Stones River National Cemetery and Battlefield

          It's been awhile since my last post. The holidays and responsibilities of the new year kept me away a little bit. But I'm back now and ready to share another chapter in my exciting large format journey.
          I thought I'd take a break from reflecting on my history of my journey of large format, but instead focus on some recent work. This has been an extremely cold winter on record for the country and we here in the South have been no exception. Three waves of extreme cold (at least for us) hit this winter season. Around when the first wave came through I had already planned to go and make some exposures at the Stones River National Battlefield Cemetery. So I left work that cold afternoon and went.
         It was bitter cold and the wind, although light was slicing to the core. I drove into the cemetery and went to a cannon that overlooks about a quarter of the headstones. A lone cannon standing watch over the fallen.

Lone Canon Standing Vigil over the Fallen
Graflex with Optar 135mm
Arista 200 BW Film

          The little Optar was working now that I repaired it. (More on that in another post) Even in this bitter cold, the lens that was such a frustration worked perfectly. Even though I never trusted it on this shoot, it came through. Meter readings were made on the cannon, grass, trees and background and simply averaged.
          After this shot, I quickly packed up and threw the set in the car which was conveniently out of the frame to the right. I left the engine running and slowly thawed my frozen fingers out. After heating up a bit I got back out and decided to do a handheld shot. The light wasn't all that bright on this cloudy late afternoon, but the Graflex is designed to shoot handheld and I wanted to try that feature some more. After readying the camera I walked over to a nearby monument. You can actually barely see the base of it in the above photograph close to the second most distance cedar tree.
          I have a dedicated spot meter. It's a nice little meter and very accurate. However, I have been using a metering app on my iPhone that works very well. I take the other meter with me, but rarely use it now. Metering on the monument and shadow I readied an exposure. I decided to do this quick as the cold was biting even worse now.
          I had to open the Optar all the way to get the shot and even then I was worried about motion blur at the low speed of 1/30 sec I was having to shoot. The Graflex is unique in its screens to make a composition. There is the ground glass in the back for use on a tripod, but also a built in rangefinder for hand held use. Which is what I used for the following shot, and a "sports finder" which consists of a "wire frame" in the front and a peep in the back. I affectionally call it, "the gun sight."
          Using the rangefinder is a two stage affair. You focus until the "Split image" in the viewer "becomes one" or lines up. Once this is done you can use the second viewer to frame up the composition. It takes more time to describe it than actually do it. I set the camera to take a picture, focused the image, composed and released the dreaded shutter on the Optar. A faint but crisp "click" confirmed it took an exposure.

Monument to the Fallen
Graflex with 135mm Optar
Arista 200 BW Film

          Not the best composition in the world, and the very narrow depth of field softened the top to the monument. But it was gratifying knowing that I could handhold such a large camera steady enough for this type of shot. It's nice to know what the camera is capable of doing. I look forward to shooting hand held more and developing my technique.
          After visiting the cemetery, wanted to go to the park and try my hand at an early composition where the Optar's shutter had failed. (see "Early Failures") So I drove back to the cannons I had shot earlier in the past spring.
          It was too dreary for my tastes to make a color exposure but the tones on this gray day were great. So I loaded another holder of black and white. I tilted the lens to compensate for distortion but also to create the effect of "miniturizing" the cannons and carriages. Once again the Optar worked! It was on a roll, and I got one of my favorite images from the Graflex to date.

"Toy Cannons"
Pacemaker Speed Graphic Optar 135mm
Arista 200 Black and White Film

          This effect is very unique among large format cameras. Yes smaller formats do have tilt and shift lenses, but even they can't reproduce fully this effect that a large format camera gives. A little about the physics of this. Basically here's what happens. When an image is parallel to the film or sensor, all of the image can be rendered relatively sharply. This area in focus is commonly referred to as depth of field and it is affected by the camera's film or sensor size and the aperture setting of the lens. The aperture setting determines "the flow" of light as it enters into the camera. The aperture settings determine how much of an area in an image is in focus. To get all of a picture in focus generally requires a very narrow aperture. Not a lot of light is entering, but this renders a sharp image. Consequently it takes a longer time for the image to be recorded on the film or sensor. To compensate one has to extend the time for the light to strike the recording medium, thus the shutter time is extended, often to the point one can't hold the camera by hand and a tripod is necessary.
          When an image is tilted the depth of field remains the same. But the plane of focus is altered. The PoF is the dimension of the image in focus. Generally it is parallel to the film or sensor plane. When the lens is tilted the PoF is also tilted relative to the lens and areas in focus are also manipulated. When more open(wider) apertures are used one can selectively pick what objects are in focus and which aren't. It's is a very powerful creative tool. One in which I am only just beginning to learn.
        Well, I hope you enjoyed this week's post. I'll leave you with a quote from one of the memorial markers at the cemetery.

On fame's eternal camping-ground,

Their silent tents are spread,

And glory guards with solemn round

The bivouac of the dead.

         As always, thanks for reading and until next time, search for beauty and creativity in the great world around us!

          

Oaklands

          Okay, so I have this great piece of history, that can still make great pictures if I do my part. The Graflex definitely rewards hard work and doesn't tolerate any shirkers. So it was time to do some planning. What do I shoot? As I have stated earlier I often will just get a vague idea of what I'd like to take pictures of and just go. Oh I'll plan "the big trip" but locally I simply consider what I'll be shooting pack my bag and hit the road. But, this was different.
          I felt that I needed to be much more deliberate. Going so far as actually imagining what type image I wanted to capture and how I wanted it to look. It is different that most other photography I do. It's the difference between a hunter going into the woods seeking whatever quarry he may find, as opposed one hunting a very specific prey with very specific weapons and knowledge. You have to consider it a lot more. The environment, the animal's behavior, weather conditions and more. The same can be said of large format, at least in my experience. Yes, you can go out and be spontaneous, but I felt like I needed to be purposeful. What am I photographing? When? What type of weather is there going to be? What type film? What position will I shoot from, assuming I had been there previously to scout it out.
          That's when I decided I would take pictures of where I'd been before. I was familiar with these locations after all and I knew what to expect. So the first places I decided upon were the Stones River National Battlefield (and it's aforementioned failures), the Murfree Springs Wetland area and the Oaklands Historic Mansion. I decided upon the Oaklands.
         One of the things I love about Murfreesboro is the rich history it possesses. Once the capital of Tennessee it featured prominently during the Battle of Stones River during the American Civil War. Much of the impact of the founding families can still be felt in the city today.
         The Oaklands began as a plantation founded by Dr. James Maney and his wife Salile Murfree Maney. Located at the then north part of the town next to some nearby springs that Sallie inherited in 1813.

Murfree Springs located near the Mansion. Named for Colonel Hardee Murfree
Nikon F6, Tokina 100mm 2.8 Macro Ilford XP2 400 film

          Setup was straightforward. There is a turn-about in front of the mansion with a large circular area of grass with two huge trees on either side. The Optar was working perfectly for once that day and I released it a few times just to be sure. I metered on several locations of the home and surroundings and performed a simple average. What was different this time was a second attempt at using color, after the failure at the Battlefield. Loaded with Portra 400, this time my shutter on the questionable Optar worked. 

Golden Afternoon at the Oaklands Mansion
 Pacemaker Speed Graphic, Optar 135mm,  Kodak Portra 400

          Upon development I found the exposure was a little overexposed. But the beauty of color negative film, especially Portra 400 is it's incredible exposure latitude. It is extremely forgiving and a very good choice for one's first foray into color film. I made some corrections in Lightroom and got an acceptable image. 

          I am using a "hybrid" system to process at present, as I do not have a darkroom set up in my home as of yet. So I develop my film in the traditional manner then scan, process and print digitally. While not 100% traditional it does make film shooting easier for those who do not have a dedicated darkroom. 

         I did take a black and white capture from exactly the same position. I had to meter again for the slower film, which yielded a more accurate exposure this time. 

Oaklands in Black and White
Ilford FP4+ 125 film

          When I returned home and developed my sheets I was very happy. Both the images and the performance of the Optar's shutter. I thought my prescription for work to cure this shutter had finally succeeded. It was a brief calm before the storm. Nearly every shoot after this one would be met with failure of the shutter to release properly and end in many failures and frustration. It nearly made me stop shooting the format all together. Happily that was not the case. 

          If you are ever in Murfreesboro, be certain to stop by the Oaklands. They have many programs that occur there during the year along with a very friendly staff. Until then you can visit their website for more information on this wonderful historic home. www.oaklandsmuseum.org

Once again thanks for reading and until next time, search for beauty and creativity in the great world around us!