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| Day 239 Eddy on Cimarron Creek |
This week included more time devoted to photography. Not just click and run. And while you sometimes capture great pictures that way a concentrated period of time with camera in hand is by far the best approach to learning something while taking pictures.
Opening a computer folder with 100 or more digital images and doing that three or four days in a roll gives you perspective but not necessarily that many more good photographs. A former friend that worked for National Geographic as a photographer told me in the days of film that if you get one good image out of 36 you are an excellent photographer. That was my goal for a long time. Digital through that yardstick out the window on one level but it also put the photographer back in the darkroom if you will.
When I took Photography 101 in college we had a darkroom for our black and white photography. We had complete control of our images. Then along came color and who could afford their own color darkroom. You had to have an intimate relationship with your film processor. Digital gave us a dry darkroom and control of our images again. But still I think if there are three photographs on an average out of 100 you want to spend time with in that dry darkroom you are doing good.
But there are bonanza weeks where your eye, the light, and the subjects available seem to be magic. But even when that is not the case you need to review the photos which did not work and come up with why they did not work. Yes, it is no longer a matter of wasting expensive film but it is part of becoming a better photographer.
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| Day 240 Coneflower and beetle |
The wet year has certainly given me ample time to learn to photograph sunflowers. And try to come up with unique approaches. I had announced to a photography friend I was out with that I was taking no more photographs of sunflowers. She saw me aiming at the one in the photo I said I was photographing the bug. But this also is not a sunflower but a yellow wild coneflower.
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| Day 241 Remains of hotel at old Stage Coach stop Dawson, New Mexico |
It is always nice to have new subjects to photograph but familiarity also makes for better photographs. Definitely want to revisit the stage coach stop and also Ojo Caliente and retake the same images but at a different time of day or from another angle.
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| Day 242 Latia fence at Ojo Caliente |
Adobe walls and vigas are familiar architectural elements, however. And because the were familiar I wanted to try a couple different treatments in that dry darkroom. I think I am more fond of the black and white.
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| Day 243 Shadows and light |
But the sepia with a more generous crop makes the building look older. It is a new building built in the old style.
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| Day 244 Sepia treatment |
But we stayed in the historic hotel where the aim was to keep the historic look but in the renovation and in the photographs. Upon return I want to spend more time with the details of the old hotel.
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| Day 245 Chair at the end of the hall |
