Photographs by Frank

21 December 2022

2022 Winter Solstice Print

Filed under: Alternative Processes,Cuprotype,Still Life,Winter Solstice Prints — Frank @ 11:00 PM

Those of you who have been following this blog for some time are probably familiar with my ‘Winter Solstice Print” tradition; if you are not I refer you to this post, where there are some details.

This year’s print (the tenth) is a cuprotype, titled “Two Pears”.

In late August, Joan picked the remaining pears from the tree in our yard because the local squirrels were decimating the crop. I had been experimenting with cuprotype since early August. Watching these pears on the kitchen counter for several weeks, I decided that a photograph of the pears was an apt subject for the warm tones of cuprotype and went to work. The exposure was made on 13 September 2022 in my basement studio.

This scan does not do justice to the originals which do not have the ‘grain’ seen here. However, I seem to have neglected to save a print for myself and thus can not make a better scan!!!

Sunny Winter Solstice

Filed under: Landscapes,Winter — Frank @ 10:15 PM

I had a meeting this afternoon at the Vermont Center for Photography. Leaving the house just before eleven, I took a very (and I mean very) indirect route* to Brattleboro. I did not make many photos but I did stop in Newbury, NH and photographed the snowy/rime-y peak of Mount Sunapee. I stopped in Chester, VT for a late lunch. After lunch, I made some photographs in the center of Chester before heading to Brattleboro. I was only a half hour late for my meeting!

One nice thing about photographing on the winter solstice is that the light comes in at a nice low angle… all day long. All of these photos were made between noon and 3 PM. Try that at the summer solstice and you are likely to make yucky photos.

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* Take a quick look at a map if you want to see just how indirect!

19 December 2022

Found Photo Fun

Filed under: Misc. — Tags: — Frank @ 9:30 PM

This afternoon, I was rummaging through some random photo stuff and I came to a 4×5 negative that I am certain I did not make. Thus, call it ‘found film’.

This discovery reminded me that I had several strips of 35 mm film sitting on the shelf in the garage. I vaguely remember finding this film in a paper safe* I purchased at a tag sale… More ‘found film’.

The 35 mm film is Kodak TMax 400, first produced in 1986 and still made today. One of the 35 mm frames (which was uninteresting and thus not shown here) contained a bit more of the ambulance shown in the second photo (below). This frame suggests that the photo was made in Providence, although one can only see “idence”.

I have no clue as to the age of the 4×5 negative or where it was made..

I washed most (some?) of the accumulated dust off the 35 mm film and scanned it all. I present the 4×5 image and about half of the 35 mm frames here for your entertainment!

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* A paper safe is a light-tight box for storing light-sensitive photographic paper.

10 December 2022

Searching for Mount Monadnock

Filed under: Landscapes,Monadnock Region,Winter — Tags: — Frank @ 11:00 PM

This afternoon, after lunch, I headed out to see if I could make another photograph of Mount Monadnock from Leadmine Road in Nelson. It was mostly cloudy but the skies were not solid gray. I was hopeful.

I spent about a half hour at this ‘usual’ spot and then decided to see if I could find other views of Mount Monadnock from down near Silver Lake. My search was for naught. Looking at a topo map when I got home, I now realize that the road along the lake shore that I explored was oriented poorly. However, a few minutes with the map provided me with a number of ideas for further expeditions the next time the weather cooperates.

On the way to Silver Lake, I make a brief stop to make photos at Childs Bog. I have passed this view of Mount Mondnock many time but had never stopped because there is no good place to pull of the road. Today, I risked a brief stop and made a few exposures with the camera obscura in the rapid fading light.

Ever the optomist, after my drive along the west side of Silver Lake, I headed to a favorite Monadnock view in Marlborough. However, I did not even bother to get out of the truck as the light was gone.

I turned around and headed home. As I passed by the Chesham train station, I found another tattered flag. I have been collecting photos of flags for a number of years… a long term project, that I have not fully ‘put together’ yet. This flag/barn is not new to me, I photographed it back in 2018. The flag was in perfect condition then.

Arrrgh…. $#&*!$## computers! I just previewed this post and discovered that something as broken in the mechanism for displaying programs. Sorry about that! I’ll try to figure out a fix at soon as I can.

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