Sojourn Chronicles

I would be remiss if I did not write about the blizzard of 2008.

The snow started to fly on Friday while I was attending a business luncheon near downtown Cincinnati. Attendance was low because of the impending storm. By the time I was out of there at 1 p.m., businesses and schools were dismissing early which compounded the problem–dense traffic congestion. It took me two and a half hours to drive about 25 miles to home.

So, what does a photographer do when the blizzard is blowing? Set up the camera and watch the neighborhood! I ain’t going out in that. I’m shooting from inside–at least for most of it.

Wind blowing snow off top of neighbor’s house.

Blow-back on the snow blower makes for a snow-covered operator.

By Saturday afternoon, the snow had nearly stopped, and the overcast was changing to a lighter cover. The sun was popping through by late in the afternoon. There was very little traffic on Zoar Road, mostly snow plows trying to make roads passable.

Sunday brought sunshine and the start of the big melt. Since I just received my Canon EOS 3 back from Canon for service, I popped in a roll of Ilford XP black and white film for a little B&W drama. Of course, the best image is one of hope after the blizzard.–DBrent

Patio covered in snow, planter pot waiting for flowers and Spring.

Photo tip: If you are going to use B&W film, like Ilford XP that is processed in color chemicals, make sure you test the processing. While I am awaiting some fresh Ilford HP5+ film, I used the XP and took the film up to the local one-hour lab. They developed the film, and I scanned it with the Epson V500. Notice the speckles in the image. That’s a bad process, perhaps chemical residue or water spots from improper drying. Results like this is why I like to develop my own film. Always test the film and process before counting on a very important photo shoot. You don’t want to be disappointed with the results.