Scanned Slides of Milford Sound, New Zealand

Here is another discovery I made while sifting through decades of my old slides. I found slides of Milford Sound in New Zealand from a trip in 1989. Rain-drenched mountains rise steeply from the water, with clouds swirling above them and below. How uninteresting these photos would have been if the sun were shining! They would have been ordinary postcard shots. The dyes in many of these slides  had partially faded, leaving an uneven magenta or blue cast to them. Since they were almost monochromatic, conversion to black and white seemed the way to go. Four images are in the Milford Sound, NZ gallery on my website.

Scanned Slides of Iceland, 1973

I began a project this year that I've been meaning to do for a long time. I have begun to scan my archives of 35mm film into my computer and convert them to digital images. I began photography around 1969 and didn't maintain a consistent filing system for negatives or slides. Many slides remained in their original yellow boxes from Kodak. So I knew I was in for a long, slow journey viewing forgotten images.

I have made some amazing discoveries along the way. One wonderful discovery is from slides taken on a 1973 trip to Iceland. For the most part the color quality has remained good, with little or no fading from the old Kodachromes. I find these old images still appealing: buildings situated in remote landscapes; water tumbling over rocks so new they show few signs of erosion; fishing boats in and out of the water.

On this trip, I spent one day at a whaling station in Hvalfjörður, arriving just as a whale was brought in for butchering. The stench was overwhelming, and I could not understand how the workers could do their jobs with such a foul smell constantly in their midst.

I have added eight of these Icelandic photos to the website.

Before digital, making prints from color slides was always a difficult and expensive process for me, with unsatisfying results. I never attempted color printing in the darkroom, but now I can finally make images from slides that brings out their full potential.

Nature's Beauty is Fleeting – Don't Procrastinate

I discovered this maple tree along the Konkapot River in the Berkshires five years ago. On that first encounter, which was late autumn, the leaves had already fallen, but I was attracted to the tree's branching structure and its position along the river. I took this photo two years later after a heavy rain storm.

Recently I stopped off to visit the tree. Once again the water was high and rushing, due to recent heavy rains, but the tree was no longer standing. The trunk was lying on the ground alongside the river. It was probably toppled by tropical storm Irene this past summer. Thinking back over those past years, I'm glad that I continued to check on the tree for possible photographs, otherwise I  would never have captured its majestic stance along the rushing river.

Many things in nature seem long lasting and unchangeable, but things can change quickly. I have become aware of the fleeting beauty of nature, and that if I procrastinate, I may lose the chance to capture something wonderful. Several photos that I have taken can no longer be made. A beaver pond has become overgrown with tall weeds along the edge. A waterfall composition changed when a large log became lodged nearby after a storm. Ironically, it's the scenes I see frequently that I am prone to put off photographing for another time, hoping the lighting will be better, rather than making the effort to seek out the magic light before sunrise or at sunset.

Hello!

Welcome to my photo blog! Here I discuss the inspirations and motivations for my photographs and describe any interesting situations surrounding their making. Sometimes an image may prompt me to discuss some of the philosophical choices in making a photograph. My intent is not to focus on the technical aspects of my photographs, unless the technique is a necessary component to the viewer’s understanding and appreciation of the images. From time to time I will also announce exhibits of my work, updates to my website, and other events.

Enjoy!