In scanning my dad's old Kodachrome slides from the '50s and '60s, what wonderful memories they stir up in me as I look at myself as a 3-year-old at Disneyland, or at 8 standing in the waters of the Atlantic south of Miami picking up sand dollars. The railway at Pike's Peak in Colorado. The brilliant colors of Bryce Canyon. An old cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts. Wildlife along the Going To The Sun Road. Devil's Tower. Golden Gate Bridge. Grand Canyon. Wolf Creek Pass. Niagara Falls. Arches. Gardens of the Gods. Craters of the Moon.
However, I noticed a very 'unhappy' trend in scanning these half-decade old images,..... and I recall that trend all too well as we traveled the country when I was growing up.
In my teens, I started to get interested in photography, in part due to your travels (I have been fortunate to have been in 47 of the Lower 48). However, one thing that irked me in those years is the rigid schedule my dad imparted on our travels. Many a time I wanted to 'stop and take a photo', only to be told, "No, we need to be in Denver/Portland/St. Augustine/Odessa/Helena/wherever by 3:00."
Although many of his photos were taken from scenic overlooks and such, I've found a lot of them taken from a moving vehicle. Just like this one:
Now I realize Dad wasn't a great photographer (he never claimed to be), and didn't have a better camera than his $18 1962 Tenax Automatic. All he was after was snapshots. But how sad it is that such a rich opportunity was lost simply because he didn't want to even slow down. I'll admit many of his images are less than ideal, due in part by the poor optics he was using, not adjusting the focus on the rangefinder camera, and many more simply improperly exposed by what I'm sure was not setting the ASA on the camera correctly when loading another roll. But still..... I absolutely cringe when I see a shot like this and think of the tremendous opportunity that was let slip away.
I recall specifically wanting to take a shot of a stand of aspens outside Aston, ID, we passed at least 100 times. It wasn't until 2012 that I was able to actually stop and take it, and it was because I was traveling solo.
To date, I have only found two 'keepers' out of about 850 images of his. Moral of the story: If you see a shot, pull over (safely!) and take your time getting it.
Rant over.
However, I noticed a very 'unhappy' trend in scanning these half-decade old images,..... and I recall that trend all too well as we traveled the country when I was growing up.
In my teens, I started to get interested in photography, in part due to your travels (I have been fortunate to have been in 47 of the Lower 48). However, one thing that irked me in those years is the rigid schedule my dad imparted on our travels. Many a time I wanted to 'stop and take a photo', only to be told, "No, we need to be in Denver/Portland/St. Augustine/Odessa/Helena/wherever by 3:00."
Although many of his photos were taken from scenic overlooks and such, I've found a lot of them taken from a moving vehicle. Just like this one:
Now I realize Dad wasn't a great photographer (he never claimed to be), and didn't have a better camera than his $18 1962 Tenax Automatic. All he was after was snapshots. But how sad it is that such a rich opportunity was lost simply because he didn't want to even slow down. I'll admit many of his images are less than ideal, due in part by the poor optics he was using, not adjusting the focus on the rangefinder camera, and many more simply improperly exposed by what I'm sure was not setting the ASA on the camera correctly when loading another roll. But still..... I absolutely cringe when I see a shot like this and think of the tremendous opportunity that was let slip away.
I recall specifically wanting to take a shot of a stand of aspens outside Aston, ID, we passed at least 100 times. It wasn't until 2012 that I was able to actually stop and take it, and it was because I was traveling solo.
To date, I have only found two 'keepers' out of about 850 images of his. Moral of the story: If you see a shot, pull over (safely!) and take your time getting it.
Rant over.
