almost fallen by the wayside

 

click 'er for bigger 

No doubt there should be some kind of "post op for the workshop." If I was more prolific there would surely be something of consequence to say. Since that's not the case, and not much has transpired photographically, perhaps it's time to write about other media.

Without meaning to pile on the bandwagon, I've still got to comment on some recent reading. It's been both non-fiction and fiction, by the same writer: David Foster Wallace. The man is scary he's so good. Two weeks ago I was reading Consider the Lobster, a collection of pieces that originally appeared in periodicals such as Atlantic, Gourmet, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and others. Despite his tendency to run-on and lose the reader in the convolutions of his asides & footnotes within footnotes, he has a remarkably democratic outlook that never fails to illuminate. Whether he's writing about Porn star awards, dictionary wars, Rabid Right Wing talk show hosts, the McCain2000 campaign trail, or lobsters, his sympathetic outlook inevitably expresses some universal thought, but in a much more eloquent and clearly defined manner than anyone else is able to put it.

Now I'm into a more recent collection of D.F. Wallace fiction in the book Oblivion. His language tends towards jargonese, but only that used by the characters he's writing about. The opening piece "Mister Squishy" is a fascinating and damning deconstruction of advertising and the use of focus groups and statistics to "give consumers what they want." In the midst of his instructions to the latest focus group giving feedback on some snack cakes called Felonies, the facilitator manages to range through a vast internal commentary that might be best expressed thus:

...no no all that ever changed were the jargon and mechanisms and gilt rococo with which everyone in the whole huge blind grinding mechanism conspired to convince each other that they could figure out how to give the paying customer what they could prove he could be persuaded to believe he wanted, without anybody once ever saying stop a second or pointing out the absurdity of calling what they were doing collecting information or ever even saying aloud... what was going on or what it meant or what the simple truth was. That it made no difference. None of it...

In the end, Wallace's revelations are ones we've considered ourselves - albeit in abbreviated form - whereas his mind and imagination fully details them for our edification. He's a master at telling us what we already think for ourselves.

where does this leave us?

 

 
click 'er for bigger

Knowing I can usually knock these kinds of images out without too much trouble, I opted to do something completely different. I had the time, so all I had to do was make the effort. In fact my efforts went beyond my capabilities to keep up with them on film. At some point during the week I must have gotten in contact with four or five more people than I could find the time to go photograph.

So yeah, the project for the week - which really managed to center me for the workshop - was to photograph people working. It's an expansion of my efforts to get pictures of construction people. There was some of that, but rather broader too. I was concerned now and again that it was too broad, but it served as a suitable excuse to work with as many people I know as possible. If I'd not come up with a "project" like this, I know I would have really been lost @ sea. Others in the group expressed some serious feelings of disorientation because they had to find something to photograph in such a short period of time without knowing much of anything about Charlottesville. In a way, I wish I could have been more assistance to them. But alas, I was already by the second day rather deep into a schedule of appointments with a variety of people.

Tuesday was my heaviest day of work when I returned to the Coiner scrap yard and spent some time meeting and talking to the operator of the Liebherr trackhoe in the yard. Eventually I got a couple of photographs of him with the machine. Bill wasn't impressed. From there I stopped at the Laundry Building to see who I could find there. Fortunately Ed Brown of  Frontrunner Signs was there, and we did two exposures. Bill thought they were overexposed. Ed called around to the other side of the building for me to where his wife Tavia shares space with Martha Keith. I got a couple of really nice exposures with Martha, and had a wonderful conversation with her during the process, primarily about tools. (She may have more than I do.) I was rather nervous during the setup, because it was such a lovely setting and I didn't want to screw it up. My out loud thoughts were that I felt like I had to rely to a certain extent upon habitual processes, running in worn grooves through somewhat mechanical procedures in order to be assured that the check list is worked through. Results are satisfactory, although focus is on Martha's hands rather than her eyes. Once again Bill was unimpressed. After class - actually during it, I had to cut out early to make the appointment - I headed over to the university to work with Dave Metcalf in one of the lecture halls. Wide shot, closer, closer. Five exposures, three different emulsions, all fine in terms of exposure, but because they were in the 3 second range, Dave is not particularly sharp. Bill didn't even really look at these.

A wonderful day in which I think a learned a fair amount about working with people and setting them in an environment and giving some direction. What I've also learned is that I can do this "project" with the 4 x 5, but that many of the places I would like to go are inside, so some kind of supplemental light is going to be necessary due to the inadequacy of existing "natural" light and the horrendous color that it often is. I've got to learn how to work with flash, most likely even if I was to work exclusively in b&w - which I don't think I'm inclined to do. This is the piece of equipment I've neglected the most, and now that I'm doing people, it's the one that I need to learn the most.  I'd like to be able to practice with some digital equipment, but have nothing that will synch with an external flash. The excuse til now has mostly been that I didn't want to be burdened with another piece of equipment to set up and bother people with. But if I'm going to go to the trouble to meet with people and disrupt their schedules to pose for me, then I need to be sure that I'm getting something useable. Unfortunately, I don't think the exposures with Dave are useable beyond contact print size.

All in all, not much personal feedback from Bill Allard. The comments that he made over and over during the few days we were together: "Take it apart. Break it down." Eventually I heard him add what we were supposed to do after that: "Put it back together." What he was trying to get at is to look at every element in the composition and move the camera to a position so that all those elements communicate their respective importance as powerfully as possible. His amazing ability is to read nearly every inch of a photograph in a split second. With that ability one is able to make the slight adjustments that might be necessary to improve the clarity of the composition. The other question we heard over and over was: "Is it sharp?" To which Michael Bednar proposed to paraphrase Dustin Hoffman's answer in Marathon Man. "Oh yeah, it's totally sharp."

a plan

Maybe not a simple one, but a plan nonetheless. It's not appropriate to detail what it is. I'm more process oriented at this point, and trying to work out the details of how I'm going to actually do what I've set forth in my mind. Our motto will surely come into play: keep those expectations low. That I have a plan for the week is what makes me feel like I can make it through the next few days. Past experiences when there was no plan and I was working cold have been pure misery. I'm going to try to work with what I know this time. If I show nothing for the week, that will be fine with me. What Bill Allard thinks of what I've done/will do is of little consequence. I know I will absorb a lot from the other participants along with Bill. Today he said, "Concentrate on a single pheasant. Don't worry about the covey." My pheasant will be the people I know.

today's solution

 

At least for now, I will take solace in the sentiments expressed by Joe Reifer in his recent decision to stop yapping online about photography and go out and do more. His earlier comments about the dearth of decent writing on the web echo thoughts I've had for years. I can spend only so much time - no, make that waste so much time - looking at shitty little online images before I feel choked and ready to dry up and blow away. I don't contribute here often enough to need to stop doing it. But it's a reaction that I can get behind. After all, I did stop consuming "news" some years ago after some unknown NPR commentator recommended that listeners stop listening. I took her word for what it was worth and turned them off. My news consumption is still miniscule in comparison to what media owners would prefer.

Never mind that.

I've come to the realization that what this coming (impending?) workshop needs to be about for me is entertainment. I refuse to lose any more sleep over it. I'm not going to become a Geographic photographer, I'm not going to become a travel photographer, I'm not going to become a photo journalist, I'm not going to become a professional photographer. I will remain an unknown weekend photographer, and I intend to enjoy my time doing so. Which does not include making myself crazy trying vainly to photograph people. I expect to be challenged in the coming week, but if it's no fun doing so, then I'll bag it.

welcome to the confessional - may I come in?

 

 
click 'er for bigger

The doubts swirl. I'm still a week away, and already the questions and turmoil is keeping me awake at night. Perhaps you, dear diary, can ease my mind and give me some peace.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, the concept of signing on to join the William Allard workshop that is to commence next Saturday. It is something going on here in our home town so I don't have to fly across country to participate. It's with a fabulous photographer whose work I have enjoyed in the past when I've looked at it in the C&O Gallery and last year through the window at Les Yieux du Monde . No requirements to sign up for the workshop, and a full pass to the Festival of the Photograph at the end of the week is included in the price.

Second thoughts now have me wondering about the validity of my original motives. I've been reading Allard's The Photographic Essay. It's become clear now that he is primarily a people photographer. One who works in color, who is a fabulous designer, who has a keen compositional eye. But still, all his subjects are people. In case anyone has taken the time to notice, I on the other hand, do not photograph people. It wouldn't surprise me if he has no interest in my type of work.

Third thoughts buoy me back up. I've also received a new copy of Robert Adams' The New West. The prints are entirely too small, but I can feel the intensity of the light, smell the dirt swirling in the air in these pictures. This is much more the direction I typically go with my photography. There is a massive tradition to non human photography - I don't need to make excuses for the dearth of humans in my photographs. Their works and remains are everywhere I turn my lens.

I read a little more Allard, and his supposed impatience with students who can't picture other people. So the past few days my mind is swirling with ideas of who and how I could go about photoing people. It's got to start with people I know. To that end, I'll try something today during CLW's graduation. The conditions may not be ideal, but I've got to make some kind of attempt.

I've also looked at a recent Eggelston book, 5 x 7, photographs he took in a TGIF in the mid 70's, as a companion piece to video work he was doing at the same time. Neither got shown until recently. They're fabulous pictures of people and places, obviously much more posed, much closer to the way I see myself working with the 4 x 5. The ultimate question is whether I can indeed make myself talk to people and ask to take their picture. 

an understanding - finally

 

 
click 'er for bigger

It's taken a while, but I finally understand better why I use the equipment that I do. Earlier today I thought this might be an excuse. But it doesn't feel that way any longer. It's more self discovery.

While I admittedly purchased both my preferred cameras late in the film vs. digital battle, at the time it seemed like a simple continuation of an established trend (in my life of chemical film based imagery). Being a slow learner, and one not taken to jumping from one equipment choice to another without some period of trying to learn the capabilities of the tools at hand, the chosen format has taken me in what I feel to be a good direction. I'm clearer about  what I want to photograph, even if it does mean that I photograph less  - and less frequently as well.

But now that I  have made my decision to work with the present tools, the natural inclination in our family is to stick with what you've got until it wears out or breaks down. (Even then, we're likely to fix it and keep it running a while longer.) It's really an issue of conservation of materials and time. I'm not inclined to join the worldwide hordes in their rampage for the quick and easy digital because camera manufacturers made some compelling reasons for the entire planet to buy a new camera. What I have works - for me. I'm still learning how to use what I've got. It's not broken, so why should I switch to something else that runs on a cycle of six month obsolescence?

A familiar lament, I know. I'm concerned with the rampant consumer ism we're locked into. The glut of image capture is part of it. More and more, faster and faster. Does anyone benefit but appleadobecanondellhpleicamicrosoftnikonolympuspentax?

festival of the photograph

 

The 3rd annual Festival of the Photograph comes to Charlottesville, VA June 12-14. The town will be awash in photographs and photographers with exhibits, displays, lectures, critique sessions, workshops, and more. This year I'll attempt to make the scene. I'm registered for the William Allard workshop, which includes a festival pass after the workshop concludes. If anyone out there wants to meet in C'ville, let me know.

I'm already somewhat concerned about how I'll make out for the week. The description of the workshops says they "promise to be one of the most comprehensive and exciting learning opportunities for digital photographers today." Does this leave me out, being someone irretrievably stuck in the film realm? I continue to believe that the decision to utilize film as a recording media is a way to limit my options - in a positive manner. Instead of being able to do anything anywhere, my capabilities are noticeably limited. What is difficult to answer is whether my limited choices seriously affect what I see to photograph. Is it true that we only see what we are technically capable of recording, in the sense that my choice of using 4x5 cameras makes sports, war, street, and any spontaneous photography as nearly impossible for me to consider as it is to technically achieve? There is little doubt that it's simpler to stick with the tried and true, what I know works for me. I have a distinct comfort zone around architecture and landscapes. Perhaps this workshop will help me expand a little - if I am capable of permitting myself to do so.

new additions

 

A couple of "new" images added to the "Continued Exploration...in progress" page. 

time for photography?

 

click 'er for bigger

There does seem to be a lack of entries here for the recent past. An easy explanation - beyond having little to write about: too much other media. Naturally the primary culprit is the damn teevee. Think it's seductive? Try living with a 50 inch screen and full "surround-a-sound" and see if anything other than couch occupation gets done at night. I feel intellectually engaged by my viewing, so it's not an entirely passive activity. But it's not an activity which generates any useable output, either. Unless I make the effort to come here and comment upon the material that has been consumed. It's still a consumer enterprise, and I'm trying to limit such things. Obviously the time spent commenting has been limited.

In an interesting intersection of media, while I'm reading a copy of Richard Price's Clockers, we're also working our way through the first season of the HBO series The Wire on dvd. (Turns out, Price was one of the writers at some time during the production of the series. Not, I guess, of the material we're currently viewing.) Perhaps not co-incidentally, the similarities between the book and the series  are quite striking: they both are told from the perspectives of the two sides of the "war on drugs." On the one hand there are the Clockers - the dope peddlers - and on the other there are the Knockos - the narcs and cops who try to catch them. They are given equal billing and equal respect.

This was really supposed to be an entry about my excuses for not doing photography, because I've devoted so much time to reading and watching. Added to books and teevee are the occasional magazine, revisiting favorite recorded music with an expanded audio system, blog perusal, and general curiosity. On top of this would be some unease generated by The Wire viewing. It's so good that it makes one want to attempt something similar. Damn, I want to put on a show too! What do I know about? My life at work, in the construction industry. And what is the primary culprit for hijacked time? My life at work doing The J-O-B. It still requires attendance during the major portion of waking hours, leaving only scraps of time to be filled with this or that activity: writing teevee scripts, reading books and blogs, making still photographs; and occasionally writing a blog entry.

It's certainly not that there is a lack of material to write about. It's rather that there are so many things going on, that entries here get pushed farther down the list due to the inherent observational quality of the material. To live  a life of activity, it is necessary to do more than reflect upon the possibilities of a life.

Anybody out there got anything to add? 

by clw

What Is Inspiration? - Sonnet (homework)

I am standing here, beneath the gray clouds,
Hid by the shadow of the rain. It seems
That I had come here to escape the crowds,
But every drop soaks me and flows in streams.
My ears are filled with the thuds as they land,
Blending into a dull roar around me.
A thought occurs as I hold out my hand,
Which splatters the droplets that surround me:
Being alone is harder than you think.
Even in dark, there is something waiting
To turn on the light, even the black ink
Is made of colors. Here I am, stating
That I am alone, when I have the rain,
The sky, the music, and nothing to gain.

more Tarkovsky

I'm not sure what the fascination with Tarkovsky is about. He's obtuse and totally non-commercial. You might even have to think about something to understand what is going on in his films. Continuing my fascination, the past week has been spent watching on several different occasions The Sacrifice. This was Tarkovsky's final film prior to his death from cancer in 1986. It was a co-production of the Swedish Film Institute and Film Four, photographed by Sven Nykvist, and stars Erland Josephson.

This is the third viewing for me. It's finally beginning to come into focus. The opening sequence, after the titles, is a single nine minute tracking shot with a mention of Nietzsche, the "rotation" of the cycle of life, hope, despair, death, another life's performance, no chance for an Absolute Truth. During this shot, and then slightly later, there is the not so distant sound of an explosion, or is it thunder. For the characters on screen, the sound  barely registers. It is only later that they find out that war has broken out, and that their country probably faces annihilation.

Alexander, a journalist, actor, critic, and lapsed man of religious faith, collapses and prays to his God for the first time in years to save his family, and humanity. He wants to make a bargain that he will give up everything he has if God will stop the war and put everything back the way it was the day previous.

By the end, when time has been turned back on itself, and the day of his birthday begins once again, Alexander goes mad at the possibility that he must uphold his end of the bargain. But we are left wondering if Maria the "witch", a pre Christian animus of power has been the cause of the reversal of destruction, or the God of organized religion has spared us one more time.

Rather than these two incompatibles, the final image returns us to the opening location, the track beside the sea, with the spindley tree once again center frame. Only this time, Little Man has decided to take his father at his word and initiate a "system" that will change the world. He drags two buckets of water towards the tree, determined to start a daily watering ritual, much as the monk in Alexander's first story of the film did.

The Kino International DVD copy of the film is rather standard quality, hardly a signal to demonstrate the superior capabilities of the HD format. But as per usual, the sound can be dramatic, such as when jets fly closely over the house and it becomes obvious that the world is at war once again. At least the film is available to watch the mastery of Tarkovsky as captured by Nykvist - in the comfort of our own screening rooms.

Any other Tarkovsky fans out there with something to add?

passing by

the museum is dead - long live the museum

 

 
click 'er for bigger

 With the arrival of BIG SCREEN teevee and full 5.1 home theater audio to the folks on the E'ville ranch, the space formerly known as The Museum is radically transformed into The Room. The furniture is rearranged so that the new gear is aligned along the interior stair wall. It's true that it sits opposite the three unit window, and prior to purchase I was concerned that glare from these windows would be a problem on the proposed plasma screen. Salesmen that they are, the guys at Stereotypes said "We've never had a problem." When it comes to glare on the screen, that is. All their plasmas in the shop are in windowless rooms. As it turns out, during the day glare is quite apparent, but not so bad that the screen becomes unuseable. Who is doing any serious viewing during the day anyway?

I think the teevee picture, as seen on one of these excellent plasma screens, has finally reached the quality of being able to compare the experience to watching film in a cinema. With this setup, I expect to be able to do some serious viewing. The 50 inch screen is actually big enough to read credits and even subtitles.

What's been seen so far, after a week? We're still getting used to the reality, but have sampled a variety of sources. The BluRay disc that came in the box with the player, Spiderman 3, is yet another lameo effects laden picture. For something really different, I tried out some Bad Cinema: XXX with Vin Diesel. This too was viewed in BD, and is not as high budget as Spidey, so the signal's not quite as good. I think I've been seeing this movie since Connery was doing Bond and Dean Martin did Matt Helms. With the attitude Diesel has at the beginning of the picture, why should he care at the end whether the entire population of Prague is poisoned?

Trying out a current release on standard DVD, the picture was still a phenomenally great cinematic experience. We watched Namesake, and travelled back and forth between the U. S. and India in Mira Nair's film about immigrants who never feel at home anywhere. There is much allusion to the Ukranian writer Nikolai Gogol (one of the main characters is named after Gogol by his father, and hence the title of the film), who I've never read. Probably time to pick up a book and do some fiction reading for a change.

With so much cinema to watch on a great system, who has time for books? 

really retro

In this day and age, it's really old news to talk about film emulsions. But a minor - very minor indeed - realization has come upon me these past few weeks. As a landscape photographer, and one who has mostly moved to working with a 4 x 5 view camera and a tripod, there has been little or no motivation to use fast film. A couple of years ago I discovered Fuji Astia 100 and have been mostly very happy using it, along with the comparable Kodak emulsion, E100G, as well as an equivalent b&w, Ilford FP4.

For something different, I think it's time to try portraits. On the rare occasion when it's tried, the success rate is usually fairly low. Not necessarily because of film speed problems. The photographer's eye is more the problem. But one technical detail that could be altered to help ease subjects would be to use a faster emulsion. It would help ease the photographer's (my) anxiety somewhat as well. It's obvious to me now that watching the light move across a landscape is hardly the place for fast film. On the other hand, humans sitting before a camera lens is a good application.

quickly now

 

 
click 'er for bigger

In case there's a chance someone comes here that hasn't been to the Landscapist recently, be sure and go here. Mark asked us to make the link, so here it is. I try to be accommodating.

I'd like to learn more about this Print On Demand photo book concept. Or more correctly, I'd like to see the output. I question the quality, the paper, the size, the pricing. But others seem to be quite enthusiastic, so inevitably it's something to try out. I'm not quite certain I'm ready to put something together at this time, however. I feel like I'm still collecting data. I'm not going to be modest and claim that my work isn't good enough, or I don't have enough good photos to fill a book. What I do feel is that I've not got enough good photos that hang together to put in a book, at this point. I work so much more slowly than my digital compatriots, that I often feel like I'm in the center of a whirlwind, spinning around like one of those cartoon characters being wound up like a top. The work here at Man Made Wilderness is an attempt to put things together in some coherent context. But I need a lot more material to cull through before I'm ready to build a book.

Could this be a failure to commit? Possibly... I want to move at my own pace, one of the reasons I've been keeping my own company on the web the last couple of weeks. There's plenty of work to do around here without taking on projects that someone else deems to be worthy endeavors. 

time for another change

Perhaps a word or two or three about the change of status in regards to the display of prints at Old Rag Photography Gallery in Sperryville, VA. I retrieved all the prints from the gallery Jan. 20. The word is that the gallery is going to be painted - which it needs to be. But there is so little attention given to the enterprise by its owner that there is hardly any point in being there. It was more exposure for physical prints than I receive any other way, but the company kept there did not exactly enhance my aesthetic. Quite simply, there was too much mediocre pleasantly pretty work. My direction has changed as well, moving away from pretty pictures of the wilderness with no traces of humanity anywhere.

It's time to re-evaluate the entire desire to display and sell prints. 

vernacular

 

click 'er for bigger

While thinking about this location, which is on the other side of the crown of the watershed from where I headed this morning, I was reminded of another location from three and a half years ago, which can be seen here. There are obviously a number of similar elements, but it was the Quicksand sign that really did it for me. It's not in view in this one above, but there was a sign at the edge of the frame seen in another exposure that didn't capture the overall view as well as the one that's been posted. I went for the better view of the two eras of architecture that stand buttt to butt across a diminishingly small "natural" area.

The quicksand warning has got to be someone's wry idea of a joke. Does anyone really believe such a thing exists - in Virginia? Yet another illusion manufactured by the image makers in Hollywood, that has become embedded in the popular culture. Some more vernacular, in the imagination.

33-2-go

 

 
click 'er for bigger

A day of rather great variety, and many miles. But only two counties yielded exposures of courthouses: Grayson and Wythe. By the time I got to Pulaski, the sun was fully filling the sky, and for the newer facade, it would have been right above the building. The entrance to the older building is 180 degrees from that, so would have been fine except for the abundance of direct sun falling on that elevation. Grayson is questionable, since it was fairly bright there this morning as well, but I couldn't wait the entire day to find out if the light was going to change.

After all these many miles, what do I have to show for it mentally? Not much, that's for certain. A couple of miserable calculations, but nearly no thought given to the project at hand. I'm collecting data at this point. What anyone eventually does with it is beyond me for now. 

Independence

 

 
click 'er for bigger

Being able to take the entire enterprise on the road is still a remarkable thing - no? At least there is some familiarity to be found in the very act of putting together one of these little entries. Nothing much else is very familiar about the surroundings, other than the ubiquity to be found in modern American motel rooms. I'm not out here for long enough to succumb to the dreariness of it and resort to attempting Stephen Shore type imagery.

It was a fine day today, with another three counties visited, with their various courthouses: Bedford (one large building with one pseudo entrance from the 50's, and one actual entrance from the 90's);  Franklin (where once again I set up on the roof of the van on the main street through town and attracted no attention whatsoever); and Carroll (with one large new building from the 1990's and another older building from the 1870's not far away beside a WiFi hotspot that worked just fine) where I visited last year one Sunday morning and found the light was in the sky right over both the buildings. Today I didn't arrive until later in the day, and it was much more overcast, so the light was nearly perfect.

Where all this is headed is still a big unknown. At least I am beginning to conceive of possibilities for display around the state. But I'm still not willing to relinquish any control over how I photograph the subject matter, so I am not ready to take anyone else's money yet. After talking briefly to Doug Gilpin the other day about his knowledge of courthouse siting around the state, I realized again that it's probably about time to put some kind of portfolio of a few of the images together to show. It's not going to go anywhere until I can show some of it to other people.

can we change?

 

click 'er for bigger

With probably thirty-six or thirty-seven more courthouses to chase down, it feels like there is a possible end to the driving the back roads of Virginia. Probably not this year, but possibly '09  will see some kind of completion. Finality is a scary thing. There will be the inevitable reshoots of places such as Sunday's encounter with Prince George County.

The day started clear, which was not expected, and I was facing into the sun with it right above the roof of the new court house building. Gave that one up and went a short distance away to work on the older building. It became apparent that it's been a while since I've used the Sinar. It took a while to set up, then I realized the first exposure was aligned incorrectly, the second was still too low, and when I've gotten all exposures for the day back, I see that with the third exposure that my centerlines are aligned, but the rear should have been shifted to the right to include all of one of the peripheral buildings, and exclude the extra space at the left.

What I'm finding, and finding interesting as well, is that specifics such as this are slowly evolving and changing. As I get better with the material, when I'm presented with more unusual symmetry, it's possible to stay basically true to the dead on alignment with the tripod set directly in front of the primary entrance. But the lens can be shifted slightly one way or the other to include ancillary structures.

This worked out quite well in Southampton County where I was able to include the old and the new entrances from one camera position.

Multiple exposure stitches have also worked successfully for structures too large in locations where the camera could not be moved far enough away to include the entire building.

None of this was planned at the outset as I learn what works. The methodology needs to be allowed to evolve. The project was always the goal, not the end product of having the collection. It was to learn along the way. 

Update on Friday, January 18, 2008 at 02:38PM by KMW

What this ultimately means for me is that I need to pay more attention to what I'm doing. Be less mechanical in my approach to the subject. Too often I'm banging through the steps to get another notch on the gunstock, and move on to the next victim (county). After all, this is supposed to be an Art project, not simply a documentation or a trophy hunt.