A Black and White Landscape from Western Kansas

Monument Rocks #2

Monument Rocks, Gove County, Kansas. This is what black and white photography is all about. Taking the seemingly bland and lifeless and transforming it into an abstraction of tone and texture. This was taken in full afternoon summer sun. The shadow in the lower parts is from the adjacent rock formations.

This negative is what sold me on the new Kodak Tmax 400 film. Contrast range on the subject was extreme yet the main subject is very flat. Developed in Pyrocat HD with extreme minimal agitation. The negative came out very dense requiring split grade printing.

An 11×14 print of Monument Rocks #2 will be on display at the Emporia Artist Walk along with my Kansas Flint Hill landscapes.

Emporia Artist Walk & Flint Hills Landscapes

I will be located in the Pyramid Pizza building, 11 East 6th, downtown Emporia. The Emporia Artist Walk is Saturday, 18 April from 10 am to 4 pm.

With me at Pyramid Pizza will be Rachel Ferrara, a finely talented up-and-coming young photographer. Rachel is Fine Arts student at Emporia State University majoring in photography. I made this video of her senior project show last January.

I finished mounting the big Flint Hills prints. Quite the project to get that big triptych mounted. The final matted size is 40×20 inches. My Emporia  Artist Walk display will feature Black & White Flint Hills landscapes from Chase County, Greenwood County, Wabaunsee County, and Geary County.

Hope to see you at the Artist Walk.

On Road CR-2, Greenwood County

Near Texaco Hill, Chase County

Another Flint Hills Photography Fan

Discovered Terry Ownby’s photography blog today. Glad I did. Terry is a photography professor at University of Central Missouri. His latest post is about photographing in the Kansas Flint Hills and worth reading. In another recent entry, he discusses the use of the triptych from the classical point of view and its current use. Lot’s of good stuff on Terry’s blog.

A Different Look at the Flint Hills

On Road CR-2 Greenwood County

Near Texaco Hill, Greenwood County

Tully Hill Road, Geary County

Hard to believe that I haven’t updated this Blog since October. It’s been a busy year for everything except photography it seems. But, I haven’t been completely lazy.

My latest project on the Flint Hills makes use of multiple prints to form a panoramic display. Using two prints is called diptych (pronounced dip-tick). Using three prints is called a triptych (with similar pronunciation). (People with ArtSpeak  inherently know these pronunciations and meanings, but I was a farm boy and had to look them up.) Using this approach for panoramic landscape departs from the classic construction of a -tych. In the classic construction, each print may be entirely different yet the sum tells a story. I guess one could stretch that classic definition and say that the panorama tells a story about the landscape more adequately than single photographs.

For this technique, I use individual 4×5 negatives and make individual prints. After processing and drying, the prints are trimmed to match, then dry mounted on mat board.

Its really exciting to use multiple 11×14 prints. That brings the image up to a size that’s more in keeping with the feel of the Flint Hills. Using 8×10 prints for an 8×20 diptych or 10x 24 triptych is also nice. The 8×20 format is a standard banquet-camera size, the next step up from the 7×17 format that I use.

I’m participating in the Emporia Art Walk this year on Saturday April 18th. My goal is to have several of these panoramas on display and for sale. Hope to see you there.

A Slice of New York City

"The Apartments" Polaroid Type 809 print by David A. Goldfarb

My APUG friend, David A. Goldfarb, sent me this wonderful 8×10 Polaroid print. David is an accomplished photographer, University Professor, and prolific writer. I think David is one of the most knowledgeable persons on photography that I have known. He’s always trying something new, both visually and technically.

Sharing a love of working with Polaroid film, and celebrating its demise, we engaged in a Polaroid print exchange. I had sent him my 4×5 Type 52 print, “A Slice of Western Kansas” and now I have “The Apartments”, a slice of NYC, in return. David explains the photograph’s meaning in a note enclosed with the print. with the print.

“This print is one in a series of nine of four highrise apartment buildings known simply as “The Apartments” on traffic reports for drivers headed in and out of Manhattan via the George Washington Bridge. It was also the view from my window in Washington Heights, where we lived for about a year until the day this series was made. These are my last 8×10″ Polaroids.”

“Ted Harris offered this box of Polaroid Type 809 to anyone who offered a proposal to make good educational use of the film and I said that I would make images to be exchanged in the APUG Polaroid exchange and Traveling Portfolio, so that as many people as possible would have a chance to see or own an 8×10″ Polaroid print. I hope this fulfills his intention. After the Traveling Portfolio makes its full circuit, I plan to send the print to Ted’s widow, Amy Rafferty, as yet another reminder of Ted’s generous spirit.”

Ted Harris was a prominent US photographer who passed away, most untimely, earlier this year. I too had sent Ted a proposal for using the box of 809; David had a much better idea than I. I’m glad he got it and commend how he has used it.

Kansas goes to NYC; NYC goes to Kansas, all via Polaroid photography. Most gracious thanks David.

Tall Grass & Sky – Greenwood County

Tall Grass & Sky – Greenwood County   photo by Alex Hawley

Hard to believe that its been a month since I last posted. Its been busy. On Labor Day weekend, I loaded all the photo gear into the pickup and headed back to the Texico Hill area in the Kansas Flint Hills.  Went back on Road CR2 to view the area in the afternoon sun. The sky was mostly hazy but the haze cleared long enough to get this one on the 7×17 Folmer and Schwing. This one is the first in the series from that afternoon.

The more I use the 7×17, the more I like it. For what looks like a simple camera, simpler to use that the 8×10 Deardorff it would seem, the learning curve has been steep. You think after using 8×10 for several years that going to an Ultra Large Format (ULF) camera would be a breeze. Wrongo! Or, at least for me it wasn’t easy.

First, the F&S camera itself is quite literally, a hundred years old. F&S started as an independent camera maker in Rochester, NY. At the time mine was built, early 1900’s, they were owned by Eastman Kodak. Then, the Folmer Brothers patented a focal plane shutter for a 4×5 camera. Soon, the legendary Speed Graphic was born and F&S became known as the Folmer Graflex Company. The legacy of this company is still with us today, quite strongly, even though it ceased to exist nearly forty years ago. But that’s digressing from the point. A century old camera means a bellows of similar age which means never ending light leaks. Finally got that problem solved. Even though I have recoated the bellows, I still take special care to drape it with the darkcloth until I complete the exposure.

Developing the large negatives was another challenge. I thought I was smart and could use the brush development technique by inspection.  I had always developed my 810 film by inspection and didn’t think the 717 would be any different. Bought some relatively expensive hake brushes and proved to myself I could do it. Well, sort of.  Even though the negatives developed quite evenly, I was continually misreading them and underdeveloping. This sucks! Fate intervened and an old set of Beseler Unicolor drums and motor base came my way, which included a 16×20 drum.  Now I develop by time, in the daylight, and the negs come out probably better than I have ever gotten them before. Can’t say enough good things about rotary development. Uses a lot less chemicals too.

Then there was the problem of getting a contact printing frame. I quickly learned that 7×17 frames are custom built for several hundred dollars. On the other hand, 16×20 frames are plentiful and cost substantially less.  So I got a 16×20, which is four times larger and ten times heavier that the 8×10 frame I was used to. The 8×10 frame now feels like it’s for gurly-men.

So, essentially, photographing in ULF magnifies all the little gotcha problems by at least two orders of magnitude, and I haven’t even talked about having to cut down paper, loading/unloading film holders, or even purchasing film (which, let’s just call it “seasonal”). But, all those challenges withstanding, its still highly worth it.

On Road CR-2 – Flint Hills

I usually photograph during the midday period. That’s supposed to be the sweet period for B&W photographers. But when Mark Feiden e-mailed me and said “do you want to go out this evening”, I couldn’t resist. Especially when we were going to an area I hadn’t seen before.

We met in Madison. I brought along the trusty 8×10 Deardorff, the 7×17 Folmer & Schwing, a stock of film for both, and all the other paraphanelia that must accompany wooden, totally un-automated view cameras. Mark uses some very portable digital SLR equipment. My very non-portable ULF and LF gear filled the remainder of his pickup cab. Good thing it was a super cab. We headed west out of Madison. After a few short miles, we were in some of the most spectacular scenery I have ever seen anywhere. The Flint Hills at its very essence.

We were in the very northwest corner of Greenwood county, bouncing in and out of Chase county. We stopped at this spot to take our first shots of the evening. A thunderstorm was moving in from the northwest, obscuring the sun. We hoped maybe the sun would break through the clouds for a few fleeting moments of that spectacular pre-storm light, but no such luck. I found a likely spot and proceeded to set up the 7×17 while mark shot numerous frames from several angles. In the low light, my exposure was going to have to be 40 seconds. Meanwhile, Mark is racking them up. Finished the shot, disassembled and packed everything back in the truck. Off we went again, vaguely trying to get around the storm. About twenty minutes later, it caught us and we were wishing we were somewhere, not out in the open hills with rain and wind so heavy that the hood emblem is no longer visible.

“On Road CR-2, Greenwood County” is a 7×17 inch contact print made directly from a single in-camera negative. Copyright Alex Hawley 2008.

Snokomo Creek School – Flint Hills

Another door to learning in the Kansas Flint Hills. This one is at the Snokomo Creek School in Wabaunsee County, Kansas, near Paxico. Snokomo is easy to get to and getting there is half the joy. On I-70, take the Snokomo Rd exit, follow the road South for about 3-1/2 miles. The school will be on your left adjacent to the road. Snokomo can give you what photographers call a “U-turn Moment”.

North Wall, Snokomo Creek School by Alex Hawley

“North Wall” was taken on my second outing to the Snokomo area. My friend and fellow LPA member, Rob Young, was along for this trip. His rendition of the school is done on gum bichromate. Please see Rob’s blog for complete details.

Fine Art prints of “Snokomo School” may be purchased through my APUG Portfolio. Please contact me if you desire to purchase one. This version is an 8×10 contact print printed on Azo fiber base silver chloride paper.

“North Wall, Snokomo School” may be purchased from me directly. The version shown is printed on Slavich fiber base silver gelatin paper

Lower Fox Creek School – Flint Hills

"Keystones" photo by Alex Hawley

No doubt, the Lower Fox Creek School is one of the most photographed places in the Kansas Flint Hills. Its very easy to get to. Just go three miles north of US 50 on K-177, near Strong City. Sitting prominently atop a hill next to the highway, it can’t be missed. The National Park service has a nice virtual tour and good directions on how to get there.

I’ve photographed there several times. “Keystones” was taken in 2004 on the 8×10 view camera and is printed as an 8×10 contact print (meaning no enlargement). For me, there’s some special meaning for school house doors. Perhaps its because I see them as doors to the future no matter how humble and plain they may be.

In fact, it was an earlier version of the Lower Fox Creek School that was a key factor in spurring me to use large format cameras. So, in part, this humble school building was a key factor in my future as a photographer.

There are many of these old school houses throughout the Flint Hills. One can’t help but find one or more whenever exploring the region. Many have been preserved to some extent or another, and several still serve useful functions in their respective communities. I’m glad they are still there.

Fine Art prints of “Keystones” may be purchased through my APUG Portfolio. These are 8×10 contact prints made on Kodak Azo silver chloride contact printing paper. Please contact me if you desire to purchase one.

All photographs copyright Alex Hawley.

Old Stone Fort – Flint Hills

Old Stone Fort, Wabaunsee County

No one that I’ve talked to knows much about the The Old Stone Fort. Located in southwestern Wabaunsee County, Kansas, this old building sits atop a small hill overlooking the old Trail Drover’s Road and a stream crossing. Privately owned, it serves as a convenient place to feed cattle who are grazing on the rich Flint Hills grass. Going west from Volland on Old K-10, find Trail Drovers Road on the right and follow it for a few miles. You should some to the Old Stone Fort.

My guess is that originally this was a Cavalry outpost for Fort Riley. There is also a stable, just to the left of where I was standing. Both buildings were not built for ranch or farm service; they don’t appear to have had the amenities for permanent occupancy of either humans or livestock. The location makes sense as a good place to station a detachment of Horse Soldiers. Trail Drover’s Road was the main cattle trail in the area for driving the herds to the railroad, some six miles away at Volland. The nearby stream crossing was probably important for the cattle drives too. And, the stream could supply water for the men and horses stationed there. All this is just my rank speculation of course.

The negative for Old Stone Fort was taken on 4×5 Polaroid Type 55 sheet film. I loved that film! One more sigh for its demise.

Prints of the Old Stone Fort are available for sale through my APUG Portfolio. Please contact me via e-mail or a Blog comment if you are interested.

All photographs copyright Alex Hawley