Photograph America

[raid]

Do you recall getting such a newsletter by mail many years ago?

https://www.photographamerica.com/#/

Photograph America Newsletter is a 12-page travel newsletter for photographers, published since 1989. Each issue of the newsletter describes in detail where to photograph spectacular landscapes, interesting wildlife, hidden waterfalls, remote beaches, slot canyons, colorful wildflowers of North America. Learn where, when, and how to discover the best nature photography in America.

I just thought of this wonderful newsletter that I used to get in the late 1980's. It was a guide for old fashioned photography in which we did some adventurous traveling and where we used film cameras and tripods and cable releases .... etc.

At one stage, I signed up for a two week photography guided trip to Montana. Then Desert Storm happened, and I withdrew my name from the list as I had to worry about my family.
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Robert Hitchman
Bob has had a life-long career in photography, which began at San Jose State University in 1957, when he switched his major from Industrial Arts. After college, Bob enlisted when he was assured of serving as a photographer and darkroom technician in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. In West Germany, his skills and experience with equipment and lab work was developed and polished, and there was great opportunity to appreciate the beauty of nature in the Black Forest. Returning to California in 1965, Bob produced industrial and military training films for Raytheon Electronics. He began showing his color nature prints. From 1969 through 1981, Bob exhibited and sold his photography in West Coast galleries.
​
During the early 1980's, Bob taught color darkroom workshops, then expanded to include field trips. Many former customers who had purchased his framed photographs wanted to learn photography and how he worked in the field. Bob's Pacific Image Photography Workshops offered adventures in Canada, England, the South Pacific, Hawaii, New England, the Pacific Coast, the Southwest deserts, and national parks. The workshops evolved into writing about his adventures and sharing as much as possible with others. Photograph America Newsletter includes information gathered from these travels and from research trips on his own.

 

[raid]

I can still recall some parts of Issue 9 on Zion National Park and Bryce National Park. I followed the tips very carefully. I had my compass, as was suggested, and I asked the motel manager at Zion NP for their "old rooms" at half cost. I left Zion at 4AM by car to drive to Bryce, doing my best not to hit any deer on the road. It was ice cold in Bryce Canyon. I was wearing two hats and two gloves. At one stage, the film tore inside my Canon F1N which I had with the T90. I also had with me a Rolleiflex 2.8D and a Fuji BL690.

One part on Bryce Canyon was about leaving Zion NP before dawn (which I did), and another was about taking sunrise photos at Zion. Robert Hitchman even described where to park the car and how to carefully walk down to a small river to take from there nice looking sunrise photos.

Those were really wonderful days of photography.

I got this image:

 

[charjohncarter]

That is a wonderful and excellent image. But with digital these days I sometimes wonder if landscape is dead. You can go to the beach and use a cellular phone to take a quick photo. Bring it home and throw in Lightroom and push a button and have something not as good as yours but close enough. Especially, for todays' tastes.

Still, your idea is a good one there are plenty of locations where you can go and do something different. Maybe here is the place to give advice.

 

[lynnb]

The colors in your photograph are special, Raid. What film was this? Did you use a graduated filter? I'm guessing because of the darkened upper part of the landscape..

 

[Rob-F]

When we visited Zion, they didn't even let you drive in it. You had to get on a shuttle bus. Is it still like that?

 

[nbagno]

I still get his newsletters via pdf over email.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mackinaw]

When we visited Zion, they didn't even let you drive in it. You had to get on a shuttle bus. Is it still like that?

Depends on what time of the year it is. Off-season, no. Tourist season, yes.

Jim B.

 

[raid]

The colors in your photograph are special, Raid. What film was this? Did you use a graduated filter? I'm guessing because of the darkened upper part of the landscape..

Thanks. I used mainly Fujichrome 50 or 100. Yes, I used to follow suggestions by Galen Rowell to use Singh Ray gradusted ND rectangular filters. You need such filters with transparency film. I always used my Pentax Digital Spotmeter to scan each scene before I decided on the exposure I used a daylight ba;anced light table to inspect each slide afterwards, with a Schneider Lupe 🙂 Memories!

 

[raid]

That is a wonderful and excellent image. But with digital these days I sometimes wonder if landscape is dead. You can go to the beach and use a cellular phone to take a quick photo. Bring it home and throw in Lightroom and push a button and have something not as good as yours but close enough. Especially, for todays' tastes.

Still, your idea is a good one there are plenty of locations where you can go and do something different. Maybe here is the place to give advice.

Thanks.

I think that there will always exist “real photography “ even when digital cameras are everywhere around us. At heart, I think back of how I used to read several books on how to expose film in difficult situations.

 

[raid]

Depends on what time of the year it is. Off-season, no. Tourist season, yes.

Jim B.

I went there during fall month and there were hardly any tourists there.
Once, I chatted with the motel manager about the framed photos of slot canyons that were kept a secret then. How could I find Antelope Canyon?
Does it really look like in the photos?
He drew a nap for me, and I drove there the next day. That was a real adventure. In following years, guides started selling tours of Antelope Canyon.
I mean what is known as the Lower Antelope Canyon where you needed to get roped down.

 

[Huss]

I can still recall some parts of Issue 9 on Zion National Park and Bryce National Park. I followed the tips very carefully. I had my compass, as was suggested, and I asked the motel manager at Zion NP for their "old rooms" at half cost. I left Zion at 4AM by car to drive to Bryce, doing my best not to hit any deer on the road. It was ice cold in Bryce Canyon. I was wearing two hats and two gloves. At one stage, the film tore inside my Canon F1N which I had with the T90. I also had with me a Rolleiflex 2.8D and a Fuji BL690.

One part on Bryce Canyon was about leaving Zion NP before dawn (which I did), and another was about taking sunrise photos at Zion. Robert Hitchman even described where to park the car and how to carefully walk down to a small river to take from there nice looking sunrise photos.

Those were really wonderful days of photography.

I got this image:

Raid that is a wonderful shot. I really like the three figures in the bottom left that add to the sense of scale.
I think this is the best pic that you have posted. Interesting that it is from your film days. Perhaps there is no need to chase after the latest digicam?
🙂

 

[raid]

Thank you Huss. I have many hundred slides from my traveling days to the American Southwest. I really studied exposure so hard. One book ad an exercise similar to this one: "a red squirrel is standing on some snow in direct sunlight while the rest of the scene ... etc.", what would be the "correct" exposure with transparency film? One day, I tried out Kodak color infrared slide film. The suggested exposure stated in Modern Photography or Popular Photography or Shutterbug always said to bracket a lot. As a (poor) graduate student I did not want to waste any frames. I then decided to sacrifice one roll only as a test bed, and I wrote down each exposure and filter type and amount of vegetation in each scene, using a standard ISO and shutter speed, I recall. When I got back the slides, I created a data set with n=36 and I used Regression Analysis to test many statistical models until I arrived at a model that allowed me to take into account multiple factors that seemed to affect color infrared film.

Then came the ultimate test; using the model to set exposure and aperture with specific filters and for specific scenes and vegetation. I got back 34 "perfectly exposed" slides. The manager of the local camera store in Blacksburg was amazed at the results. I still have that little notebook with the regression results. It is somewhere among my stuff.


Blacksburg, Virginia showing the Drill Field at Virginia Tech.

 

[raid]

I kept a photography diary for each trip taken,. so I have also photography details.
Example: Zion Canyon NP and Bryce Canyon NP

Day 1: NOV 21, 1989
Canon T90, Canon F1N; 19mm, 24mm, 28-50mm, 80-200mm, 300mm, 500mm.
Fujichrome Professional 50 and 100, plus 3M 1000.
Circular polarizer, Split-ND, 81A, 81B, UV
1.4X extender, extension tubes, cable releases.
Bogen head, Gitzo, Velbon.
Rented a Nissan Sentra from LV Airport and rove to Springdale UT.
The Manager of the Cliffrose Motel (name was Dale) gave me some good tips on where to find the Lower Antelope Canyon.
I had many pages like this, with detailed information on each day's activities.

 

[zuikologist]

Hi Raid

I love the idea of this thread, that someone would write, print and send newsletters. During the late 1980s I was just getting into photography properly and information was precious- magazines, newsletters, clubs. All this is now instantly available. Thinking back, we were all quite solitary compared to today. Very nostalgic. Love your photos too.

 

[zuikologist]

Were you climbing carrying all of this?

I kept a photography diary for each trip taken,. so I have also photography details.
Example: Zion Canyon NP and Bryce Canyon NP

Day 1: NOV 21, 1989
Canon T90, Canon F1N; 19mm, 24mm, 28-50mm, 80-200mm, 300mm, 500mm.
Fujichrome Professional 50 and 100, plus 3M 1000.
Circular polarizer, Split-ND, 81A, 81B, UV
1.4X extender, extension tubes, cable releases.
Bogen head, Gitzo, Velbon.
Rented a Nissan Sentra from LV Airport and rove to Springdale UT.
The Manager of the Cliffrose Motel (name was Dale) gave me some good tips on where to find the Lower Antelope Canyon.
I had many pages like this, with detailed information on each day's activities.

 

[raid]

A Navajo Indian (Frank) roped me down at dawn, and we together climbed into 3 chambers that were underground and that formed the Lower Antelope Canyon. Frank told me that famous photographers would make appointments with him to shoot inside the Canyon, and they usually give him a bottle of Whiskey each visit. At that time, nobody was telling how to find this Canyon. Frank mentioned a PLAYBOY shoot inside the Canyon.
I paid him (I think) $20 then. I asked him"where is the Canyon", to which he replied "you are standing on it".

The sun bounces from wall to wall after noon time. It is the best time to be inside the slot canyon then. The T90 stopped working after a few shots due to sandstone falling on us and on it. Then we had to climb up again to reach my rental car to get the F1N. I also carried with me (Frank did!) a small Velbon tripod for long exposures. That was tricky as there were no open ground areas where we could just set up the tripod. I used it more like a monopod then.

 

[raid]

In contrast, this image was taken early in the morning.

Frank and his younger brother discovered this slot canyon many years ago, and it had spiritual importance to both. Before they set up wooden and rope ladders to help the visitors, Frank told me that he and his brother used to "run through it".

 

[raid]

This is Frank! I went down this chamber first before Frank. I had never before climbed anywhere!
It started out with a wooden ladder. Then there was a rope ladder. Lastly, there was this rope with knots in it. I was scared but had lots of fun too.
The first roping down was the scariest one. I just trusted this stranger (Frank) to lower me into darkness. I survived!

 

[raid]

I still get his newsletters via pdf over email.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Good for you! I may restart my subscription again. 😎

 

[raid]

Were you climbing carrying all of this?

No, of course not. I used the 24mm lens only and on the T90 first. Then I went up and changed to the F1N.