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Archive 2015 · Film from the Great Smoky Mountains

Alan Brock
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Film from the Great Smoky Mountains

So this has been an interesting year for me photographically. I've taken six total images...the 4 you see below plus 2 more. Of the two others, one is just a different composition of Spruce Flats Falls (Image 1 below) and the other one isn't actually that sharp (or that good TBH). The reason for the lack of activity? About two months ago my wife and I had twin boys; if you're scoring at home that's three kids age three and under! I guess we just decided life was getting too easy, and we needed a challenge. Anyway, it is now infinitely harder to get out and shoot! Someone PLEASE tell me it will eventually get easier!

I have had time to sneak out occasionally for some half-day hikes to the Smokies. Below represents my entire year's work, all shot on 4x5 film. C&C, as always, are very much appreciated.

Image 1: Spruce Flats Falls. Ilford Delta 100, f/32, 4 seconds.

Image 2: Somewhere along Lynn Camp Prong. Kodak Ektar 100, f/32, 5 minutes, polarizer, 2-stop soft GND. Posted a digital snap of this a few weeks back. The film snob in me demanded that I post the real one.

Image 3: Indian Flats Falls. Ilford HP5+ (shot at ISO 800), f/25, 1/4s. I'm not really one to shoot close up scenes, but the light kind of dictated it this day.

Image 4: Indian Flats Falls. Fuji Velvia 50, f/22, unknown exposure. This is a scene taylor made for Velvia, but I have no idea how this image came out. I metered for 3 seconds, a really annoying time for large format. I set my lens to Timer (meaning I have to click twice to open and then close the shutter). I clicked to open, waited 3 seconds, and then clicked to close. However, after thinking about it for a few seconds, I realized the second click didn't feel right. I put my ear next to the lens, clicked again, and sure enough that's when it closed. I estimated that the shot should be about 2-3 stops overexposed. I developed it just to see what happens to Velvia exposed that badly. I was shocked to see a perfect exposure. Clearly I messed up somewhere calculating exposure and setting up my camera. Accidents NEVER work out that way!

For those interested, here is video from my hike: https://youtu.be/d5hunDzUrmg

Oct 23, 2015 at 01:13 PM

killersnowman
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Film from the Great Smoky Mountains

Dang 1 and 2 are killer. The last 2 are great intimate studies that compliment the first 2 very nicely

Oct 23, 2015 at 01:34 PM

Rohanban
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Film from the Great Smoky Mountains

I love #3. Very nice. #1 is also superb. except the branch on the left hand side that is in the way of the waterfall

Oct 23, 2015 at 03:27 PM

Jeffrey
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Film from the Great Smoky Mountains

Fabulous set of images all around. That's what LF is for, and you're using it well. I need to get mine out more.

Oct 23, 2015 at 05:25 PM

ceblaum
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Film from the Great Smoky Mountains

Wow. If you're gonna take 6 pictures all year, you certainly make them count. #2 especially is fantastic.

Oct 23, 2015 at 10:36 PM

ceblaum
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Film from the Great Smoky Mountains

Wow. If you're gonna take 6 pictures all year, you certainly make them count. #2 especially is fantastic.

Oct 23, 2015 at 10:37 PM

plsand
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Film from the Great Smoky Mountains

Hi -
The (all) pictures are very nice - No- Great -
I am wondering about (Posted a digital snap of this a few weeks back. The film snob in me demanded that I post the real one.) - ? what is the real one that you can post -
And - say a hi to the kids -
Paul

Oct 24, 2015 at 06:54 AM

kellyakinsart
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Film from the Great Smoky Mountains

Nice series.
Now you know why so many of us on this forum are in our 50s and 60s

Kelly

Oct 24, 2015 at 12:36 PM

dswiger
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Film from the Great Smoky Mountains

Alan,
A great set, especially the 1st two. I was waiting for the real one after you posted the teaser!
Great luck on the Velvia over-exposed shot. I've not been so lucky when under exp.
I think you've made the most of your few outings

Re: the kids. Yes some things will get easier, no more diapers & they can feed themselves.
BUT, they will develop personalities & a strong will.

Keep spending quality time with them & it will pay off. Might even teach the the film arts!

Shooting film in Kauai just now. Will PM you when it comes back

As always, thanks for posting

Dan

Oct 24, 2015 at 04:14 PM

Ben Horne
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Film from the Great Smoky Mountains

Beautiful work Alan! Though you haven't been able to shoot as much as you would like, the good news is that your keeper rate is incredibly high! I really like the beautiful tones and the composition of the first photo. There's something about B&W that seems to capture the true feeling of a location.

The second is a beautiful use of color to show that wonderful color in the background, the wonderful greens in the midground, and the splash of yellow leaves in the foreground. If this was mine, I would try to selectively reduce the magenta in the brightest white water parts of the stream. I get that with Ektar as well, but it's certainly better than the strong blues that velvia will show in those same areas.

The third photo has an almost cinematic feel to it -- and I'm not sure what that's the case since it's a B&W. I wouldn't mind a bit of a longer exposure for this one to reduce the texture on the water a bit.

The 4th one sure was a happy accident wasn't it? That's pretty crazy that you ended up with a perfect exposure when two mistakes counteracted eachother. I think this is the sort of shot that would be absolutely a treat to view on a light table with a loupe. I bet it would look absolutely real, and that's something that's missing from the whole digital experience. Did you calculate bellows over extension factor on this one? If not, that might be your answer -- it could easily require 2 stops of compensation.

Oct 24, 2015 at 09:48 PM

Alan Brock
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Film from the Great Smoky Mountains

Thanks for the kind words everyone; it's very much appreciated!

Rohanban wrote:
I love #3. Very nice. #1 is also superb. except the branch on the left hand side that is in the way of the waterfall

I know, right?!

I've wanted to cut that thing down for years! Crazy nature not respecting my composition.
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plsand wrote:
Hi -
The (all) pictures are very nice - No- Great -
I am wondering about (Posted a digital snap of this a few weeks back. The film snob in me demanded that I post the real one.) - ? what is the real one that you can post -
And - say a hi to the kids -
Paul

I was just having a little fun here Paul.

A few weeks ago I posted almost the exact same picture, but I took it with my 5DIII which I use for video. I posted it here to give people an idea of what color was doing in the Smoky Mountains. However, since I'm primarily a film photographer, I only consider my film shots to be my "real" images...definitely a film snob attitude for me to have. It's all in good fun though!
---------------------------------------------

kellyakinsart wrote:
Nice series.
Now you know why so many of us on this forum are in our 50s and 60s

Kelly

So THAT'S the reason why...now I know! In that case, I'll see you guys again in about 25 years...

---------------------------------------------

dswiger wrote:
Alan,
A great set, especially the 1st two. I was waiting for the real one after you posted the teaser!
Great luck on the Velvia over-exposed shot. I've not been so lucky when under exp.
I think you've made the most of your few outings

Re: the kids. Yes some things will get easier, no more diapers & they can feed themselves.
BUT, they will develop personalities & a strong will.

Keep spending quality time with them & it will pay off. Might even teach the the film arts!

Shooting film in Kauai just now. Will PM you when it comes back

As always, thanks for posting

Dan

Always great to hear your advice Dan, even if I don't want to think about those strong personalities! I do enjoy my daughter being at an age now where I can start to do outdoor activities with her; we even went on our first tent camping trip a few months back! I look forward to seeing your work from Kauai.

Oct 25, 2015 at 09:28 PM

Alan Brock
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Film from the Great Smoky Mountains

Ben Horne wrote:
Beautiful work Alan! Though you haven't been able to shoot as much as you would like, the good news is that your keeper rate is incredibly high! I really like the beautiful tones and the composition of the first photo. There's something about B&W that seems to capture the true feeling of a location.

The second is a beautiful use of color to show that wonderful color in the background, the wonderful greens in the midground, and the splash of yellow leaves in the foreground. If this was mine, I would try to selectively reduce the magenta in the brightest...Show more →

Thanks Ben, and thanks for the heads up regarding the magenta tones in the white water. I'll be sure to clean that up.

As far as the third image goes, that was actually a bit of an experiment to see what HP5+ did when pushed. I also wanted to see what water looked like when I used a much shorter exposure time than what I'm used to. I've got plans for that combination in about a week!

I think I can get pleasing water texture using up to a 2ish second exposure. It's interesting, I don't mind the complete loss of texture that we so often get with our exposures shooting color film. However, I've found that I really don't care for that look at all in B&W. Too much blank space I guess. I found the 1/4s exposure to be interesting; almost like little filaments of water. However, I agree...a bit longer would have been better here.

#4 had to be bellows. Once I knew I messed it the shutter, I double checked everything else hoping for a mistake, but it was all "right." My camera bed has measurements up to 180mm, and I estimated that this shot was extended to maybe around 210mm. Using my 180mm lens, I kind of assumed the correction wouldn't be much, but clearly I was wrong. And thank goodness for it!

This one is a real pleasure on the light table.

Oct 25, 2015 at 09:42 PM

Ben Horne
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Film from the Great Smoky Mountains

Alan Brock wrote:
Thanks Ben, and thanks for the heads up regarding the magenta tones in the white water. I'll be sure to clean that up.

As far as the third image goes, that was actually a bit of an experiment to see what HP5+ did when pushed. I also wanted to see what water looked like when I used a much shorter exposure time than what I'm used to. I've got plans for that combination in about a week!

I think I can get pleasing water texture using up to a 2ish second exposure. It's interesting, I don't mind the...Show more →

I just did the math, and that would only account for 1/2 stop of compensation. hmmm...

Oct 26, 2015 at 08:37 AM

Ed Sawyer
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Film from the Great Smoky Mountains

Brilliant stuff, great to see another 4x5 user here. Well seen stuff, esp. that 5-minute Ektar exposure. Love the wide angle on #1 too (65mm maybe?)

Oct 26, 2015 at 09:01 AM

Alan Brock
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Film from the Great Smoky Mountains

Ben Horne wrote:
]I just did the math, and that would only account for 1/2 stop of compensation. hmmm...

One thing I forgot to mention was that I used the incident meter for this scene, which I rarely do. It was under pretty even light so I don't think that could have had much of an effect. I'm really at a loss. I cannot emphasize how shocked I was that this actually turned out!
---------------------------------------------

Ed Sawyer wrote:
Brilliant stuff, great to see another 4x5 user here. Well seen stuff, esp. that 5-minute Ektar exposure. Love the wide angle on #1 too (65mm maybe?)

Thanks! The first one was actually taken with my 90mm lens, so not too wide. I agree though, it does have a wider feel to it for some reason.

Oct 26, 2015 at 10:01 AM

andyjaggy82
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Film from the Great Smoky Mountains

Ha. I had 3 kids 3 and under for a week in September, and then my oldest turned 4. Needless to say I haven't been getting out much either. Luckily my wife is letting me run off for a few nights next week.

#2 is very nice.

Oct 26, 2015 at 11:23 AM

mstrickland
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Film from the Great Smoky Mountains

Well done, my friend. I don't have much to say, honestly. I agree with Ben about the color cast, but that's very minor. I love the emotion and drama in the first two. The third is too textural for me...I enjoy it, but it's not my favorite.

I'm happy to see that one of your mistakes turned out for a proper exposure. Most of my mistakes end up with a lot of regret, dread, and sadness.

Absolutely beautiful work, man.

Oct 26, 2015 at 11:33 AM

Kenj8246
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Film from the Great Smoky Mountains

Alan, I enjoy your work, particularly the past work and videos of Angel's Landing. I would dearly love to get some LF shots out there and have SW Utah on my bucket list. This spring I'm heading back out to the Taos area in hopes of catching some snow still on the high spots and working at LF landscapes. Kind of a 'me-time' trip.

My advice vis-à-vis the children is to enjoy the times while they're little. I was lucky enough to have only one son who's now 40 and although he turned out pretty good, I'm proud to say, I miss most the early years when his mother and I had not a clue what we were doing.

I think you will find they grow up too quickly.

Kenny

Oct 26, 2015 at 11:55 AM

Ben Horne
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Film from the Great Smoky Mountains

Alan Brock wrote:
One thing I forgot to mention was that I used the incident meter for this scene, which I rarely do. It was under pretty even light so I don't think that could have had much of an effect. I'm really at a loss. I cannot emphasize how shocked I was that this actually turned out!
---------------------------------------------

I've been burned by the incident meter on many occasions. I have no clue how it happens, but it has given me an exposure that was waaaaaaaaaaaay off. I was photographing a scene somewhat similar to this (maple leaves on the ground in zion), and I made sure to dial in everything correctly, but it gave me an exposure that was way off. I can see how 1/2 of a stop of the exposure was corrected by bellows overextension, and the rest was fixed by the meter giving you a horrible reading that the extra long shutter corrected for. In short, buy a lotto ticket.

Oct 27, 2015 at 07:47 AM

Langran
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Film from the Great Smoky Mountains

Everything about that last shot is great. The colours are so perfect and it's got a real 'natural' sharpness to it. I don't normally like more intimate compositions like that but you've even got me considering large format again with that image! Thanks

Oct 27, 2015 at 09:19 AM

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