Luminous Landscape Forum
The Art of Photography => User Critiques => Topic started by: chuckn on December 01, 2016, 03:38:15 pm
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This is a series of photos that I did of the rest stop on I80 just outside Wendover, NV. Comments....
Chuck
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What a cool location! Numero Uno does it for me in particular. Spatially it just sits "right."
-Dave-
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I agree great shots. Number two doesn't reach the same heights as one and three for me. I think it's very interesting to note the small details you leave in, like the street lamp on number 1.
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They're all great. I love the B & W treatment you achieve in your photos.
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Film isn't it?
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Been many years since I was in Wendover. Thanks for the photo induced memories. Do you ever get over to Knolls, UT?
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Film isn't it?
Yes but that's still one of several processes which results in a b&w image.
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I think the entire set is interesting, and what a non-American would see as part of an Americana whole. From this distance, there just seems to be so much of the near past still hangin' around... catch it while you can.
For years I'd thought of capturing the Mallorcan near-past, but by the time I got seriously back into snapping, most of it had already gone under fresh concrete. Time waits for no man.
Rob
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They're all great. I love the B & W treatment you achieve in your photos.
Yes. The first is a beaut, and as graeme said, your processing is sublime. The toning reminds me of kodak medalist paper, which was a favorite of mine back when.
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That's right, Rob, and I thank Heaven that I got to Colorado in the middle sixties, while there still were traces of the American West's adolescence. I was able to photograph a lot of it before it vanished forever. A lot of that stuff is at http://www.russ-lewis.com/photo_gallery/Ruins/index.html, and a bunch of it is used to illustrate http://www.russ-lewis.com/Voices/intro.html. Most situations aren't as transient as the American West was, but you still have to get what you want before it vanishes. As I said at the end of the introduction to "Voices on the Prairie":
". . .enough traces of that first automobile revolution are left to show you something of what it was like if you're willing to leave the superhighway and look. You'd better do it soon though because the buildings and paraphernalia of that time weren't designed to last. They were made by transients for a transient trade, and they're nearly as transient as their proprietors and their customers. Look quickly because in the time it takes to blink your eyes the final remnants of the West's adolescence are going to disappear, forever."
And now they have.
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The first and third images are strong. Coming from Nebraska, I've seen a lot of architectural remnants, vestiges, along the old two-lane highways. I think Russ's work from the 1960s and his insights re "transience" are sharp.
I typically don't care about whether an image is digital or analog. But in this case, I think shooting film adds to the poignancy. To this day, my favorite black and white film is Kodak Verichrome Pan. The first roll of film that I purchased with my allowance money was 127 Verichrome Pan. I rediscovered it when I began shooting with a Rolleiflex in the late 1980s.
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Thanks for the comments everyone.
Russ is right, these places are vanishing at a rapid rate and we need to take the time to visit them while we still can. NV and UT still have much to offer, if you are willing to leave the main highways.
Chuck
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I'd just add my vote for #1. The whole set is very nice, really.
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A fine series, Chuck. Especially #1 and #3.
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I think I like #3 as much as #1...and #2 is pretty okay, too. I've stopped there many a time on the way to the salt flats and never once gave thought to shooting it...shame on me.
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Lovely series.