A few crappy pics here: Alpental 02/23/07

My birthday was actually earlier in the week but since I've been down with the frickin' flu for the last week or so, I decided to hold out for a long weekend. After a decidedly non-alpine start, I rolled into Alpental around 9:30AM. I was surprised by how good it looked. It must have snowed a bit more or maybe the wind cleaned things up but the lower mountain looked pretty good. It was fairly cold and the pow had stayed very light - people were getting face shots on turns coming down Sessel... Damn, if I'd have known, I'd have rousted out at the crack o' dawn!

Took a warmup run down Debbie's and felt awful - the leftovers from being sick were in full force; wheezing and hacking up phlegm-globs, legs burning with no power, ad infinitum. I almost rode back to the car and went home right then. But...

...I really wanted to get up to the Patrol shack and secure the coveted and mystically effective(works with no partner, avy gear or knowledge) key to the Alpental Backcountry - the famed Plaid Alpental BC Pass. So, I hacked up a nice one to clear my lungs and got back on Armstrong. Skated over to Chair 2, waited 1 chair and had a solo ride to the top. After interrupting the Patrol's tasting looking brunch, I received the key to the Kingdom from a slightly grumpy Patroller manning the stacks of unread yet signed waiver forms. Goal attained, I worked my way around the 4 year old skierette with the bunny ear helmet ripping the gut of Upper'Nash (Alpental is sooo flat) and made my way down to the car via Snake Dance. The BC was tempting but I was solo and rational thought won me over for once.

The snow was well tracked but the pow was very light, even the bumps were nice. Actually, I started aiming for the bumps because they were just big piles of fluff that exploded in white clouds when hit at speed. Skirted the edges of Snake Dance to find some clean(ish) lines and on to Sessel to get a few of those blue groomer face shots of my own. That's when I noticed that I wasn't coughing up green goo anymore and my head and even my legs felt OK. "Must be the high mountain air" thought I so I made a beeline for Armstrong and again up Chair 2. Dodging the Chair 2 exit ramp carnage, I did another down Snake Dance(ish) and back to base. Still feeling good, I decided to stay up high and did 4 more laps on Chair 2, Edleweiss, Schluct, Rollen and closed out with a run down the trees skiers left of the Fan, dunno what that's called, Breakover maybe? Whatever, it was good, well tracked but poofy pow all the way, face shots a plenty.

By this time, the fog had rolled in along with dumping snow, visibility went to schitt and my post-flu lack of fitness was starting to show. I hooked over to the traverse and down Sessel one last time on the way to the car.

It was a good way to celebrate my B'Day. Didn't get any pristine pow but it was mostly blower even where it was beat. It didn't even hurt with the inevitable schitt-eating event getting off Chair 2 (only once!).

In retrospect, Alpy suXor, everyone should go to Stevens Pass and not waste their time up at Snoqualmie...

Week two in a ski touring class I was silly enough to sign up for... Parked at Summit West about 7:30AM, hoofed it over the the Pac Crest Trail and skinned through Commonweath basin. Original plan was Mt Snoqualmie East Summit but ended up taking a shorter tour up toward Kendall Peak. After a couple hours of skinning, we took a break in the clearcut below the triple peak to eat and play with beacons. All beacons found and replaced, we headed up the steeper slopes toward the top of the ridge but my previously tweaked knee was bothering me from all the switchback kickturns(I suck at them) so I turned a couple hundred feet below and started putting my board together. A couple other guys went up a bit more but came down due to less than optimal conditions.

Skins off and splitboard now desplit, we bombed the heavy pow slope back down to the trees which was kind of fun(but not half a day of skinning fun). Tried to ride the traverse through forest and the iced over tree bombs which wasn't so fun. It was pretty ridiculous, only a last second grab at a tree kept me out of a creek at one point... Gave up and ended up booting the last half of the way out which wasn't fun either but was more efficient. Got back to West about 4:30PM.

Snow was 4" of heavy pow on top of consolidated mank. It was a little better up above 4,500 or so but it was still heavy. Dug a pit about half way. There was a soft layer about a foot down, probably facets underneath the old rain crust. Got a pretty clean shear on the first tap from the elbow, consistent results on a repeat test. Lots of point releases all over the place but nothing deep.

I forgot my digicam but did manage to have a little fun with my Holga:

Kendall Ridge

Learned a few things:
1) Long ski tours are not my thing. Too much up, not enough down
2) Riding a splitboard in AT boots and plate bindings is fantastic for the skin up
3) Riding a splitboard in AT boots and plates sucks for the ride down
4) Splitboards are cool, rock in pow, and good at going straight up due to the wide skins but skis are probably better for anything else. Good thing I only want to surf the pow.

A small set from late Fall - just before the snow cames and I completely forgot about photography until the Spring.

Basic gallery here: Dark Forest 2

Small set from my trip to the California desert last Winter. Basic gallery here: des(s)ert 2

A new set from recent experiments with Fuji Astia color transparency film. About half of the photos were taken with my new (to me) Ebony Wide 45 view camera and a Nikkor 135/5.6 lens. The remainder were done with my Mamya RZ67 and a 65/4.0. Once I got used to looking at upside down compositions, I found the utility of the ground glass very significant. I think it will suit my shooting style quite well.

The basic goal was to shoot the same sort of 'IT' shots that I've been working on for some time now but translating them into color. I used similar exposure settings to retain a darker sort of look but tried to keep the color values relatively high lest I lose the point of dealing with the expensive and finicky transparency film.

MISC.COLOR.02

Here a small set edited from the mountain of family snapshots taken during the Obon holiday:

http://www.crowmountain.net/Urban/Obon_2005/index.html

This one is from the shoronagashi for my maternal grandmother-in-law who I owe a deep debt of gratitude. My son was pretty tired after pushing the spirit boat for an hour or so.

Tech Blabal - Mamiya 7 w/65mm, Fomapan 400 pushed to 1600 in XTol.

During my stay in Japan this Summer, I was preoccupied with a different photography project so I had very little time to shoot my normal "IT" photos. Still, usually while doing other stuff, I managed to scrape together enough of the urban microscapes that are my normal area of photographic interest to put together a set of three short ITs.

Link to full set: Intersectionary Tales: #3 (Japan)

...a set of nostalgic B&W landscapes: Dark Forest: #1

I started these in late Spring as a way to work on a specific look: pin
down film stock, exposure, development, etc. I ended up liking the
first few more than anticipated so I kept on throughout the Summer and
early Fall.

At the risk of leading the viewer, I consider the primary fault in these
as a failure to convey the slightly creepy feeling of dusk in the
temperate rainforest when you know you better haul ass to keep from
stumbling around in the dark and getting lost. They ended up being too
pretty. Probably because me and the kids were having too much fun at
the time chucking rocks in the river and looking for bugs...

Tech blabal - film favorite was Fomapan 100 in Rodinal 1:50 but a couple
of these were done on Tri-X in Xtol 1:2. They were shot with a Mamiya 7
& Rollei SL66 and scanned on an Imacon 343.

...is the first shot I've posted from my extended trip to Japan this Summer.

This is from the cemetary at Hon-kyou-ji Temple in Omura City just outside Nagasaki. We were visiting my wife's family burial plot as part of the Obon holiday. More about that in future entries but in short, Obon is when the spirits of the ancestors come home for 3 days every August. It's especially important if a family member has passed away in the current year since their spirit hasn't really left yet and must be helped along the start of their journey.

Both of my wife's grandmothers died this year so this year's Obon and Shoro-nagashi (procession of the spirits) was a big deal for both sides of her family. More as I continue to wade through a mountain of unprocessed film...

...but I still don't have quite enough to post a full gallery yet. Maybe later this summer.

Here's a bigger version.

Tech:
Mamiya 7
65/f3.5 @f11
Fomapan 100 in Rodinal 1:50
Very long exposure, about 4 sec but still intentionally underexposed and overdeveloped

Administrators and posters associated with a photography website I often visit recently spent quite a lot of time defining how to classify and group Nature Photographs based on content. In this case, a classification based on the subjective amount of 'hand of man' that was included in the photograph. For example, if there is no visible human content, the photo goes in one gallery, if there's a small amount, it goes in another. If the human content is significant, it's to be posted in a completely different gallery on a completely different(but affiliated website)... In my opinion, this exercise was unnecessary and more than a little stupid. Still, it did cause me to wonder "whatinhell is a Nature Photograph anyway?".

Well, I guess there's an easy answer - a Nature Photograph is a photograph of Nature! Oh, wait a sec... "whatinhell is Nature anyway?". When in doubt, pull up Dictionary.com:
*******************************************************************************************************************************************
na·ture Pronunciation Key (nchr) n.
1. The material world and its phenomena.
2. The forces and processes that produce and control all the phenomena of the material world: the laws of nature.
3. The world of living things and the outdoors: the beauties of nature.
4. A primitive state of existence, untouched and uninfluenced by civilization or artificiality: couldn't tolerate city life anymore and went back to nature.
5. Theology. Humankind's natural state as distinguished from the state of grace.
6. A kind or sort: confidences of a personal nature.
7. The essential characteristics and qualities of a person or thing: “She was only strong and sweet and in her nature when she was really deep in trouble” (Gertrude Stein).
8. The fundamental character or disposition of a person; temperament: “Strange natures made a brotherhood of ill” (Percy Bysshe Shelley).
9. The natural or real aspect of a person, place, or thing. See Synonyms at disposition.
10. The processes and functions of the body.
[Middle English, essential properties of a thing, from Old French, from Latin ntra, from ntus, past participle of nsc, to be born. See gen- in Indo-European Roots.]
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
*******************************************************************************************************************************************

Hmmm...

While my photographs do often resemble certain noxious 'processes and functions of the body' as noted in #10, it seems most Nature Photographers are very concerned with #4, often focusing on it completely and exclusively. I wonder why? Capturing #7 seems so much more compelling (and difficult) and is what I've been attempting, albeit with little success, all along.

Hot Damn! I guess I AM a Nature Photographer working to make Nature Photographs even though I spend 90% of my Nature Photography time in downtown Seattle... Soto Voce - I must admit, it was a rigged game. I was going to use definition #1 if all else failed.

Please see one of my failed attempts at making a Nature Photograph above. While it obviously captures some of Nature definition #3 and some people will certainly classify it as belonging to #10, ie a pile of shite, I don't think it works for #4 so wouldn't be classified as a Nature Photograph on the website in question. Much, much worse to my eye, it does not fulfill my own definition of a Nature Photograph as it does not capture the essential character or quality of the asshole who visited this pristine site before me and left this plastic chair and garbage bag full of beer cans that stank up the back of my car on the way home.

Hold the presses! This spot required a 45 minute drive and a short hike. So it must be 'Travel Photography'. Problem Solved!

***Post-script - Since I first uploaded this entry earlier this evening, I've been trying to think of some really good Nature Photographers. The first that came to mind was Helmut Newton. That's one guy who could capture some really kickin' #7 Nature in his photos although he was prone to a different sort of #10, too...

...took my camera along.

Tech:
Mamiya 7
65/f4
Kodak UC100

...took my camera along.

Tech:
Mamiya 7
65/f4
Tri-X / Xtol 1:3

...is a new series of color studies, less formal(read organized) than my main "IT" project. Color is hard.

Here's a link to the new set: misc.crap.color - #1

...is the name I've given one of the projects I've been working on. The second bi-monthly gallery has been posted in the permanent links section. I'll probably do another hard edit down to a dozen or so for the year in early 2006. Any and all comments appreciated.

The Galleries section is in a bit of flux at the moment so here's a direct link to the new set: Intersectionary Tales: Mar-Apr

I've been feeding this dog scraps for about 3 years. He looks more and more angry every time I see him. Probably from being caged for so long.

...is what I must be since I'm experimenting with color again. I do this periodically and it usually sucks and then I remember why I normally stick to B&W...

...out in the backyard when no one was looking. Don't tell!

...a little closer to home, geographically, than my normal subject matter. From my first roll of Efke R25 a traditional high-silver content film from Croatia. Very sloooooow, very beautiful, scans brilliantly. After checking the first negs, I immediately ordered another 50 rolls.

I've decided to post my odd's & ends or 'coin pittoresque' (to use Atget's term) galleries on a bimonthly basis - so, the next should be up the end of this month. Other directions for the year will be a detailed look over time at several parks in Seattle.

Tech blabal: Rollei SL66, 80/f2.8 Planar, Rodinal 1:50

...and finding myself in the Union Square courtyard. A peaceful scene in appearance, there were actually 30 college architecture students milling around. As soon as I would frame, stand up and grab the cable release (wait level finder) one of them would pop into the frame. Then there was the kid who kept photographing _me_ with his digi P&S, Uhhgg. He probably couldn't figure out what the humongous contraption on the tripod was used for...

Still second guessing myself on the Rollei SL66 used for this shot. Still lusting after the 43mm lens on the Mamiya 7.

...on a couple new sets but here's a quick Holga shot. I almost always carry one of these with me and grab a few quick shots. Often they are better than the ones I agonized over with more conventional gear...

...is probably obvious so I won't belabor the point. Working on a couple urban sets with the new Rollei SL66. I like the results so far but it's tough getting used to the weight and using a tripod. Jury is still out whether the benefits are worth the effort given the performance of the Mamiya 6. Damn thing is sweet though in the classic Benz sort of way.

...where it rained buckets and flooded the whole time. Between the rain, kids, wife, mother and golf there wasn't much time for my Mamiya but I managed to push the shutter button a few times when I was supposed to be in the bathroom.

Here's the full set - Desert, February 2005

...posted from an edit of shots taken in January and early February. Here's the full set: Urban - 02.13.05

Still looking at urban micro-landscapes, especially those where there is a tree or a bush to disguise what we've done to the environment.

...with the damn 5-Block PAW Project. This is the last entry, week 52. I shot 106 rolls of Fuji Neopan 400 so 1,272 frames over the course of the year. I learned a lot, especially about camera handling and reading light on the fly without using the meter. There are roughly a ten or so photos from the whole project that I really like so an almost 1 in 100 hit rate.

Time to get started on 2005's project(s)...

...a silly color composition that I was not equipped to photograph. So, same as always, I shot it with Neopan anyway.

...I forget who. One of the Spanish explorers. I've been (unsuccessfully)trying to photograph this damn statue on the Seattle waterfront off and on for a year.

...was said by Mike Ness during the between-song banter of Social Distortion's "Live at the Roxy" recording. That's kind of how I feel about what happens when I try to take 'pretty pictures'. They never seem to quite work out. This photo was shot as part of the 5-Block PAW Project closing edit for the Fall. Looks to be a woulda/coulda/shoulda as I don't think it quite conveys the intended duality. Recently shot the exact same composition with color film through my Holga, should be interesting, or of course, total crap...

...stuck all over that wall. This was taken in the alley below Pike Place Market as a potential for my 5-Block PAW Project. I normally shoot for this project on my lunch hour but I drove downtown on Fri, Dec 31st to close out the year's shooting. Looks like I came in at about 105 rolls of 120 film for the year-long project. Honestly, I'm glad the shooting is over but I've still got about 10 rolls yet to develop and scan before i can finish the Fall edit and complete the project

First entry to the new CrowMountain photoblog. It's still very much a work in progress but I felt it was important to at least get the basic shell up on New Years Day. The photograph was taken on a recent snowboarding trip to Mt Baker. The weather was very nice but the snow conditions were pretty awful, thin coverage, rocks, etc, etc. Even so, I'm not picky and we had a ton of fun doing laps on Chair 8 and Chair 5.