A photograph and its story

[Steve B]

Elsewhere in the Sierra

Elsewhere in the Sierra

One of my own favorite stories is how I came to this pic. The night before had been full moon, or shortly thereafter, and I had been up at Sierra Vista in the White mountains trying to get a nice shot of the Sierra at sunset. Well, it was hazy, the sun got in my eyes, whatever, but I didn't come away with much of interest. That night we camped up in the Buttermilks at the foot of the eastern Sierra above Bishop. I stumbled out of the van around seven the next morning to relieve myself and saw this. "Coffee has to wait a minute, honey" I shouted to my wife as I frantically tried to get the tripod out of the roof top cargo box and haul out the old Nikon F. I like it much better than anything I got the night before and it has always reminded me to keep my eyes open and be ready as sometimes situations can surprise you. All that planning for the night before and nothing, and then this as a sort of consolation prize.

 

[doubs43]

In the Winter of 1972/73 I was sent to Germany on Temporary Duty (TDY). At Rhine-Main Air Base, we were housed in a huge old concrete barracks; three men to each room. I took along the alarm clock seen here. It might say "Mickey Mouse" but it was accurate and kept good time. The alarm would wake the dead! I had people two and three rooms away complain about the noise when it went off!!

The clock - seen here in my barracks room - returned to Kansas with me aand I fully intended to use it again. My 5 year old son took it apart one day to see what made it tick and that was that........ no more Mickey! 🙁

This picture was taken by the light of a desk lamp with either a IIIb or IIIf Leica.

Walker

 

[FrankS]

SteveB, have you tried that shot converted to B+W?

 

[sf]

doubs43 :

Like that alarm clock shot - the pic in itself would not mean nearly as much without the background story. The very mundane becomes much more . . . artistic, maybe . . . when given an interesting context.

 

[Doug]

Great looking sunset shot, Steve! I'm not sure I could see the lake from where I was, but it would have been over to my left on the second shot I think, or nearly behind me (that's Half Dome just visible at the right in my second shot, right?). Beautiful area for landscapes, of course, and I wish I were more familiar with it. This was only the second time I'd been over this road, and the first with photography in mind.

 

[dostacos]

The gentleman with the plastic dessert spoon in his pocket passed away last week. Other than the fact that he'll be missed by many, his funeral celebrated a good life. He was 86 years young, married to the same woman for 60+ years, raised two good sons and had so many friends, the memorial service was standing room only that overflowed into the parking lot. What was remembered the most about him was... he loved to sing.

This photo taken last May, which I shared with his sons, is a favorite of mine, I guess because I know these guys and have sat across a table like this several times as they told one story after another... and laughed... and sometimes sang.

"two old friends, one big story"
Zorki.3M
Jupiter.8

you have GOT to love a guy that is always ready with a dessert spoon 😀

 

[dostacos]

a series of pictures telling the story....

 

[trittium]

Moo Moo

Moo Moo

My friend and I met up over winter break in NYC to do some photography and chillaxing. We were both doing street photography walking down the sidewalks of New York. As we started approaching the intesection the walk light changed and everyone started crossing the street. Coming our way was this crazy character of a person. We both got our camera ready to "snipe" the guys photo, when all of a sudden I see this women out of the corner of my eye. I quickly snapped my wrist into position, and fired the shutter. This is the result.

 

[Steve B]

B&W versions

B&W versions

SteveB, have you tried that shot converted to B+W?

Which one do you mean, The one taken at Olmstead Point or the Buttermilk Boulders shot? Actually I haven't tried either but will now that you mention it. Cheers,,,,,,,

Later that same day: Frank I just did a quick conversion using channel mixer/monochrome with no adjustments to color. I'm not too sure about the results. I guess I think the color is a significant part of both shots for me.

 

[FrankS]

From post #21. It struck me as I looked at it that it may be even better in B+W.

 

[Steve B]

I'm not sure I could see the lake from where I was, but it would have been over to my left on the second shot I think, or nearly behind me (that's Half Dome just visible at the right in my second shot, right?).

Hi Doug, yup, that's Half Dome and Cloud's Rest is directly behind the tree. Actually you're right, you have to go down the road about a quarter of a mile, just around the bend for the big vista of Tenaya Lake (see attachment), or scramble up on to the dome above the road. My long suffering wife has spent many hours waiting patiently in the parking lot there wondering what time dinner is finally going to be. Fortunately we have a camper van and she can kick back with a book, a glass of wine and a great view.

 

[Doug]

Hi Doug, yup, that's Half Dome and Cloud's Rest is directly behind the tree. Actually you're right, you have to go down the road about a quarter of a mile, just around the bend for the big vista of Tenaya Lake (see attachment), or scramble up on to the dome above the road. My long suffering wife has spent many hours waiting patiently in the parking lot there wondering what time dinner is finally going to be.

Thanks, Steve! Late-afternoon and sunset is a fabulous time to hang around there, and probably dawn as well. This shot has a little story too, as we were hustling along finding spots and shots as the light faded... There was a guy just to my left here with a 4x5 on a tripod, probably waiting for the light to be just perfect. I didn't bother him long with this grab-shot at the east end of Tenaya Lake... It was full-dark by the time we got down to Lee Vining for dinner. 😀

 

[sf]

common, someone's gotta have a pic with a good story. I've seen some that certainly have pretty heavy stories.

 

[VinceC]

>>I just did a quick conversion using channel mixer/monochrome with no adjustments to color. I'm not too sure about the results. I guess I think the color is a significant part of both shots for me.<<

I find that I shoot very differently in black and white than in color. With black-and-white I'm paying much more attention to textures and contrasts and tones and shading. I'm previsualizing how the final print will look and anticipating what will need burned or dodged. So it's only in rare instances that I'll strip the color out of color negs. For my B&W work, I pay a little more than I should and get the Kodak C41 black-and-white film.

For what it's worth, I've seen some articles on Ansel Adams darkroom techniques, and a lot of his original negatives are quite flat -- lacking dramatic punch -- until he applied well-thought-out burning and dodging. He knew that. He likened the negative to a musical score and crafting of a final print to the peformance of that music in front of an audience.

 

[brightsky]

shutterflower, great idea for a creative thread!

Whilst driving through our downtown area I noticed this house on wheels readied for a move. The house looked interesting and so I shot quite a few pictures of it. At Doug's suggestion, I found out something about this old house.

It was built in the late 1800s and is the second oldest house in our town and the first with running water. The property on which it sat was purchased by a developer who learned the historic value of the house and became committed to its preservation.

The house has ben moved to the city's historical village, a community of old homes important to the area that have been or are in the process of being restored. An individual who was born in the house many decades ago has been located and he is planning to provide photographs of the house in its original condition.

I didn't even know this little historical village existed and there is not much press about it. There is another house already fully restored, a Florida cracker style home that houses a museum. There is an old train depot on the site, formerly a BBQ takeout that will also be restored. All in all, it was an interesting find and I will be going to the village soon to take some more shots. I feel myself being drawn into this site.

 

[VinceC]

I love old houses.

 

[kbg32]

I have many images and stories but I'll start with this one.

Nicole and I had only been dating three months. We decided to go away for a long weekend and rented a small cottage on Block Island. We also rented a scooter to explore the island. We happened upon this small cemetary and decided to stop and check it out. The sun was going down and I turned and grabbed this image of her. I knew then that she would become my wife.

 

[Doug]

Neat story, Brightsky! That old house looks pretty sad right now, glad that it will be restored.
Keith, it's clear that photo and its story have special meaning for you! 🙂

 

[lushd]

Picture with a story

Picture with a story

So here's a contribution ...

The colour picture was taken on my Leica IIIa last September on a vist to my cousin Nicola's house (that's her standing up in the purple top, and I am sitting down, just behind her, contemplating some beer). This was a great moment for me as I had fulfilled a little personal ambition in being the proud owner of a lovely camera. I was even more happy to be spending time with my lovely family. We had a hilarious evening together. It was all the sweeter as we are quite a scattered bunch these days and there are lots of us, so we don't get together often and some of the family history was quite turbulent with divorces and all sorts of dramas. So this picture is a reminder that it all came out well in the end. These days we are a very inclusive bunch and love spending time together.

In the colour picture the chap on the left is my Uncle Norman, who also appears on the right of the black and white picture. This is a group shot of my grandmother with her five sons (my Dad is 2nd from the right). All but Norman and Oswald (far left) have passed on. My Grandmother was a remarkable but scary woman who brought up 5 boys in Ireland in the 1930's and 40's on her own, put them all through school and university and set them up for life. Even when she was an old lady, all the boys were scared of her.

So these two pictures are testament to the strength of the family and reminders of some great people.

 

[markbrennan]

Trittium - I like that street shot! You got the Winogrand angle and the subject is spot on. Lamp on the left gives a great angle. Nicely done.
-Mark