Practicing watercolor, and here we are – once more addicted! My new routine is artwork in any form, and then some sewing or other fiber arts. Gardening soon now that it isn’t raining. Life in quarantine hasn’t changed our lives much here – no kids to home school – but it has helped to focus on what is important in our lives besides food!
9×12 Arches watercolor, done mostly with a angle brush and rigger. Some gouache used.
For the next week, my schedule is a bit different. I have to be in to work 30 minutes earlier than normal, so I did this quick sketch in my Stillman & Birn softcover book. The ink is iron gall. I tried to keep the lines minimal, enough to capture important elements of the landscape, but not so much that they become dominant or what will (eventually) hold the image together. Hopefully I will be able to work on shadows and light, working to good contrast. I seem to need lines – I am comfortable with them – that are clearly visible. Interesting to find out how we all work, eh?
The last few days of July 2017 and the first few weeks of August 2017 were devoted to a family trip, leaving California and thence traveling through Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and home. In that time period we covered about 4000 miles, spending 2-3 days in each place. There were four of us – my husband’s parents, my husband, and myself. It was a family trip, to see places never before seen, as well as to see places where family ancestors lived and worked – specifically, Ft. Laramie, Wyoming.
On this trip, there were two photographers – my FIL and myself. Tom has a Nikon D810 and D610; he brought the D610 along and shot numerous images, which I hope to see soon! Myself, I brought along more toys than I should confess to, but enjoyed using all of them. In particular, I brought along a new-to-me Olympus OM-1n, an OM 50mm f1.8 MC, and the OM 35-70mm f3.5-4.5. Each has a 49mm diameter, so I also brought along UV, polarizing, orange and red filters, and used the latter two to see how JCH StreetPan 400 would work as landscape film.
It was gorgeous! Combined with the Oly, I was incredibly pleased. StreetPan comes in both 35mm and 120mm, so a lot of people will be really happy.
What I like about the StreetPan is that it is contrasty, yet has a good, long grey scale. The orange and red filters helped to make the skies pop, and the landscape. I didn’t have to do too much in post, perhaps modifying highlights and blacks to meet my own (artistic?) desires. Detail was good, too.
The image at the top is a panorama I stitched together in CS6; below are individual images which can give you a good idea about the beauty of this film for landscape. These scenes were shot in the Mesa Verde National Park and the Grand Canyon National Park, both in Arizona.
Too often, black and white landscapes don’t interest me, and the reason is the difficulty in differentiating small details. Dramatic landscapes don’t have to look dramatic, but they need something to make them dramatic. This can mean contrast, composition, and a number of other elements. In all honesty, I do not consider myself to be a good black-and-white photographer simply because I find it difficult to think in terms of value. I see color before I see anything else, and certainly my gaudy photos show this tendency. Therefore, using the filters and an already contrasty film produced a number of photos that pleased me no end. This experience is whetting my appetite for more!
Ink, Yarn & Beer 