Me and my Rollei

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Good story.
 
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ToddB

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Thats awesome Thomas. I bet you get alot double takes from people sportin that beauty around. A real Freakin camera.

ToddB
 
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Vaughn

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A good friend (Glenn Crosby, great photographer and then curator of the Ansel Adams Gallery) had driven up from Yosemite Valley to join me as I worked in the Wawona Tunnel. He photographed me using a Pentax 6x7 with a 45mm lens and Fuji Provia 100F film.

I planned the session for after mid-night so there would be little traffic. Traffic coming thru the tunnel could be easily seen, traffic coming the other way (from behind) could be heard long before it arrived. I think I moved the camera out of the way two or three times before getting the image taken, and once again when Glenn arrived. Taken on March 3, 2003 -- just shy of its 10th anniversary!

I used a Zone VI 8x10 with a Fuji W 300/5.6.
Tri-X rated at 200ASA F32 at 1.5 minutes
Developed in Rollo Pyro 20:40:1000, 70F for 10 minutes

The resulting image from my 8x10 is a scanned platinum print. I liked the little bit of wet pavement. I have another negative with car tail lights at the far end of the tunnel, but do not print it.
 

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Excellent photographs. Love both the portrait and your extraordinary photograph of the tunnel. I don't suppose you had any fear of getting run over?

 

Vaughn

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Thanks! No fear -- as I said, one could hear cars coming from behind for a long time before they showed up. So I could be under the darkcloth without worries. Fairly quiet in the woods at that time of night (there was no wind as I remember). When I heard or saw a car, I just took note of where my front leg of the tripod was located, locked down the movements of the camera and the head, and on the legs of the tripod and could re-set up fairly easy.
 

Vaughn

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One hears the tire noise, not the engine. The cars are coming downhill towards that end of the tunnel, so 1) not much engine noise and 2) braking increases the tire noise...fortunately. The cars are coming around a lot of curves, so headlights are no clue (plus being under the darkcloth). And if one did happen to miss hearing the car, the visibility is high.

I'd love to this in the Zion tunnel, but my luck the only vehicles coming would be the rangers (no stopping allowed in the tunnel, I don't think pedrestrans are allowed either..but allowed in the Wawona). Zion's is one incredible tunnel!
 
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