead, it would still operate normally, except for the light meter. Earlier in the day I had been shooting at around 1/60, and didn’t notice that the shutter wasn’t staying open long enough. I think I developed 5 super underexposed rolls from that excursion. Lesson learned, I’ve now carefully reread John Thurston’s excellent page on battery options, and I always carry spares now, and I change the batteries periodically.
Canola Fields and Milkhouse were taken near the farmyard where my Dad grew up. I should have been there about 1 week earlier to get optimal colour in the canola flowers. I wish I would have had an opportunity to photograph the field in the early morning or late afternoon warm light, but it was cloudy. I think Milkhouse is a bit weaker than the other slides in my submission, but I really like the colours, so I decided to include it.
I’m really enjoying shooting with the TL-120, but I still take out my Sputnik in adverse weather conditions and when it is inconvenient to lug around the heavy TL-120. Sometime in the future I’d really like to try some hypers after seeing some amazing slides from the folios. I still struggle with exposure a bit, I’d say only about 80% of my shots come out properly exposed (provided my camera has functional batteries!) Was the TL-120’s internal light meter calibrated for colour negative film, because it seems to overexpose most scenes by a bit. I use my Gossen Luna Pro F primarily. Perhaps I should consider getting a spot meter.
I really enjoyed the folio again, thanks all for your lovely images!

Carousel Follow Pan

WSF_Carousel_2_225x190This was another experiment to do something a little different with a stereo image. I tried following the ride as it was moving to get a crisp subject with a streaked background. Can’t claim success, but I’m encouraged to keep a’tryin’. One of the challenges was the lighting, which was a combination of fluorescent and tungsten. The original film I got back was awful to look at — super saturated ugly yellow-orange where you should see white. With some experimentation I settled on two filters stacked — one fluorescent and one blue. I think it was an FL-B and an 80A. If I remember right, the ideal exposure would have been 1/15th of a second but I couldn’t get there with my filters, even with pushing the film. I think these were shot at 1/8 second. I could probably get there with a flash that’s gelled for tungsten and fluorescent. Maybe next year! I’m not sure if this is the exact same image that’s in the folio (I sent some images in by mail and didn’t note exactly which scans they matched!). TL-120 with Provia 400X pushed to the limit.

Aspen Abstract

AspenAbstract_5_225x221This was a ‘proof of concept’ experiment in creating an abstract 3D image. It isn’t all I had hoped it would be, but it isn’t discouraging me either! Taken with the TL-120. Don’t recall the settings (I’m writing this after the slide was sent in, so answers could be on the mount!). Probably something like a quarter or eighth of a second exposure. Camera is swept down, hopefully level, and the shutter pressed when already in motion. I also don’t know if this image is the same one as the slide in the folio, but it’s in the same spirit.

Goliad Market Days, Texas

folio-4Goliad Market Days is an open air market which combines an arts and crafts fair, farmers market and community festival.  Market Days are held to relive Goliad’s traditional role as a crossroads for commerce, beginning with the 1700s’ Spanish-colonial trade from Mexico to Nacogdoches.  The tradition continued throughout the 19th century, as Goliad was included on the routes for oxcarts, freight wagons, and stagecoaches. Today, Goliad Market Days is one of the largest and most popular street markets in South Texas. Goliad is the third oldest municipality and is rich in Texas history. It is the County Seat of Goliad County, one of the oldest counties of Texas. First named Santa Dorotea by the Spaniards in the 16th century, its name was changed February 4, 1829 to Goliad. The name is an anagram derived from the last name of a Spanish missionary priest, Father Hidalgo.

Tent Rocks near Los Alamos

Well, this one is a bit different. It’s a hyper of a formation about 1/8 mile away taken using the Sony SLT 55 with a 100 mm prime macro lens. The images were acquired as part of a rapid burst from a moving car (I’d had foot surgery and my wife was driving me about). The spacing of the shots is around 100 feet. The white formations are about 30′ tall. This is a little known site near Los Alamos.

This was transferred to TL 120 using a “4K” screen. See “Camel Rock North Face” for the details of that process.

There is a very famous grouping of tent rocks, larger and more numerous, south of Santa Fe, which some of you may know of. They occur only in a few places, including outside of Istanbul, Turkey.

I’ll be heading out to Tent Rocks proper in the summer once things have solidified.

Camel Rock West Face

Sony slt 55a 35 mm prime. Cha-cha. October 10, 2013 10:35 am.

Used to be you could climb up on this until about 1970. There were actually two formations, one about 100 yards south. Some kids attached a rope and pulled it down with a pickup. So they put a fence around it.

This was transferred to TL 120 using a “4K” screen. See “Camel Rock North Face” for the details of that process.

Shadows On the Teche

louisiana plantationLocated in New Iberia’s Main Street District, set among towering live oak trees draped with Spanish moss on the banks of Bayou Teche, The Shadows, built in 1834 for sugar planter David Weeks, paints a vivid picture of life for the four generations that made this property their home. The Shadows is a Classic Revival-style home with a Louisiana Colonial floor plan and a garden that is as breathtaking as the history preserved here.  Continue reading