Citrus Park in Riverside

 Well, I was not doing much of anything on Sunday, and it was, as they say, "hotter than heck", so I could either continue to stay at home and probably end up taking a nap, or go out and doing something. I decided to be active and go out, and take my 8x10 pinhole camera.

I got in the car at 3 p.m. and drove to the Citrus Park, knowing it would close at 5 p.m. I took plenty of IR film, too. This park is mostly empty because they charge a fee to enter, not much, only $5, but it puts off many. It is a little out of the way too, so I like it because it is private, mostly.

It was in the mid 90s, I recall, and there was sauna-like heat. I decided to just walk around without the 8x10 pinhole camera and get my IR shots. I walked around, and I remember, this was one of the parks I visited in July of last year when I was so disabled by grief at the passing of my father. This time I didn't record myself. The reason it reminds me of my dad so much is because it is dedicated to the citrus industry, and they have rows and rows of citrus trees, many of them dangling oranges, lemons, etc. My dad worked in the citrus industry as a picker for many years, and throughout the park they have banners with photos of citrus pickers, extolling the virtue of their work.

I walked around taking photos on that hot day, and while I doubt that the citrus trees will be the right vegetation to showcase the IR effect, I will at least have dark skies. If you walk around you can find corners that are hidden, and I found a hidden circular feature surrounded by flowers. It was in the shade, though, but maybe, at an earlier moment of the day, it will be lit up and, if I arrive then, might have a chance at taking a photo.

Walking back I had taken my IR shots and decided to try for a few 8x10 shots. I figured, I had 30 minutes before the park was supposed to close down, why not? The camera is unwieldy, though, and by then, the was cloud cover that cut down the amount of direct sunlight as well as a breeze that was getting stronger. Both are bad for pinhole exposures because a pinhole camera needs lots of blinding and direct sunlight, and if the vegetation is to come out sharp for exposures that last several minutes, I will need the air to be still. There were two strikes, there was cloud cover and there was a breeze.

I went ahead and framed two exposures, one with the trees and a patch leading upwards, and this one, with a building and some vegetation on the side. I wanted to see how well it caught the dark wood.

I developed this negative on Sunday night, and scanned it today, Monday, Oct. 5th. It is a primitive scan, but we all know this, I am using the flatbed and scanning at 1200 dpi. 

Well, the vegetation is blurry but I knew it would be. The breeze did its' work and blurred what was not tied down solidly. The building, however, came out well. I like it, that wood tiling was very dark. I gave the camera 6 minutes of exposure. 

I am beginning to appreciate the 8x10 pinhole camera a little more, but that doesn't mean I don't want a camera with a real lens that will give me sharpness. Mort, the printer from Norway, contacted me today to let me know that he has a frame for his 8x10 WillTravel camera that he can sell me, and I will buy it. This might be the last 8x10 pinhole in a while, or at least, until I finish processing all the pinhole negatives I have exposed but put away in a dark bag to process later. It is a pain to process them.