Medium Format Film

A shrewd garage sale expert scored a gently-used Mamiya 645 medium format camera for me.  I shot the film that was loaded in the camera but didn't know what that film was until I removed the roll.  Turns out it was black and white 100 speed film.  I purchased developing chemicals, a tank and drying clips and read the instructions on the 'net.  I had trouble feeding the roll onto the reel in the dark.  Once that was resolved, I expected the pictures to be destroyed since I handled the negative so much.

Here are a couple of the first shots:

Gracie on the driveway.  Uploaded 3mb jpeg but blogger reduces to 179kb jpeg.

Pond reflection regular 1500 pixel long side jpeg.

Herb garden.  The dog shot was metered in my head; the other two metered through my digital camera's internal meter or a spot meter that came with the camera. 

More shots to follow in the coming weeks.

Yosemite National Park #8

jp1ckle and I headed out to Yosemite (eighth National Park for me in the last three weeks) to see if we could find Rita.  It was Saturday and the park was a madhouse.  We parked on a side street in the valley and hiked to the lower falls, around to the Ahwahnee Hotel, back to the meadow and then returned to the car to drive up to Glacier Point.  Cell phones were only good for emergency calls, so we couldn't get ahold of the rest of our party.  Enjoy the pics.

jp1ckle by the lower falls.  She shot pictures all day long and snapped a few keepers.

The few clouds we saw that day.

jp1ckle assignment from me.  She has a knack for photography!

Ranger on duty at the Point.

A little more water this time compared to my visit last August.

Oh, and we saw a bear, of course!

He posed for a long time before the tourists got too close.

Crater Lake

I broke away from the caravan and stopped by Crater Lake on my way home.  Luckily the north entrance was open as the park service cleared the previous night's snow from the road.

Fresh snow piled up and clear skies.

Stellar Jay watching the tourists.

The one time I stopped from Crater Lake to CA.

My new art--movement and reflection.  Why stop or even slow down!

Oregon Coast

Here are some shots taken while stopping along the coast.  Click for larger image.

Covered Bridge near Lincoln City, OR.

Under the bridge.

Three taken while waiting for other photographers to finish shooting.

Halibut Fish Tacos.

 Swimming toward the open sea.

My National Parks pass got me into this park as well.  Add $7 to the total.

When a new one landed several others were pushed off the sides.

Palouse Two

After stalling out in Colfax, WA, the trip advanced toward Walla Walla.  Green Palouse is interesting and the wheel fence calls when you are in the area--Uniontown, WA.

Green fields and intersting clouds.

A little closer.

South of Pullman, WA.

Great weather for this morning.

A lot closer to the wheels.

Close to the 82 and 84 junction.

Palouse Day One

We left Missoula late on Tuesday and made it to the Steptoe Butte in Washington that evening.  Clouds were breaking up and there were six other photographers waiting for the sunset.  Several hang gliders (fliers) were sailing in the breeze to keep us entertained while we waited.

Photographers stuck on the roadside in water, gravel, dirt and weeds.  We were lucky someone stopped who was brave enough to pull us out.

I drove through this intersection last year while driving home.

Clouds broke up throughout the day to allow us to stop and shoot.

Periods of sun allowed for great views from the top of the Steptoe Butte.  3500 feet above the fields of the Palouse area of Eastern Washington.

A crop duster was working the whole time.

Toward the west.  The best shots were to the south when the sun poked out.

Patterns, ridges and shadows.

Tractor marks from managing the fields.

They drifted back and forth at the top of the Butte and then finally flew down the hill to the landing area.

Bannack Ghost Town

Rita and I drove four hours from Missoula to Bannack State Park. The site is a gold discovery settlement from 1862.  The town lived and died with advancements of gold mining over the years.  It was abandoned in the 1950's.  Click pictures for larger views.

Stopping to catch the sights along Hiway 278.

View of the town from the cemetary hill.

Residence door.

Classroom with inkwell holes in the desks.

Sturdy brick hotel.

Inner doors of the hotel's safe.

Hotel staircase from the lobby to the rooms.

Brands burned into the inside timbers in one of the buildings.

Part of a wagon left out in the field.