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This month's image is one that looks very easy. A simple cabin just off Idaho State Highway 36 in the SouthEast corner of the state.
This image did involve more than just a drive by and shoot. I had gone by the cabin in the late spring with melting snow on the hillsides. I had gone by in the summer with sage and grasses growing. I had gone by in the fall with everything getting ready for winter.
So, why didn't I shoot it then?
The main reason was that the cabin blended with the background. The roofline merged with the browns and greens behind it. The foreground was covered with cowpies. It just didn't look right to me and I couldn't make the image I envisioned.
As I said, it is an easy one to get to. Drive out of Malad City and turn right on the two lane country highway. Watch to the South as you come to the hills and there it is. Stop, get out and shoot. Then go home, process the film and throw them away. If I had photographed it without snow cover that is what I would have had, another throw away image. Another 'almost' that didn't quite make it.
So, I waited. Finally we had some snow and I went back. Blowing snow in high winds and a grey, overcast sky kept me from shooting.
Another trip. This time a break in the weather. A new storm was moving in so I had high clouds the day before. Just the kind of weather I love. The front blows out all the haze and the high clouds can make for an exciting sky.
The actual shooting is simple. Stop the car, get out & set up the 4x5 on tripod. Meter, shoot and go home to process. For this one I already knew where I needed to set up the tripod because I had done it before when checking it out. I knew approximately where the angle of the sun would fall as I had been watching as it tracked south. I knew the morning light would skim the surface of the snow in front of the cabin to help keep the contrast from going too crazy.
So, I shot it. The sky could be a bit better, but when shooting with natural light you take what comes. My concession to the clouds was to polarize the shot to help give a bit more contrast. No other filters were used. But I did do a small bit of burn in on it in the darkroom in printing.
Metering is simple. I don't spend a lot of time metering shadows, highlights and getting myself confused with Zone placements. I metered with a Calculite X set for incident light. Then took the reading and shot. Since the 4x5 was pointing downhill I could have used back or front tilt to compensate and make sure the cabin was perfectly straight. But, it isn't. The cabin is out of the 1800's and is leanaing a bit so I did not use camera movements to straighten it up. The effect is the same as you will get with a 35mm or medium format camera with no tilt adjustments. A simple straight shot.
From experience I knew I could follow the meter reading and hold the fine detail in the snow in front of the cabin. It has some fine deer tracks in the snow. I wanted them to show and in the print they do. On the monitor they may be difficult to pick up. This is one very good reason to visit museums, galleries and shows of fine photography: so you get to see an artists work at its best. Screen display limitations don't allow that right now. The snow in the background is brighter due to the angle of the hills and helps to give the image a feeling of depth. This also allows the fenceposts to show in the original print, giving a touch of interest to the hillside.
Now to the darkroom. I have the image on film, in this case Kodak TMax 100 which I shoot at 80 because it works for my developing style. I develop with a JOBO CPA2 processor in the JOBO 3006, six shooter style tank for 4x5 and 5x7 sheet film. It does a very good job of even processing of skies. Its easy to repeat the processing agitation and timing, essential if you expect to get good results from TMax films. They don't tolerate sloppy or inaccurate processing.
Chemistry is Ilford ID11, diluted 1:3 and used at 75 degrees farenheit for 13 3/4 minutes. I do start with a 5 minute pre-soak in water and have found it helps with the TMax film.(or at least I think it does). Then weak stop bath for 20-30 seconds. I then use rapid fix without hardener for 6 minutes. I fix with two baths. The first for 3 minutes and the second, fresher rapid fix for 3 minutes. Then 5 minutes in the rinse water, changing it 3 times followed by a 5 minute wash in Heico Perma wash solution. Then wash for 8 changes of rinse water, at least 2 minutes each, a 5 minute soak in the final rinse as I blow the lid off the JOBO tank. In case this doesn't make sense, the big tank uses a foot pressure hose, like used to blow up rubber rafts, to put pressure in the tank to get the lid off. It scares my cat Dektol every time I do it so I chase her out of the room. Then photo flo for a minute and hang to dry in the shower. (big time darkroom here).
Printing this one isn't difficult. I printed this image on Ilford Multigrade IV fibre paper. Dimensions are approximately 7x8 3/4 inches. So it isn't big, but fits well with an overmat in a 16x20 frame. The print is pretty much straight, with a #2 1/2 ilford filter. A slight dodge of light on the cabin front and a bit of burning on the sky with a #5 filter after the initial exposure complete the process. Then it is put into Dektol mixed about 1:4 or 1:5 for 3-5 minutes. If I don't allow at least 3 minutes in the developer I find I don't get the deeper tones looking as good, so I took Bruce Barnbaum's advice and make sure I develop the print fully. When doing so I end up with fewer prints in the trash can.
Stop bath follows the developer and then a 60 second agitation time in the full strength(film strength) rapid fix, following the Ilford archival processing sequence.
I then put the print in a rinse and holding tray until I finish the darkroom session. I change the water a few times to keep the prints from sitting in dilute fixer, then treat them for 5-10 minutes in Heico Perma Wash before washing for 30 to 60 minutes.
I end the sequence by toning in Kodak Selenium Toner, mixed approximately 1:15 for 3-6 minutes or so. I watch the print, with another beside it in a tray of water, to see the toning change the color a bit. When it looks good(mainly a matter of experience) I take it out and give the prints a complete rinse, 45-60 minutes, in a series of water baths.
Then I use a photo sponge to clean off the water and dry them by laying on screens.
After this, I flatten in a dry mount press by putting the print in between archival mount boards, pre heated. On taking them out the prints lie pretty flat and can be mounted or held for mounting.
The mount board is 100% rag, acid free and buffered. Mounting material is Seal Archival Mount. I cut the mount board by hand with razor blades, cut the overmat by hand with an Alto's easy mat cutter, and assemble the image with the overmat and put it in an extruded aluminum frame, often purchased from Light Impression. I have found that in mounting and matting, cutting my own mat board saves a fortune. So does buying the glass already cut to size by the box. Locally an 11x14 piece of glass for the frame varies between $4.00 and $7.16. If I go to an art supply house and buy a box(47 11x16 pieces of glass, washed & clean) I pay $27.50 for the entire box.
Exhibition and display prints cost, but by purchasing supplies in bulk you can save a fortune. Every dollar not wasted is more film, paper or fuel to go out and shoot.
So why this image to start this series? Because it is simple, clean and right off the road, just the way so many outdoor photographers see their scenes. The rugged backcountry photographer who takes days to get to his location is a dream most will never be. Some do it, but if you are smart you shoot along the way as well. This is one of those 'along the way' images. I saw it on the way to somewhere else, stopped and checked it out, did it again a couple times, and then shot when conditions were good. It was quiet, relaxing an unpressured. It was also relatively close to home(withing 2 hours) and I can go back to do it again if and when I want to try. One thing it isn't. It isn't a once in a lifetime trip I can never repeat. It is nearby and the cabin can be re-photographed different ways at different times. Since most of us have locations nearby that look good in different light and seasons, shooting close to home makes sense. After all, 4 different trips to Mt. Ranier for one shot is out of the realm for me. But just over the border into Idaho for a Sunday drive with my wife makes sense. Close to home holds more good images than most of us realize, and I spend a lot of time close to home.
Dan Smith
shooter@brigham.net