Way too many mistakes with the 8x10 today

 Today I went out to photograph. I decided I will not go out every day, that is too punishing a schedule, plus, I need to be at home to help secure the house. But since I didn't go out yesterday, and today it was shaping up to be a bright day, I went to San Diego county. My destinations? First, the Rancho Guajome Adobe, then a visit to Alta Vista Gardens, and finally, San Luis Rey Mission. It turned out to be a punishing day after all, but the last destination was a necessity because it made me think of my aunt Socorro, who passed away the day after Christmas, Dec. 26th, 2020. I can't get over the sadness.

Here are a few cellphone photos. I didn't take many, these are what I took. I also took about a 11 or 12 8x10 photos, but I will have to develop those and I had absolutely no urge to start doing so today after returning from my photography outing. As a matter of fact, I want to give the 8x10 a break. I am tired of the methodical nature of that type of photography, it just drains me, and I kept on making mistake after mistake today. I need a break.

The facade of the Rancho Guajome Adobe. I got lost trying to get here, I got off on Old Gopher Rd as usual, but missed the turn on Osborne because I decided to try for Alta Vista Garden. And I got returned to the 76 freeway, making the trip longer than it should have been. 

At the Adobe, trying to find compositions but not having much luck. There were a few more people than I ordinarily see at this place, but the attendants were not there, so there was no way to access the interior courtyard. So, we were left to wander around outside. Of course, I forgot my baseball cap at home.

This was next to the small church building, which was closed, incidentally. I kept searching and searching for a composition with this structure, but none suggested itself. I still don't really like this cellphone shot. That tree in the back does, as they say, nothing for me.

I was trying and trying for a composition but not finding one at this location at the adobe. All I kept hearing in my mind was the Ben Horne phrase, "Too chaotic", but in reality, the juxtaposition of elements was all wrong.

Here is one that I was trying. I wasted a sheet of film because it was loaded wrong in the holder. I wasted another one at the San Luis Rey mission, and I think it was the same holder. It seems I have a defective holder, which disappoints me because this was supposed to be a reliable Fidelity Elite Holder, and those end up costing me about $100 each. Down the drain of large format photography. As they say, stay poor, shoot film.

All these photos are from the Rancho Guajome Adobe. This is the courtyard which was closed off. What you don't see is the rope shutting off the possibility of access. It was a shame, the sun was lighting up the courtyard and I think I could have obtained a good photo, but, I am getting tired of the 8x10. I committed too many mistakes today.

On a final note, wise words. Enjoy life now, don't postpone it. I wish I could go back to the early 80s when I was a UCLA undergrad and tell myself that, instead of wasting all those evenings working on physics problems.

The city next to the river (part 4)

 This is the disastrous negative I mentioned in the previous entry. What it tells me is that I can't use that film holder anymore. That holder will have to be trashed, the way I have two other film holders that are not serving me well. I will save the dark slides, but get rid of the holders. I have an offer up on Ebay (Fleabay) for two more holder, Lisco II holders which look to be in decent condition. If the seller declines my offer, I will buy them from somewhere else. They will join the three holders I have that are adequate and don't have light leaks. More than five holders I don't need, because they are heavy and I can't carry that many anyway. I will get into the habit of going out with three holders (with six sheets of film), and take some film and a changing bag and change film out in the field. But I want to have some backup holders.

In this case, I was aiming for trying to get an image of Mt. Rubidoux from the foot of the path that leads up the hill, but that was a no-go. There were herds of people walking up to that section to try to walk up the hill, and many were not wearing masks. The path is somewhat narrow, and I do not want to be walking past people without masks in that Covid corridor, so instead, I took the bike path on the other side of the hill, but ventured out into the wooded area. I was trying for a view of the beautiful trees whose leave had changed color, and even though the color would not show up on black and white film, I still wanted to get their shapes, and also, I figured that the light leaves would contrast well with the dark sky, since I was planning on using an orange filter to darken said sky. I had to walk around, and I could not get a good composition that was not ruined by long shadows (the sun was getting low and would set in about two hours more, casting long shadows in the meantime). Also, I could not get any compositions with a view of the snowy mountains, so I just turned around and shot into the trees, finding one beautiful example which should have appeared on the left side but, of course, it was completely burned out by the light leak. No more. This is a failed shot, but I will throw it up here to attest to the problems I encounter as I learn how to take 8x10 images.

The city next to the River (part 3)

Another one from my Riverside series from January 1st, 2021. Now I have confirmed it, as I had already labeled this film holder. It is defective and gives me light leaks. On one side, the light leak is big, such as seen here. On the next photo, that I will upload in another entry, it is disastrous, wiping out the image. Here, at least you can see something. It is the country court house for the city next to the river. I have photographed it many times, I love the stately building and the sculptures. Here, I had to position myself almost at the beginning of the stairs. I was worried, too, because there was an elderly Asian lady walking on the sidewalk behind me, without a facemask, and she kept looking at me and at the camera. I was sure she would come and ask me about what I was doing, and I would be in the uncomfortable position of having to run away from her because she was not using her mask. She ended up giving me my space. I wonder how court sessions are being held during this period, because one thing is certain, crime does not stop for a pandemic.

The city next to the River (part 2)

 Another image from my trip to the city. This one is of the famed Mission Inn. There was not festival of lights, and there were very few decorations on this building. This was not the best shot, but I wanted to grab at least something. At night, during late November and all through the month of December, when there is no pandemic (so 2020 doesn't count), when the decorations are all laid out and lit, this looks amazing. On a lazy Saturday afternoon, it doesn't. My shadow, once again, almost takes center stage.

The city next to the River (part 1)

 Here is an 8x10 image of the Chinese gazebo/pavilion next to the library. I knew I made a mistake, I confirmed it when I was adjusting my settings for the next photo I was taking at a different location. What was my mistake? It is massively overexposed. Why is that? Well, I check my composition when I frame it by opening the shutter with an aperture of f8. Then, when I close it, I am supposed to set the aperture to f22. I forgot to do this, so the image was massively overexposed. I was chiding myself for the rest of my time as I finished up taking images. Plus, the composition is way off. It is crooked (at an angle), and I included too much of the sidewalk in front. I thought I had a better composition, but of course, when I set the controls and insert the film holder, it moves the camera. I cannot clamp the camera down effectively with the tripod I am using, and it is frustrating. And finally, my shadow show up. It was only 2 p.m., but the sun is already low in the horizon. Of course, it is winter, I know, and the sun sets at about 4:45 p.m., but I have to frame better.

Still, I am happy that things are getting easier when using this camera. I feel they are, before, each individual frame cost me about 10-15 minutes of frustration to set up. Also, I am thinking of ordering a fresnel screen to see if that brightens up the ground glass. I could really use it.

The first Saturday of 2021

 Good morning, I woke up today a little after 5 a.m. (which is about two hours earlier than I usually do) and could not go back to sleep. I am frustrated by what is going on in congress, and I tell myself, if I read news reports about the machinations of McConnell, I will not be able to rest. I do not read the "tweets" by Trump, those ignorant, malicious and simplistic expressions of an overburdened and deluded ego are starting to be ignored by all, but when I read other reports about how the Senate leader wants to condition any increase in Covid aid to support for his fraudulent claims of election fraud, with people as desperate as they are, it angers me. To use human suffering to try to steal an election is beyond the scope of what any humane individual would do, but leave it to Trump and his subordinates to dig deeper.

I read a report that there were over 580 Covid deaths in California alone (in California alone!) on the first of January. I can see why. There is so much indifference to the virus now, and when I go out, I see so many people who are not wearing facemasks. To me, it is 50/50, that is, half wear them and half don't. That is no way to stop a pandemic.

I saw it when I went on my photography jaunt yesterday in Riverside. The streets were not full by any means, so that means that some people are sheltering in place, but of those who were out, half were not wearing face masks. They were of all groups, Anglos, Latinos, even a few Asians. It frustrates me especially to see that Latinos, even the families, do not wear them. They are not rich, they value their families, but there they are, just ignoring the recommendations. Maybe they can't afford a box of masks which costs about $17, from what I remember of my trip to Home Depot. Maybe they are just tired. Maybe they have faith in la Virgen, but something is not right.

But time to stop carping. Hopefully I can get out today. I need exercise. Good morning again, it is 7:17 a.m. as I write this.

A few more from the Botanic Garden

 Last Wednesday, Dec. 30th, I went out to the California Botanic Garden. I wanted to use my 8x10 Willtravel camera, but after loading my film holders, I just couldn't do it. I didn't want to lug all that weight around with me, so I traveled light. I picked up my Minolta Autocord, took a few rolls of JCH Streetpan 400, and resolved to take some infrared photos. I developed the rolls yesterday, but as we were awaiting the passing of the dying year, I didn't post them. Well, here are a few images. Remember, these are infrared photos. Second, I forgot that when shooting in infrared, you are supposed to focus closer than the actual distance of your subject. And lastly, I was handholding at 1/15th of a second, which is an iffy proposition. Thus, a few of the images look blurry to me, and they could be because of the infrared focusing distance or the slow shutter speed. I think I did nail focus on the viewscreen of the TLR, though.

Happy New Year. I feel very sad, but I want to move forward. I think about my dad and my aunt. They left one after the other, my aunt passing only a year and a half after my dad did. My mom told me something that was meant to comfort me, but it is small comfort. She said that my aunt used to say that my dad had a wonderful passing, he left without suffering from a long and incapacitating illness. No hizo cama, as they say, he was not forcibly confined to a bed. It was quick, with minimal suffering since he was unconscious. Well, my aunt left the same way. It still doesn't make it any easier, but we have to try to find small comfort where we can.