Seven Years

 

The movers arrived 2 days later - during a downpour, no less. The yard has changed a lot since then!

Yesterday marked the 7th anniversary of our move from Ann Arbor, MI to Weaverville, NC.    It was quite a change combining two households, in addition to moving far from Michigan.   Beverley, Adrienne, and I have no regrets about the move, and the last 7 years have really flown by.  I like where we are situated, and while not at the top of a mountain, we are at 2200 ft. above sea level, and the Blue Ridge Parkway is a lovely 8 mile drive from us. Main Street Weaverville is 2 miles away, and Asheville is 7 miles from us. So, we have all we need pretty close by.    

Main Street, Weaverville, June, 2022. Pentax Spotmatic, Svema FN-64

One of the reasons for our location is that Adrienne and I wanted to be near the mountains, as both of grew up in hilly areas of New York. While we really did enjoy Michigan and the Great Lakes region, a move to better overall weather and a more relaxed way of life was a factor.  I love the extended spring and fall here, and there’s no hindrance going out in the winter.    The few times we have had more than a dusting of snow were beautiful and short-lived.    In short, the weather here is usually quite nice.

Vance Birthplace, NC Historic Site, July, 2020. Nikon F2S, FPP IR200.

Moving here was a boost to my photography, especially regarding nature.  While the September 2024 hurricane devastated many of my favorite spots, it has caused me to visit other places, as well as being able to document nature’s recovery in the affected areas. I still have much to discover, and the eastern part of NC is pretty much untraveled for me. Unlike the grid system in Michigan and Ohio where the roads run NSEW, the roads here meander, and in the mountains you cannot be in a hurry. I’ve gotten comfortable driving our curvy roads, but I do wish the roads had decent shoulders. The lack of them really makes it difficult to stop and photograph things that I see along the roadsides. 

       

Along the Old Marshall Hwy, March, 2023.  Yashica Electro 35 GTN, Kentmere 400.

Yesterday, I drove up to Barnard, an unincorporated community along the French Broad River near Walnut.    There’s a nice little park (Barnard Park) along the river where river rafts put in. A bridge takes you over the river to Big Pine Rd. Until last week, I hadn’t been up there since the hurricane, and it was nice to see that things looked pretty much the same.

The Barnard General Store, July, 2026. Intrepid 4x5,
101mm Kodak Anastigmat Special, Cat Labs 80 film

 Last week, I drove up to Barnard to photograph the Barnard general store that had just opened, and I’m impressed with the work the owners had put into rehabilitating the brick building that was built in 1913. I had planned to make some exposures of the bridge with my Intrepid 4x5, but the rain put an end to those plans. So, yesterday’s trip was to take those photos, and whatever else I thought worthy of 4x5.    After that, I drove back up to US-25 towards Hot Springs, and took NC 208 N to Guntertown Road and then to Big Laurel Rd.    

Bridge over the French Broad at Barnard 07/21/26. Panasonic GF-1

Roadside attraction, Barnard Rd. 07/21/26, Panasonic GF-1

I’d wanted to take that route for some time, so it was a good day to do so.    A very winding and scenic route, it follows Laurel Creek. This was a recon mission, and there are a lot of nice old barns and moldering buildings along the route. Again, there are few places to park off the side of the road, but I managed to get some shots with my Leica M2 and my Panasonic GF-1. About 2/3 of the way it started to downpour, and that was the end of the day for photography.  I still observed what was along the road, and plan on a return trip for a cemetery that looked to be quite interesting.   Big Laurel Rd. connects to US-23A, which I took south and then onto 1-26 and home.    Not a bad way to spend an afternoon!

 

Abandoned, near Spill Corn Creek, off Big Laurel Rd. 07/21/26, Panasonic GF-1

  

So, it’s been a good 7 years here, and I look forward to many more.

Finding Your Path in Photography

St. Francis de Assisi church, Ranchos de Taos, NM 2003.  Kiev 60, Verichrome Pan

If you are just starting out with photography as a hobby, there’s a lot of things to learn.    Most of the time, you are learning about the mechanics of the equipment, and coupled with the understanding of the exposure triangle, it can seem like a lot -- at first. If you are coming from the digital world to the film world, there’s even more ways to discover that you can screw things up.  Fear not.  Like any endeavor that requires the understanding of a subject, you are bound to make mistakes along the way.  Learn from them. All that camera manipulation and understanding of light aside, the thing about photography is that one can use the very best equipment or the very simplest of equipment and be an amazing photographer.  One person may use the very best equipment and have boring photos, and another person might use a toy camera and become a published artist.  And vice versa. There’s no guarantee that using a Leica or a Rolleiflex will make you a better photographer, nor will the latest mirror-less Nikon or Canon digital camera result in a gallery show (if that’s what you want).  It really boils down to your competence with the camera and what’s between your ears.  

Do you follow trends?    Do you ask what so and so used to get an image, or what film stock you should use to get “that look” whatever it may be?    I get it, I really do.    It’s part of the process of becoming a photographer.    However, many times people ask the wrong questions. You may wonder about the film stock, and be totally unaware of what kind of lighting was used in the photograph.  You may ask about a camera, and not think about the lens that was used.    In our naiveté, we often overlook the complexity and think there is a single answer. There are many factors involved in making an exposure.  

In my early days, I was an avid fan of John Shaw, a well-published nature photographer.    I shot a lot of slide film, aiming to get results like I saw in his photographs.    A few times, I think I succeeded. What I didn’t have was his breadth of knowledge, sense of composition, and insight. It took me years to get to the point of being able to get consistent results, and then digital came along, which made macrophotography a whole lot easier and cheaper.    I was able to experiment without thinking about how many shots I might waste on a roll of expensive slide film.    

Were my photos better?    Yes -- because I shot more.    Therein lies the crux of photography. To get better, shoot more.    But wait, that’s not all.    You’ll eventually develop a style, or find your niche.    Maybe it was something that you started with early on, or perhaps you just found out that one day, when you were really in the moment, and the image and your expectations just came together.    Sometimes that path changes over time, as it should.

When I started to take photography seriously in 1999, I had a mentor that was generous with his time, knowledge, and equipment. I’d been taking photos since the early 1970s, but had never taken a class, except for an after-hours class in high school.    I felt that knowing as much as I could about macrophotography would be useful in my career as an entomologist and museums collection manager.    It did, but I learned something more.   

Looking at various books and reading about photography and other photographers, I realized there was so much more to be explored.    So many cameras! So many lenses!    So many different films! And so on.  The thing that I had not expected was the more I learned, the more my photography changed. The macrophotography had run its course, and was useful in my daily work, but what really gave me satisfaction was getting out in the world, learning about other types of photography, and seeing the work of others. My photography improved as my brain was exercised, my eyes trained to see things differently.    Becoming proficient operating a camera was also a key to being open to exploration.    If you are trying to figure out the mechanical aspects of making a photograph, it’s harder to “be in the moment.”          

I believe that the passion you have for something also reflects in your photography. Being affected by your surroundings, and how you interact with them is a key to taking meaningful photographs. Photography is a very personal experience.    What one person does does not mean that he or she is a model for others to follow.    What inspires me probably won’t inspire you.    If you pursue photography seriously, you will find those things that inspire you.    Be aware that one path may lead to another, and do not blind yourself to new possibilities.    Your photographic practice improves over time.

One of the ways to explore what’s possible in photography is to look at the work of others, as well as some more philosophical takes on being a photographer.    I have read that young people today don’t read books, preferring to get their information (infotainment) via YouTube and other social media.    There are some photographers that have excellent YouTube channels, but there are many that I feel are entertaining, but not necessarily informative.    I do believe that if you are serious about photography, you should know something about its history and at least be familiar with some of the photographers.    You might get some of that in a real photography class, but if you want to explore on your own, I can recommend some books that will give you a good overview.

“A World History of Photography,” by Naomi Rosenblum is an excellent introduction to the history of photography, with lots  of great images. I think it’s been reprinted many times, and is often used in college photo history classes.

An even larger tome, with more emphasis on European photographers, and profusely illustrated, is “A New History of Photography,” edited by Michel Frizot.    At 775 pages, it’s a monster of a book, but it’s really great.    It is perhaps the most comprehensive volume with less focus on American photographers.

A more easily carried book from Taschen is “A History of Photography from 1839 to the present” from George Eastman House.    It’s over 700 pages, but is not a coffee table book.    I think it’s a great introduction to photographic history, with lots of examples, as well as a glossary.      

Those are just three examples to get you started.    You can start with the obvious list of the “greats” and delve into their oeuvre.    Alphabetically - Berenice Abbott, Ansel Adams,      Diane Arbus, Eugene Atget, Margaret Bourke-White, Henri Cartier Bresson, Anne Brigman, Wayne Bullock, Imogen Cunningham, Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Dorothea Lange, Lee Miller, Elliot Porter, W. Eugene Smith, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, Paul Strand, Josef Sudek, and many others.    Contemporary photographers such as Sally Mann, Michael Kenna, David Plowden, Joel Myerowitz, and Stephen Shore are definitely worth looking at.  There are many more that you’ll discover on your own.      

There are also a number of excellent photographer documentaries available on streaming services. Search under "Photography documentary" on your smart TV or digital device.

Writings on the philosophy of photography can be useful, too.    There are a few that I think can be very helpful to photographers:

• Why Photography Matters by Jerry L. Thompson. 2013, MIT Press, 92 pp. ISBN#978-0-262-01928-6.
• Beauty in Photography by Robert Adams. 1996, Aperture Books. 108 pp. ISBN# 0-89381-368-0.
• Ways of Seeing by John Berger, 1980. Penguin Books, 165 pp. ISBN#0-563-122447.
• The Ongoing Moment by Geoff Dyer, 2007. Vintage Books, 285 pp. ISBN#978-1-4000-3168-9
• The Nature of Photographs by Stephen Shore, 2010. Phaidon Press. 136 pp. ISBN#978-0-7148-5904-0
• The Tao of Photography. Seeing Beyond Seeing by Philippe L. Gross and S.I. Shapiro. 2001.    Ten Speed Press. 136 pp. ISBN#1-58008-194-0
• The Art of Photography. An Approach to Personal Expression by Bruce Barnbaum. 2010.    RockyNook Publishers. 352 pp. ISBN# 978-1-933952-68-0.
• The Photographic Eye. Learning to See With a Camera by Michael F. O’Brien and Norman Sibley,    1995.    Davis Publications. 287 pp. ISBN#0-87192-283-5
• Zen Camera. Creative Awakenings With a Daily Practice in Photography by David Ulrich. 2018. Watson-Guptill publishers, 217 pp. ISBN#978-0-399-58033-8.

I enjoy looking at the work of other photographers, and being inspired by them. I’ve said it before, that photography is a big tent, and there are all sorts of processes, styles, subjects, and methodologies to explore, and you’ll find something that resonates with you.    Becoming familiar with what’s been done before is not a bad thing.    I guarantee that whatever interests you, someone has already done it, and reading up on it beforehand will help you avoid the pitfalls and let you concentrate on the creative process.    

This brings me to my final point - photograph for yourself.    Do what makes you happy and inspires you.    Your vision, your imagination, is yours. Make it work for you. Maybe doing that only requires using a smart phone camera. Maybe it requires a wet plate camera.    Maybe you need a DSLR with a 600mm lens.    Whatever you require, shoot as often as possible, and eventually, you’ll get really good at it.    Be proficient with the process, whatever it is.  Nobody paints a masterpiece the first time they pick up a brush.    Photography is a skill set that gets better the more you practice.    So, get out there and photograph!

Note that I have not recommended  a camera, film, or process in the above.  It's yours to explore, and as the saying goes "The journey is the reward." 

Last Roll From my Kodak Vigilant Six-20

A few years ago, I acquired a Kodak Vigilant Six-20.  I respooled 120 onto 620 spools, and over the course of 3 years shot 3 rolls with it.  The results were always quite good. The Vigilant Six-20 is a 6x9 format camera that came in many versions.  The one I used had the best features with the Kodak No. 1 Supermatic Shutter, with speeds from B, T, and 1-1/400 sec, and apertures from f/4.5- f/32.   The Kodak Anastigmat Special is a very good lens, too. An excellent lens/shutter combination that allowed 400 ISO film and reasonable shutter speeds.   

Another version of the camera, and priced lower, features a Kodak No. 1 Diomatic shutter, with B, T, 1/25, 1/50, and 1/100 sec shutter speeds and a Kodak Anastigmat f/6.3 lens.  Definitely not as fast as my camera, and certainly usable with 100-400 ISO film. It’s probably the more common version of the camera, since it was more affordable.

Unfortunately, I’d left the roll of Fomapan 100 in my camera for at least 2 years, with a couple of exposures still to be had.  The film had somehow become stuck and would not advance.  I ended up having to use pliers to wind the film.  I ended up with a “fat roll” which I promptly put into a black container.  I think moisture had caused the film to stick and that’s why I could not roll it along by hand.  

Now that I have a 4x5 camera, I decided to see if the lens and shutter assembly could be used on my Intrepid 4x5.  Now that I know that it covers 4x5, the 101mm lens has become my wide-angle, leaving the shell of the Vigilant lensless.  

Here are some shots from that last roll.  You can see where the film stuck and acquired some rust in one of the images.  I started that roll in the summer 0f 2024, on a photo meetup with the AVL Camera Club.  We visited several small breweries next to the Swannanoa River, all of which were destroyed a month later by Hurricane Helene and the flood.  The very last photo was taken early this year in the River Arts District, which I guess is fitting. 

The light leaks at the top are from the "fat roll"

You can see the spots on the right side where the film was sticking

These 6x9 cameras from Kodak are capable of some very good results, and if you don’t mind respooling the 120 film to 620 spools, they represent an inexpensive option for 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 inch negatives.  You’ll get 8 shots on a roll.  The cameras easily fit into a large pocket and do not weigh much.  However, you’ll have to make sure the bellows is free from pinholes - and the black fabric used for the bellows is going to need some liquid rubber or black fabric paint to fix. If the lens is free of haze, and the shutter works, you are good to go.  

These cameras were manufactured from 1939-1949, with 10 variants in lens and shutter combinations. The prices at the time ranged from $15 to $49. Today, you should be able to pick up a fully operational example for less than $25, and I certainly would not pay much more.

Another version that I owned in 2011

The Summer of ’76

The official logo for the 1976 bicentennial

I’ve seen this a lot in recent social media - “Was the American Bicentennial a big deal in 1976?” The writers of such posts are being intellectually lazy, since any dive in history will show that the Bicentennial WAS a big deal. America was out of Vietnam, Nixon was no longer President, having resigned after the Watergate scandal, and Gerald Ford was the incumbent.  The mood was pretty good, people were enthused, and there was a lot of Bicentennial swag to be had.  However, that’s the big picture. If you are asking what those of use who experienced it were doing, well, that’s a much different request.

I was 19, and looking for summer employment after my first year of college in Syracuse, NY.  My freshman year had been a rude awakening, and I was under academic probation.  That was a blow to someone that always had good grades in high school.  I had never really learned how to study, and there were lots of distractions to be had as a college freshman in the 1970s.  Anyhow, I had family living in Maine, and somehow I found a job as a summer camp counselor at a place called Wavus Camps on Damariscotta Lake near Jefferson, Maine. 

The flagpole at Wavus

Looking back, I don’t think I was especially qualified to be a camp counselor, though I did know enough about wood craft, nature, and wood shop to be able to teach 8-10 year-old boys.  I had 6 boys in my cabin, and we never received an award for the best-made beds.  Boy Scout I was not.  I was called “Uncle Obie” as all the male counselors were called “uncle” and the female counselors were addressed as “aunt”. The camp was not co-ed in daily activities, as the girls had their area, and the boys theirs. The was no co-mingling in the dining hall, but on Saturday evenings there would be some sort of co-ed interaction.  That didn’t extend to the counselors, who had plenty of co-mingling on off hours.  

I think the youngest were about 6 years old.

It was a pretty good summer. I don’t think most of us were really aware of all that was going on - no tv, no radio, and certainly there were no phones except at the camp office.  As the build-up to the 4th of July proceeded, we were going to be in a parade in the nearby town of  Jefferson, and take part if the festivities there.  Except that I didn’t.  I had come down with a really severe case of strep throat, which landed me in the camp infirmary. The camp nurse bathed me with water, ice, and rubbing alcohol to get my fever down, but when my temperature reached 105, I was taken to a small emergency center and given antibiotics.  Within a couple of days, I was almost back to normal, but I missed all the 4th of July events.

So, my best recollection of July 4, 1976 is some strange fever dream.  I heard the day was pretty good.  

My stint as a camp counselor was singular, and while that summer was 50 years ago, there are some good memories from then.  I wonder how those kids turned out - some were there while their parents went to Europe, and one was the Maine governor’s son.  Every boy had to take a weekly bath - in the lake, no less.  This was 1976, after all.  I wonder if any of them might remember “Uncle Obie” and his bug walks.  

My charges out on one of our hikes. These guys are probably thinking about retiring soon.

Alright, you’ve read this far. What about photography?  This is a photography blog, right? Well, you young whippersnappers, I have the photos from that summer - shot with my Exa 1a SLR.  At the time, I shot only slide film, because it was cheaper to get developed, and as a student, I didn’t have a lot of storage space, so the plus from that era is that the Kodachromes still look good.  On some of my time off I hitch-hiked along the coast, especially along US-1.  I can’t even imagine doing that now.    

After I scanned these in on my Epson V700, I did some minor editing, and looking back, I did manage to get some pretty good images.  What struck me most was how those kids looked pretty much like any kid from that time.  I don’t imagine that all of the children there came from well-to-do families, but certainly upper middle-class. That decade was before Reagan ended up ruining the American Dream.

There’s something to be said for that time. 

I wish that I'd taken more photos of my travels, but as I said, I had a limited budget for film!  

Yeah, I bet you thought of Jaws music when you saw this.

There were plenty of deer around

Wiscasset, ME, the old schooners are no longer there

Bicentennial calf with mama

Maine is a lovely place

So, that's a little trip down memory lane, with the Kodachromes to prove I was there.  That's the joy of photography.