Taken along Stevens Canyon creek. This spot is one of my favorite little nooks in Mt. Rainier National Park (though I just discovered Van Trump Park this weekend and that blew me away, but more on that in another post). I went up there a couple weeks ago and lugged along the Zero Image 4x5 camera.

A few posts ago, I debated about my worries that my photography had settled into too much of a pattern, that I was not actively looking to push myself and experiment enough anymore. I was becoming too content. So two ways I have recommitted myself to that is by trying new photography, new equipment or new techniques. And also by posting not necessarily those images I consider "finished", but also more of those that are experiments in progress. Because as I say in my profile, I don't invest my limited time on here just to post my best work and wow as many people as possible. Quite frankly, I don't feel much reward from just impressing folk. I impress myself with my photography, and that is enough for me. I would rather teach and inspire, because other photography does that for me, and I like passing it along. And sometimes a photo has a great deal of value in this regard, even if it may never be a portfolio image.

This image is one of those. The new technique here, for me at least, is another double exposure. This time both with a pinhole camera though. I did one with the normal pinhole and the second exposure with the zone plate. Sort of achieving the same effect I do with my double exposures in and out of focus with my lensed cameras. But this is with pinhole. I like finding new ways for using cameras. :-)

Anyway, this is another result of me standing there, film in one hand, camera in the other, and questions in my head.

Tags:   Zero Image Zero45 Washington landscape pinhole impressionistic creek river water stream Mt Rainier National Park National Parks Mt Rainier Stevens Canyon nature outdoors hiking Do a search for zone plate here on Flickr You will find some interesting images Zeb Andrews Zeb Andrews photography Blue Moon Camera

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You really have to like scrambling over wet, moss-covered rocks, quicksand, branches slapping you in the face, spider webs, and cursing to cover the 1/4 mile trek to get across from this falls. Sure, I know what you will say, just follow the trail, it has a great vantage point of this waterfall. And it does, but not the right vantage point, especially for pinhole.

This was the second time I have been in this spot. I first found this falls a few years ago. We hiked the trail, marveled at the view, but were frustrated at how limited the opportunities to photograph it were. So I hiked back about 1/4 mile, slid down the very steep muddy hillside, and decided to try and pick my way along the river back to the falls.

Not nearly as easy as it sounds... or looks. Which is crazy, because you can see up the river to where you want to get to, all from where you start. It is getting there that is the trick.

The first time I did it, dusk was setting in, I was eyeing the wolf or coyote prints in the wet sand along the river, and I managed to step in a patch of quicksand (seriously) and sink almost up to my knees before I scrambled out. In other words, it was a lot of fun.

That was several years ago, and so a return trip was in order, as I really wanted to return to this spot and photograph this falls again with the experience and equipment I have acquired over the years since my first visit.

Most of the trip was the same as the first time, just minus the quicksand. Though there was a suspicious spot or two.

After several slaps in the face from stray branches, and crawling on hands and knees to get through tangles of undergrowth, we found our way to the mossy rocks directly across from the falls.

It was as green the second time as I remember it being the first, but a lot more volume to the falls. This is a shot I got with my pinhole camera.

Tags:   pinhole pinscape Washington waterfalls green river landscape Pacific Northwest Zero Image Zero69 Fuji Reala film Hooray for no quicksand But we still got our shoes wet having to wade across one little inlet Zeb Andrews Zeb Andrews photography Blue Moon Camera

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This is an older pinhole image of Multnomah Falls I took during the winter of 2006. I have always liked and disliked this shot. I really like the mood to this shot, but unfortunately I underexposed it by about a stop. It was already about a two minute exposure and it could have used about five minutes instead. But ah well, photograph and learn, eh? Anyway, I have always been a bit turned off by the dense shadows, or rather the lack of detail in them, which is why I wish I had exposed it a bit longer. But this was a pretty amazing day to be at the falls which I remember quite well. Not only was the fog obscuring the top of the falls, lending a sense of the impending to the scene, but the water level was the highest I think I have ever seen here. I remember my first thought upon getting out of the car (and still in the parking lot) was this is what it must sound like to stand at the end of a runway while a passenger jet is taking off. The roar was so loud it almost made conversation impossible, not that I had anybody to talk to this day anyway, and even if I had, we would have been so engrossed by the falls, conversation would have been a distant second option.

So I have spent over a year now occasionally coming back to this picture, tweaking it a bit, trying to mold it into something just right and always falling a bit short. And it still is, but at the same time, I like it still.

Taken with my Zero Image pinhole.

If you are interested in pricing for my images, or just plain curious, more info can be found at my website: www.zebandrews.com

Tags:   Zero Image Zero69 Oregon Pacific Northwest waterfalls Multnomah Falls Columbia River Gorge b&w moody atmosphere dark film pinhole pinscapes outdoors nature Zeb Andrews Zeb Andrews photography Blue Moon Camera

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Alright, after the lengthy dissertation I had on my last post, I will keep this short and sweet, well short at least. Often I will bracket compositions when I go somewhere. Why leave it to the chance that one particular shot will turn out when you have the opportunity to shoot from a few different angles? Film is much cheaper than a return trip afterall. Unfortunately I tend to narrow down rolls to one single postable image, which means, even if I like other compositions, I try not to post them, at least right away, just to keep my stream varied and not redundant. This is an image that suffered in such a way. I took this at the same time as her sister image here at Sol Duc Falls in Olympic National Park in Washington on a very rainy trip earlier this year. I initially, and still, like the other image the best, but there is a lot I like about this vertical composition as well, particularly how you can see the depth of the canyon that these falls spilled into. An amazing waterfall and one I would love to get back to someday. There that was short right? ;-)

Tags:   pinhole zero69 Zero Image Washington Pacific Northwest Olympic National Park Sol Duc Falls long exposure rainy days the great outdoors waterfalls landscapes forest Zeb Andrews Zeb Andrews photography Blue Moon Camera

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I have not been out to this waterfall in way too long a period of time. This is Wahclella Falls in the Columbia River Gorge, to this day still my favorite waterfall. Not because of its size or scale, in this case I think it is location, location, location. It is just far enough off the beaten path to remain somewhat secluded. The falls is situated in an amazing little cul-de-sac of the valley that has an almost time-forgot-this-place feel to it.

This has always been a problem image for me though, it has both elements I really like and really dislike. For one, I love the lushness of the moss on the rocks. Their color and vibrancy always strike me and remind me what a magnificent place this constantly damp state is. Unfortunately the light itself was not the best the day I took this with my pinhole and the falls themselves were a bit unevenly lit. I liked how the light was illuminating the spray at the bottom was being lit up, but I composed a bit poorly and it cuts into the edge of the frame. This has always bugged me about this shot. Generally speaking you never want to put such a visually interesting element, or any element for that matter, on the edge of the frame. The eye is drawn to it, and right out of the picture. This an important technique to remember when composing a photo. Always check your edges and corners for intruding elements. Never provide the viewer's eye with a path out of the picture.

Anyway, I always loved and hated the print of this shot for those reasons. A little bit ago I was going through and scanning a bunch of my negatives and decided to revisit this one. To make a long story short, the scan of this image gave me less cropping than the print had. It still is not a perfect composition, but it is better. I still love the mossy rocks and the slate bue gray of the water. And the memories, those are always valuable. I really need to get back out to this waterfall. Well that is what January is for. ;-)

Tags:   waterfalls pinhole Zero Image Zero69 Oregon Columbia River Gorge Pacific Northwest landscapes film nature outdoors pinscapes Wahclella Falls water moss lush justlikeheaven Zeb Andrews Zeb Andrews photography Blue Moon Camera

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