bw1978-01 Rowboat & Heron in Fog
One more black and white oldie before I return to prairie birds. Fast forward just over five years from yesterday's street shot: I am now processing my own black and white film. I have spent two and a half years working for the Post Office before quitting in disgust. I've been in and out of several relationships. Returning to university to finish my degree remains an option, but really I'm not interested in an academic or professional career. I have moved to Gold River on the west coast of Vancouver Island and I'm working in a pulp mill. Good money, some danger: those industrial jobs can kill you. I'm still in my twenties and starting to get my work published in photo magazines. Life is good.
I remember this day in January. I was driving up the Island Highway, returning to the mill after five days off. Stopped to stretch my legs, ended up walking a cobble beach in thick fog. The scene was shrouded in silence and stillness, and I watched as a lone fellow in a small rowboat slowly worked his way through the calm water. When I saw the Great Blue Heron coming, I just raised the camera to my eye and fired off a single shot.
I was shooting black and white - Tri-X, pushing it a stop to ISO 800. It would be very grainy but also moody. I did not understand yet that black and white doesn't sell: if you want to make money in photography, shoot colour. At this point in my life I did want to make some money doing something that would be creative, fun, interesting, and would not kill me; within two years I was shooting colour full time and working as a printer in a pro lab.
Forty-six years later, I still like this image. It was only there for a split second, and my reaction was intuitive. What it lacks in fine detail - we've come a long way since those days - it makes up for, perhaps, in mood.
Photographed on Kodak Tri-X pushed to ISO 800; scanned from the original negative. Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©1978 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
bw1978-01 Rowboat & Heron in Fog
One more black and white oldie before I return to prairie birds. Fast forward just over five years from yesterday's street shot: I am now processing my own black and white film. I have spent two and a half years working for the Post Office before quitting in disgust. I've been in and out of several relationships. Returning to university to finish my degree remains an option, but really I'm not interested in an academic or professional career. I have moved to Gold River on the west coast of Vancouver Island and I'm working in a pulp mill. Good money, some danger: those industrial jobs can kill you. I'm still in my twenties and starting to get my work published in photo magazines. Life is good.
I remember this day in January. I was driving up the Island Highway, returning to the mill after five days off. Stopped to stretch my legs, ended up walking a cobble beach in thick fog. The scene was shrouded in silence and stillness, and I watched as a lone fellow in a small rowboat slowly worked his way through the calm water. When I saw the Great Blue Heron coming, I just raised the camera to my eye and fired off a single shot.
I was shooting black and white - Tri-X, pushing it a stop to ISO 800. It would be very grainy but also moody. I did not understand yet that black and white doesn't sell: if you want to make money in photography, shoot colour. At this point in my life I did want to make some money doing something that would be creative, fun, interesting, and would not kill me; within two years I was shooting colour full time and working as a printer in a pro lab.
Forty-six years later, I still like this image. It was only there for a split second, and my reaction was intuitive. What it lacks in fine detail - we've come a long way since those days - it makes up for, perhaps, in mood.
Photographed on Kodak Tri-X pushed to ISO 800; scanned from the original negative. Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©1978 James R. Page - all rights reserved.