Saturday 17 August 2013

Arizona, September, 2012 : Out of Context


Leica M6TTL    Lens : Elmar C 90mm f4     Film : Ilford HP5+      Developer : Ilford ID-11

I guess a photographer's "job" is to look at what everyone else is passing by and see it a little bit differently, then present it with a "look what you missed" in the form of a photograph.  Taking things out of context begins as soon as you look through the viewfinder to compose the image. What the photographer leaves out is as important as what is left in.

These are buffalo skulls, not from the deserts of Arizona - I walked some remote sandy areas with a guide and there definitely weren't any of these Plains-loving animals to be seen - but from the main street of Sedona, a tourist town in a very picturesque part of Arizona known as "Red Rock Country".

They can be found outside the Clear Creek Trading Company premises, piled against a barrel as advertising for the general theme of the store - native American goods, leathers, crafts and drums amongst many other things.  There's no hint of their store front location from the composition and framing chosen, though. So a viewer can put their own thoughts and story to the image (at least, they could have up to the point where I spilled the beans...).

I'd recommend a visit if you're in the area - both to Sedona  for the many walks and amazing landscape views it offers and the Clear Creek store for the seven rooms of interesting stuff they sell. Oh, and the skulls, of course...

Regards

Eddie

4 comments:

  1. Three great photographs, Eddie; the backstory about the Swiss tourist is amazing. I didn't know about the problem with Venice street maps, so thanks for that.
    The above photograph of the skulls is very good. I see you used HP5+ and this is a favourite film of mine. It seems to be of slightly lower contrast but this is not always a bad thing, it also lies flat when being scanned: a real bonus. Did you use (need) a neutral density filter in the bright Arizona light?
    I find it amusing to scan a film and then look at some of the film simulations for the scanned film. They don't usually look like my scan; although they probably simulate the optical, analogue result and not the digital conversion.

    Thanks for the blog,

    Mike.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Mike

      Thanks for the comment.

      I took a bundle of HP5+ and FP4+ to Arizona - we've been going there for the past 5 years or so, it's a fantastic place. FP4+ is definitely my preference and there's plenty of light in Arizona for it, whether it's landscape, street or any other genre.

      The HP5+ is sometimes difficult to accommodate - I don't carry many filters (a couple for B+W contrast) and I don't have an ND filter. So it means working at smaller apertures than I do usually and at the top end of the Leica mechanical speeds. Shortest available speed is 1/1000th sec.

      I'm not convinced I'm getting the best from the Plustek 8100 scanner yet. I'm using Silverfast 8 with it and it doesn't seem to be the first option for others on the 'net. The scans don't look like the film that's for sure. I have to add loads of noise reduction for the "grain" in the scan - best I can do is try to make the on-screen result look like the print.

      The Swiss tourist was a goody! I was pleased with the shot and the chat we had was really interesting; he was a fascinating character! There's an event every year in Venice (I'll need to look up the name) where hundreds of boat owners take to the canals - I believe the only restriction is that they need to be human-powered - all other powered craft are banned for the day. You can see one-man canoes, team rowing boats, gondolas, Venetian fishing boats etc. People come from all over to take part - he was one of them. Incredible city and one our favourite places!

      Best regards

      Eddie

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    2. Ah, the wonder of the internet - the Venetian event is the Vongalonga, a 30km non-competitive event for rowing-powered boats only...

      Rowing a boat for 30km, hmmm... and we moan about the weight of the camera bag!

      Regards

      Eddie

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  2. Ah, the wonder of my mis-typing - the Venetian event is the Vogalonga, not Vongalonga...

    Regards

    Eddie

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