Figueroa Mountain – Early Spring 4×5 Film

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Figueroa Mountain - Early Spring 4x5 Film

Received some negatives back yesterday from my last trip to the cabin on Figueroa Mountain. This whole process with film is so very different from digital and I find the anticipation to see the results on the negatives, nearly two weeks after first making the images, kind of fun. If you haven't seen my first post from this outing you can view it here.

I have included four photographs in this post, one was the same composition as a photo made with the GFX 50s, the other three are new compositions where I only used the 4x5 camera. There was one more composition that I made with both cameras but I rejected it as it just didn't work for me to convey the feeling of the moment, too busy in the foreground that discouraged further exploration into the image.

The first, that I previously named 'Launch' as the rock in the foreground is shaped like a ramp, was taken before sunset from up the road past the Davie Brown trailhead. This version is very different from the image made with the GFX. Part of the difference is the exposure. For the image above I metered for the sky and the horizon which was so extraordinary. The other difference is the dynamic range. The GFX has simply amazing range to fully render detail from the deep shadows to the highlights. That camera sees way more in a scene than the human eye which provides a much greater latitude to capture detail in the photograph. The image made with the 4x5 was shot on Fujifilm Provia 100 which has a limited dynamic range but renders the colors beautifully. I really like the feeling from this one, the soft colors and light in the foreground, the depth of the blacks in the shadows of the mountain's ridge line and most of all the depth of the colors captured in the sky. It conveys the feeling of serenity that I was feeling there.

The second image was a scene while we were hiking down in Davie Brown. The two branches just beyond the big fir tree caught my eye. Making this image became an exercise in using the camera to expand the focus of the scene. I personally like it as I feel I succeeded but there is a bit too much tangle in the background to isolate the branches the way they first caught my eye.

The last two were made from the same location but with different lenses, one with a 300mm (which on the 4x5 translates to about a 100mm on a full frame camera), the other with a 75mm wide-angle lens or 25mm. The clouds flowing over the ridges and valley below was exquisitely beautiful and I love the light falling on the clouds that I captured with the image using the longer lens. The wide-angle image invites a walk down the path into the depth of the scene which I am happy to take looking at this photo now that I have these back from the developer. At the time I was making these, I was getting messages on my phone every few minutes reminding me that dinner was being cooked and would be served early at Ben and Debbie's cabin. I was torn between wanting to join my friends and staying put to enjoy this scene unfold but I am glad to say that even though I was a little rushed with the photographs I am happy with the results and I made it back down in time to join everyone for a wonderful dinner!

To view larger res images click here.

Thank you for stopping by and as always I would love to hear your comments and encourage you to leave them below so that others can enjoy your contribution too. But if you are shy email works too.

Cheers

Jim