Topic: Central Nevada

[Bryan]

I'm new to the forum so I thought I'd introduce myself here with some photos I took recently.  My work takes me on the road a lot so I like to spend my days off shooting film.  My job has nothing to do with film or photography I just do it as a hobby.  I don't like to use Photoshop so my photos are almost always how the scan came back from the lab.   

I've been shooting film ever since my parents got me my first camera back in the 1970's, it was a Kodak Instamatic.  I did jump on the digital bandwagon for a while but I came to my senses and went back to film.  I shoot all my home movies on 8mm and Super 8 film and watch them like they should be watched, with a projector.  I've been shooting Stereo photos with a View-master camera for years now.  This is continuing a tradition started by my wife's grandfather around 1955.  we have an amazing collection of personal View-master reels documenting my wife's family for over half a century.  My other cameras include 35mm, 120, 620 and Polaroid Pack film. 

These photos were taken while I was working on a project in Eureka, Nevada for two months during September and October of this year. The camera I used was a Yashica Electro 35 GSN.  I found the camera, in mint condition at an estate sale earlier this year for $15.  I only brought one roll of Kodak Portra 400 with me so when that ran out I had a coworker pick me up some Fujicolor 200 from Walmart when they went into Elko on their day off.  Eureka is a very isolated small town in the middle of Nevada.  You have to drive several hours to get to any significant size town that would have film.


Hamilton Nevada Smoke Stack by bac1967, on Flickr


Newark Valley Oasis by bac1967, on Flickr


Newark Valley, Nevada Road by bac1967, on Flickr


Junked Car by bac1967, on Flickr


Wrought Iron Fence by bac1967, on Flickr

[Urban Hafner]

Welcome to Filmwasters! And these are great shots with all that "nothing" in them

[ManuelL]

Great photos. Love the sense of space in the 2nd and the 3rd.

[Late Developer]

Welcome to FW and nice photos...!!

I've returned recently from the US of A, having driven Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica. I'm putting an "Essay" together (some posted already) and more to follow. My wife and I loved New Mexico, Arizona and Texas.

[Bryan]

Thank you for welcoming me to the forum.  These photos were all taken along Highway 50 in Nevada which is considered the loneliest highway in America.  It's popular for road tours like Route 66.  I saw a lot of motorcycle tours pass through while I was there.  There are a lot of old mines and ghost towns and a lot more nothingness. 

[johnha]

Welcome to the forum and thanks for the intro. Good shots but I like the last three in particular.

John.

[Bryan]

Thanks John.  I don't know if it's the film or the scan but I like the color in the bottom three better.  The top two were shot on Kodak Portra 400 and developed and scanned by the Darkroom.  The bottom three were shot on Fujicolor 200 and developed and scanned by Dwayne's.  After seeing the results of the Portra 400 I decided to go with a slower film in the bright desert sun.  That was the first time that I used The Darkroom and I was quite pleased with the service.  I put the film in the mail on Monday in Eureka, Nevada and was able to download the images on Friday of the same week.

[imagesfrugales]

Hi Bryan,

that's a great introduction. I understand that you don't want to fiddle with PS, but some basic adjustments can be very useful - i.e. contrast and cropping. There is no "just-so-out-of-scanner" picture and - once used to the process - the postprocessing f.e. of the 2 Portra400 pics would only take a minute or two.  How can the lab know how your pictures shall look like? You are the photographer and you should have the control imho. Your fine pictures are worth this minor effort. If I could afford it, I would have scanned all my good pictures by a professional scan service, but would never leave the final look to somebody else.  Just my 2 cents.

Best - Reinhold

[Bryan]

You're right Reinhold, I need to at least teach myself some basics.  I recently downloaded a copy of Lightzone but haven't had time to learn it yet.  They seem to have some good tutorials online.  I want to try my hand at Stand Development soon and would likely try to scan the negatives with a digital camera using a light table.  I think I will definitely need to do some post processing at that point.   

[calbisu]

Hi Brian! Welcome to Filmwasters 

You may want to introduce yourself in the main forum, I would say newcomers usually introduce themselves there, it´s a more populated forum.

Super 8 and stereo photos sounds just sweet!

Welcome again!

Carlos.

[Late Developer]

Hey Brian.

If you're looking for software, Photoshop Elements 11 is a good starting point.  It's got beginner, intermediate and advanced modules that help you progress through the functionality at your own pace.  the other good thing is that it's a doddle to use and there's always someone out there who'll talk you through anything you need help with.

I'm a pretty basic user. I tend to limit myself to crop, adjustment layers (levels and contract / brightness), sharpening and resizing.  Most of my work is done using monochrome - partly because I prefer it to colour and partly because I'm far from comfortable with adjusting colours to get them "right".  It's something I intend to work on as there are some subjects that just lend themselves to colour.....

Looking forward to seeing more of your work. 

[FiatluX]

That emptiness is so appealing, especially the "valley" and "oasis" ones.. Wow, imagine having to make a living there.. So fascinating, great photography!

[Verian]

Welcome

I love the old car, and the sense of space in the others.

[rpmdrd]

i am fascinated with abandoned cards. especially left untouched in the nothingness of scenes. i should try portra sometime when i can get a hold of a roll. .

[Bryan]

There are a few more cars in my Flickr set.  There were several interesting old cars that I found.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60348236@N07/sets/72157635576768976/