Chris Harris Newsletter #155. May, 2018

 

Newsletter #155: May, 2018

© Chris Harris. All rights reserved.

 

Hi everyone,

Welcome to the month of May and my 155^th monthly Newsletter. Enjoy!

 

This month’s visual adventures:

1. Stories Behind the Image:  part II

2. Back Roads in the Cariboo Chilcotin

3. Freeman Patterson: a link to ‘one of the best’

 

 

1. Stories Behind the Image

Last month I shared the stories behind two images, narratives of powerful memories dating back to the moment I clicked the camera shutter.  I’ve decided to turn these stories into a “stories behind the Image” series. Here are two more image narratives.

St. Saviour’s Church, Barkerville, BC   (film capture)

I don’t remember the exact year this image was made, but it probably dated back to the late 80’s or early 90’s; definitely a film image!

As a print, it has always been called “St. Saviour’s Church by Moonlight”, but of course it’s not. The moon is behind the church, making it impossible light up the front of the church; it is really St Saviour’s Church by sunlight.

Making this image took creative visualization, technical know-how, and several months to create. Explaining the process will make you appreciate your digital camera!

The image is a double exposure. First, the roll of film had to be loaded into the camera in a precise way (by counting the notches on the side of the roll) so that I could take the roll out of the camera and later reload it in the exact same way. This is so I could make a second exposure precisely on top of a previous exposure.

Next, by visualizing the final creation, I made my first image of the church in the afternoon so that the church was front lit (later to be falsely called moonlight!). I then made a sketch of the exact composition in my photographic notebook. I also drew in where I wanted to place the full moon and how large a moon I wanted in the final photograph (based on previous experience, I made note of the lens focal length I would use in order to capture that size moon). When I finished shooting the roll of film, I wrapped it up in the note instructions with an elastic band (I always carried them for this reason) and put the roll away in a safe place to await the next clear full moon night.

In this case, I remember waiting 3 months for that to happen. So, in the darkness of night, I put on a 100mm lens (if I remember correctly), reloaded my roll of film (noting where the 5^th notch was before closing the camera back), and then cocked the shutter enough times to get me back to the same numbered frame I made the original church image.

My God, I’m exhausted just trying to recount this procedure!!

Because the second exposure was made in total darkness, only the moon was exposed; it did not affect the original exposure. At this point my “St. Saviour’s Church by Moonlight” was made. All that remained was sending the roll of film to Kodak in the post and wait another 10 days before seeing if it worked. Fortunately, in this case it did! Thank God!!

If you are wondering why I am so emotionally attached to this image, I think you now understand!

 

 

Stampede, Flying U Ranch, BC   (film capture)

 When shooting for my publication Cariboo Country I would often visit the Flying U Ranch on Green Lake for horse and cowboy images. After learning the ranch routines, I became aware of two electrifying daily occurrences; the pre-dawn round-up of close to 100 horses, and the late afternoon release when they returned to pasture.

Taking note of the exact route they took each day, I scouted out a prime location to capture the action. After setting up my tripod, and carefully calculating my exposure, I waited.

Just after 4 pm, I heard the commotion, and the earth-pounding sound of 400 hooves in the distance. As they rounded a corner in a cloud of dust, adrenaline surged through me.

My excitement, however, soon turned to panic. What if they ran TOWARD me, and OVER me, instead of past me? Their pent-up energy suddenly seemed very unpredictable.

Instead of running, I instinctively started shooting. Within a few moments the horses were past me. Only then did I realize I was still alive!

The Flying U Ranch was established in 1849 and is still in operation today. Their specialty is still ‘unsupervised horseback riding on 60,000 acres of trails’. I have wonderful memories of photographing at the Flying U. The Fremlin family, owners of the ranch at that time, were most welcoming and played a very supportive role in my getting to appreciate and photograph Cariboo Country.

 

2. Back Roads in the Cariboo Chilcotin

There is something about a back-country dirt road that fascinates me. Maybe because a road is a metaphor for choice and for life itself, I always take the time to make images of them as I travel on my photographic adventures.

While looking  at the images of only the past two years, I was astonished to come across over 100 including all four seasons.

Here are a few of the summer road images I enjoy looking at. They are all located within two hours of where I live near 100 Mile House in central B.C.

Canyonlands are a familiar feature of the grasslands as water drains from the plateau above.

As I drive, I think of this ancient landscape as one of the ecological wonders of the world. Several of the grasses are unique to the planet.

Wind, rain and snow continuously carve landforms that are awe-inspiring.

The Lower Grassland is home of big sagebrush. Where fire has been absent, gnarled sagebrush form a canopy like a dwarf forest.

A day driving slowly through this quiet landscape is food for the soul.

Eroding terraces are formed of sediments deposited in glacial lakes and rivers that filled the valley about 10,000 years ago.

Early morning light casts deep shadows in the canyonlands above the Fraser River.

Over what was once a glacial lake bottom, a road now enters a working ranch.

These are the roads I drove over for three years while photographing for my book Spirit in the Grass: The Cariboo Chilcotin’s Forgotten Landscape. Supported by friends, volunteer grassland ecologists, and the Grasslands Conservation Council of British Columbia (GCC), it was a career changing experience; both as a photographer and a publisher.

The grasslands are still a favourite landscape for me to photograph in, and I am pleased to say, I will be presenting at the GCC’s annual AGM later this month.

 

3. Freeman Patterson: a link to ‘one of the best’

Volcanic landscape. Itcha Volcano. BC

I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you, my Newsletter subscribers, about a “Periodical Letter” which I feel you will thoroughly enjoy receiving bi-monthly. It is written by one of Canada’s most prominent photographers and writers, Freeman Patterson.

Freeman has long influenced how we photograph, not only in Canada, but around the world. He certainly has influenced my work. In 1974 I took the only photo workshop I’ve ever done, with Freeman at his home in New Brunswick. That workshop changed my life, for it gave me the confidence to tackle any photographic assignment, and thus the publication of 13 books.

As Freeman describes his ‘letter’, it’s “about ideas, feelings, and reflections – on photography, more broadly on art, and always on the ways they relate to our lives”.

For information about Freeman, the opportunity to read his first Periodical Letter, and the option of subscribing, please visit Freeman’s website. It comes highly recommended!

P.S. The image above was published in my most recent book, The Cariboo Chilcotin Coast: A Photographer’s Journey. When Freeman received his copy, he contacted me and told me that the above image was one of his three most favourite in the book. Remarkably, I had thought of him when making this image. His influence remains!

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