“Noodle Delirium” was an “ephermeral installation” that was created by the “Collectif ARG – Les Astronautes” and included in the “Unusual Passages” show in Quebec City the summer of 2014. It transformed a discreet anonymous passage into something special that people loved to walk through brushing against the noodles with their hands.
Original slide on Provia 400X taken with a tripod-mounted Heidoscop at 1/8 second at f25 on August 14, 2014.
I tried several classically centred shots of the fountain, as with the photo on the right, but I was not satisfied. I then decided to emphasize the overlapping jets of water coming from the frogs’ mouths, which I hoped might be more interesting in stereo than the fountain itself. I waited some time to view the scene with tourists in the background and without, and decided to take the shot with tourists to give more “as it is” context. The Tourney Fountain was a gift of the Simons Family to commemorate Quebec City’s 400th anniversary in 2008, and has become a popular landmark in front of the parliament. The fountain is the creation of French sculptor Mathurin Moreau and was originally installed in Bordeaux, France in 1857.
Original slide on Provia 400X taken with tripod-mounted Heidoscop at 1/80 second at f25 on August 12, 2014.
I enjoy playing with back-lighting, which in this case lit up the drops of early morning dew on the grass. The uncoated lenses on the Heidoscop require careful shading to avoid flare in back-lit situations. I hope this image captures the calm I enjoy in the Parc du Bois-de-Coulonge in Quebec City.
Original slide on Provia 400X taken with a tripod-mounted Heidoscop at 1/15 sec. at F25 on August 9, 2014.
The dew on these moon vines at sunrise seemed to give them a silvery sheen. These vines are located at one of my favorite parks in Quebec City, Parc du Bois-de-Coulonge, which housed of the residence of lieutenant-governors from 1870-1966.
Original slide on Provia 400X taken with a tripod-mounted Heidoscop at 1/6 Sec. at F25 on August 9, 2014.
Fiery Depths
Looking down into the pits of hell, are those the screams of your political opponents you hear? Maybe it’s only last night’s burritos talking.
Regardless, I don’t want to be pitched over the edge.
TL120-55, Ilford HP5, DR5 processing (Yes, I typo’d the title on the mount, but given the scarcity of mounts I didn’t feel the need to remount in a clean one.)
Against The Light
Looking over my earlier efforts at winter landscapes, I decided that my lighting decisions were too conservative and would never capture the feel of a winter snowscape. In February of 2014, I tried to change that by using more aggressive sun angles and shooting into the light. I didn’t want to go full contre jour because so much of what I find engaging are the textures of the surfaces, and MF3D is superb at capturing textures.
Here, I tried to position the camera so both lenses were shaded by the distant trunk, and positioned a flash on the left. I then waited while the earth turned, and tripped the shutter as the shadow-line reached the camera.
The result is the the best representation I’ve been able to make of a Juneau winter day. The sky isn’t blown out, but is a featureless sea with a floating sun. The trees are more than silhouettes and able to contribute to the story.
Standing Proud
This image has been a while in the making. After reviewing my attempts at winter landscapes, I went out to try to do some things differently. I loaded a pack, took the first sunny day off work, and headed out to Cowee Creek where I knew I’d have moderate snow, free-standing trees, and a dramatic backdrop lit by the low afternoon sun. The film was exposed in February of 2014, processed by DR5 in May, and mounted in February of 2015.
To try to force the back of foreground tree trunk out of the shadows, I used a couple of Vivitar 285 flashes. One weak one firing forward (and slightly right) from just below the camera, and a stronger one coming from the far left.
While I think my concepts were correct, I fell short in the execution. This was the last roll of the day. It is a tested characteristic of my camera that the shutter timings start to drift at low voltages. By the time this roll was exposed, the batteries in the TL120 were failing in the cold and the right side was under exposed.
Foliage at Cowee Creek
While this film was exposed in February of 2014, I only mounted this image recently and Boris’s foliage efforts prompted me to include it in the folio. While it lacks the diversity of color most people associate with “foliage”, I hoped the medium would be able to convey the textures and details I found that day.
I have been generally dissatisfied with the winter landscapes I’ve made, so tried to do this session differently. Rather than try to frame with the sun behind or safely off the lens, I shot into the sun or let it come aggressively in from the side. This is a “from the side” shot with at least one Vivitar 285 providing fill against the natural light. I didn’t make a lighting sketch, but I suspect there was one above the camera and a stronger one firing from the right.