Washington Memorial Chapel

I've always been keen on American History, particularly the revolutionary war era. I suppose it's because I grew up in Philadelphia which, back then at least, was a very important city. Having worked at the Academy of Natural Sciences for several years made me aware of the contributions to science and culture that Philadelphia gave the new country and gave me cause to be proud of my city.

At Valley Forge there are many memorials and tributes to Washington and his men. Having spent one of the harshest winters in living memory there, I'm not sure that they would have very fond memories of the place, but that notwithstanding, all of it is very tastefully done.

Standing in rememberance of Washington, his men and all that they fought for, the Washington Memorial Chapel is a beautiful work of architecture. While it is a fully operating Chapel with Episcopalian services on Sundays, the Chapel is open to all.

Washington Memorial Chapel page

During a trip back east to visit my brother at State College, PA, we made a trip to Valley Forge. I hadn't brought any of my photo gear, but he was kind enough to offer me the use of his old N60 Nikon film camera and a couple of rolls of expired TMax400.

I shot off both rolls of film. Here's one of several final shots that I liked, printed on Fotospeed Lith paper, in LD20 Lith developer.


There's a lot to explore at Valley Forge. The Chapel is beautiful but if you go, don't neglect the other parts of the park. Oh, and watch out for the deer.

Mesquite Dunes

Located in the midst of Death Valley National Park, adjacent to Stovepipe Wells, are the Mesquite Dunes. Smaller versions of the sand dunes farther north, they are none the less quite large in size. Dawn is the preferred time to arrive, as the heat of the day has not started to get it's grip on the sand. Bring twice as much water and half as much weight as you think safe.



Dawn is also nice because most people don't make it out that early and the solitude is amazing. You can feel as though you're the only person in an apocalyptic world.

The wind is quick to wipe footprints, particularly at the tops of the dunes. So a compass can be a good idea, with frequent bearing checks.

This image was shot on FP4+ in 120 size, developed in Pyrocat HD, 2:2:100, and printed on fotospeed lith paper in LD20 lith developer.

Old time work

I've always been fascinated by blacksmithing. To be able to take a lump of metal and by only heat and brute strength form it into something useful or beautiful seems to me a bit of magic.

I'm fortunate in that I live fairly close to the Marshall Gold Discovery State Park in Coloma, CA. Situated on the banks of the American River where James Marshall discovered gold that fateful day in 1848, the park has, as one of it's draws, a working black smith shop. The Smiths are volunteers who spend their day explaining what life was like to groups of school children while they make candle holders and other items to be placed for sale at the gift shop. It's not all for sale, though. They also make hinges, blades and equipment for use by the park.

Friendly and incredibly knowledgeable, these smiths harken back to a day when mass production was still decades away. Anything you needed, you needed to make. They are the very essence of both ingenuity and self-sufficience.



I tip my hat to them.

Ah, the 19th Century...

There's definitely a movement afoot in the Large Format community that has photographers searching yard sales and estate sales for old brass lenses. The distinctive look of an early Petzval design carries a signature to their images which gives the picture that 'antique' look.



This image was shot at Bodie with an old 15" brass Petzval Magic Lantern lens, on an 8x10" Tachihara, using FP4+ developed in Pyrocat-HD 2:2:100. Developing time was around 9 minutes. Front rise had me running out of image circle, thus the vignetting towards the bottom of the image.

Abagail Sherman

Along the way to State College, PA on Rt. 322, is the little town of Boalsburg. Here you'll find the Pennsylvania Military Museum and the Twenty-eighth Division Shrine. It's a place of quiet reflection, with a number of military vehicles and armament from WWII and later. Set in a little copse of trees, just off the roadway of rt. 322, is Abagail. She's a Sherman tank manufactured just after WWII ended.



The setting is perfect. I wanted to get a view that an infantryman would have had, grateful for the big bulk of steel protecting him from small arms fire, crouched low to the ground.

My thanks go out to all veterans, but especially those from World War II. Truly, the Greatest Generation.

Flowers and Assumptions

Flowers have always intrigued me. Everyone has seen thousands of photographs of hundreds of different types of flowers (the Cala Lily comes to mind as the most prevalent) in hundreds of different lighting setups.

One day I was sitting at home watching Dharma and Greg when I realized I was wasting my life away. I grabbed the D100 to experiment with some flower shots on my patio. It was an overcast day, so I grabbed the SB-28 flash, too. After several conventional (and boring) shots, I started to let my mind wander. And suddenly it hit me. Flowers are translucent, I wonder what a shot would look like if I aimed the flash at the camera and positioned it behind the flower?

Voila! This is what it looks like.




I must have shot a few hundred pics, as one is wont to do with digital. The batteries in the flash died, which I took as my cue to head inside and process. Here's another one.



I was pleased with a lot of the shots I took that day. Shots that I never would have taken on a film camera, just because of my preconceived notion that they wouldn't have turned out. It was a lesson to me in two things; don't let your assumptions get in the way of shooting the shot; and think outside the box. Originality is the main characteristic of creativity.

Some Solitude

One of my favorite places in the world is Death Valley. With all that geology going on there are still places you can go and find no one there. I spent 3 days camping up by the racetrack last spring, and saw one other person (for about 30 minutes) the entire time.

The racetrack is an interesting place. If you haven't heard about it, it's the place where rocks weighing hundreds of pounds tumble down from a cliff face and move, presumably of their own volition and desire, leaving tracks behind them. See my picture below:



Of course, with as much mystery as people discuss the racetrack, there doesn't seem to be much of a mystery to me. It's obvious (particularly once you're there) that when it rains, the water turns the lakebed into a slip and slide, and the winds through the valley are what move the rocks, blowing at 50 to 60 mph as they do. Hell, there's even rocks there that have a 'bow wake' in front of them, of dried mud.

Still, I don't want to take away all of the mystery of this wonderful place, so I will tell you a secret. At night, when you're camping under the stars, you can see the lights of spaceships twinkling in the distance. Probably over Area 51.

Up and running...

The first post of what will no doubt be many, I will try and update this every Monday and Thursday. Here, you will find images and opinions which reflect the state of our world and culture. As times change, so hopefully will my images and opinions.

For now, we'll start off our blog with a simple image done in a simple manner, with a simple camera; no batteries needed.



This, as many will recognize, was shot at Bodie State Park, the old mining town being kept in a state of 'arrested decay'. A wonderful place to spend some time.

For now, that'll do it.