Chapter 11 | Books & Benny's
Chapter 11 | Books & The Benny’s
Over the years we have been very fortunate to have published four award winning coffee table books. We self published each of them for two basic reasons…artistic control and superior quality. Admittedly it helps when you have your own distribution line, in this case our own branded galleries. We could have made smaller lesser quality books at the time but that’s against our mindset. We make the best photographic art in the world, so we had better make the best coffee table books in the world as well.
Sadly American printers were only interested in their bottom line numbers. They never stopped to think how much better off they would be, beating out competitors by having a superior product, if they could just change their thought processes. Heaven knows I tried to no avail.
At the time a fellow by the name Bill Atkinson (a really wonderful fellow and photographer), of Apple fame, had just used a technique Joseph Holmes (a dear friend) had taught maybe 5 or 6 people concerning color profiling for output; which Bill used for profiling inkjet printers. Though the technique can be used for exposure of light sensitive photographic processing as well. Add Charley Cramer and myself to the list of folks Joe was kind enough to teach and you now know two thirds of the folks who knew how to do it right.
Bill though is a perfectionist, not to say Joe isn’t. In fact Charley and I decided that on Joe’s tombstone we should have inscribed “Here Lays Joe Holmes. He knew everything.” Not so much as a joke, but because Joe is one of the most remarkable minds in existence and well, he knows a lot about a lot.
Ok back to the books. Bill had created a way to significantly improve the CMYK color gamut on four color printing presses and his book proved it.
My first book “Wilderness Collections” was printed here in the US. The results were sketch at best, but people loved it and it was sold out before it was even published. When we decided to publish a second book “Beyond the Trail” I wanted to significantly improve the end result. So I asked my friend Joe if he’d help me do that. Joe is a competitive guy but only in the sense of wanting to make things better than they are. We set out to improve the CMYK color gamut Bill had come up with. Long story short, we did. We were able to improve the overall color space by more than 40%. In the world of CMYK offset print press printing, that is huge. So much so that the next two books would be printed the same way.
Competitors have asked for years how I was able to get a coffee table book to look so good. I’d say it would have to have started with Bill. Because Bill showed us all what could be done. But in the end the adulation falls to Joe for making the end product vastly better. To this day I believe our color space to be the best for CYMK printing color space on the planet.
Did I ever mention that to be an artist, more than just a photographer, in ones genre you need to know all there is to know about that genre, otherwise you’re probably just a photographer? By this chapter you might just now begin to realize, how much there really is to know in this genre. And we’re just getting started because there is a lot more to it than just output color spaces.
Chapter 11 | The Benny’s
In the world of print publication there is something called a Benny Award. These are the equivalent to an Oscar in the movie industry. The books we created have individually received multiple Benny Awards. Oscar’s baby!
The first three books are completely sold out and only a few remain of the last title. See it here. Swan Song.
Chapter 11 | Shared Book Forwards
For each book a forward and Artist Statement was written, which I would like to share with you here. Hope you are able to get a sense of my love and passion for this work and how others feel about my work as well.
Wilderness Collections | Volume I | SOLD OUT
Forward by George Ward | famous publication & fine art photographer
Beeeep—Beeeep—Beeeep—the alarm clock pierces an otherwise silent four AM Yosemite morning. For me it’s another day in paradise. I assign myself destinations, shoot on speculation, then market my work to environmental publishers. I remember clearly the first day I met Rodney. It was a brisk October morning in 1995 and I was on the last segment of a loop trip that took me to Lake Tahoe, Mono Lake and Convict Lake, on the eastern side of the Sierras.
About an hour after sunrise I decided to explore Leidig Meadow, a large grassy area embellished with black oaks, ponderosa pines and cattails. Commanding views of Half Dome, North Dome, Royal Arches combine with the trees to produce a magical effect. It has been a couple of days since I have seen anything to get excited about and I feel the need to record something on film. But many times in nature, especially in heavily photographed places like Yosemite Valley, it can be a frustrating experience trying to produce fresh, innovative work.
So there I was under an enormous oak, struggling to force a composition that I knew wasn’t working when I heard a voice say “What are you trying to shoot?” I had noticed this guy a few minutes earlier—it was unusual to see someone using the same camera that I use. He said hello and told me his name was Rodney Lough, Jr. After a brief conversation he asked to look at what I was composing in my ground glass. To my dismay he quickly remarked that it looked like a “waste of good film”. After working to get this shot right for almost an hour, I realized at that moment it was time to let it go—nothing like an honest opinion. Since that day in Yosemite, Rodney and I have remained good friends and his generous spirit has obliged me with an honest opinion many times.
From the time William Henry Jackson began photographing the American West in the 1870’s, many artistic souls have been drawn to record on film or canvas the majesty of North America’s great landscapes. This is not a calling to be taken lightly. It may take weeks or even months to find an image with the right combination of earth, water, sky or flora to produce a photograph of exceptional beauty and originality. In many cases, if wind, rain or snow interfere, you may have as your only recourse to return the following year, when flowers again bloom or autumn trees repeat their radiant display. Even then, a photographer may retrace their steps only to find ten feet of unmelted snow, trees no longer standing or beaches washed away. To the casual observer the wilderness landscape may seem unchanging in it’s grandeur, but for the artist who returns to a place year after year, it is indeed a different “picture”. I believe it was Ansel Adams who wrote: “Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer - and often the supreme disappointment”.
Rodney, however is no stranger to being tested. After earning a masters degree in statistics from Brigham Young University, he went on to apply his expertise in the corporate world. It wasn’t long before it dawned on him that the only statistical data he really cared about were the predicted times of the sun and moon rising and setting, and the probable theory that he could make some great images in the magnificent outdoor cathedrals of the american west.
The word photography is derived from the Greek meaning “drawing with light” and just as the painter has a canvas on which to apply oil, acrylics, etc., the photographer relies on the light-sensitive emulsion of photographic film. The “paint” is reflected or transmitted light projecting from the subject, through the lens, and onto the “canvas “ of film. Most often the photographer does not have the luxury of choosing which shades or colors to apply as a painter would — they are provided at the whim of nature, and often through a chaos of movement and form. Within this chaos the photographer must have a certain ease and familiarity with the application of their camera just as an artist with a brush or a writer with a pen. The act of making an image can be a frustrating exercise in guesswork, or it can be as fluid and exhilarating as dancing, depending on how prepared and experienced one is.
Rodney is one of a rare breed of athlete/artists.I say athlete because outdoor photography using a large-format camera distinguishes itself from most other visual arts by the physical endurance required. There is not necessarily a relationship between miles hiked and great images made, but most wilderness photographers are, in practice, explorers first and photographers second. If this kind of work is in your blood, it would certainly not be unusual to set out for the day, carrying forty pounds of gear over ten or fifteen miles. It is this reality that must have made the famous photographer, Edward Weston quip: “Anything more than 500 yards from the car just isn't photogenic”.
Since the age of twelve, Rodney has been fascinated with photography. As with most outdoor photographers he began with the smaller 35mm format and through the years gradually worked his way up through medium format to find his favorite means of expression to be the large (4x5) format camera. With this larger camera (i.e., film size) he is able to fully express the richness of detail, tonal range and color often lost with the convenience of smaller cameras.
He is as accomplished with black and white photography as he is with color. Working with black and white he learned the essence of good image making—how to integrate line, texture and tonal range to form energetic, evocative images—in a word, composition. This most important of photographic skills can be easier to develop and refine without the distraction and preoccupation with color.
To preserve the integrity of the creative process and to maintain his own rigorous standards, Rodney also taught himself the art of photographic print-making. In order to authentically convey his personal vision of wilderness, whether it be in color or black and white, Rodney believes he must be the one who translates the image on film into the final print—not someone else. The many thousands of people who choose to own one of his fine vintage prints appreciate this creative integrity in the superlative quality of the final image.
With the proliferation of the personal computer, Photoshop and digital technology in general, photography has undergone a monumental revolution. Most professional photographers, this writer included, today regard the computer as one of their indispensible tools. This technology has had many wonderful benefits. Restoring damaged or defective film, archiving, Internet “galleries”, and advances in print-making are just a few of the incredible new resources available for the photographer today.
However, this powerful new technology carries with it the potential to misrepresent the natural world as seen through the lens of the photographer, by the use of digital manipulation. Digital art certainly has its place, but the alteration of nature photographs can only serve to erode the trust that generations have held for the photographic image. I recently read an Ansel Adams quote where he proclaimed “not everybody trusts paintings but people believe photographs”. Those sentiments were accurate twenty years ago—but this is sadly no longer the case. Rodney counts himself among those landscape photographers that strongly believe standards for honesty in photography must be recognized and preserved. He is adamant in his refusal to compromise neither the truth in nature or his own integrity as an artist. Attempting to “enhance” the magic of nature by altering what was before his camera would make a mockery of the sublime power of nature and the inspiring legacy of masters from Henry Jackson to Ansel Adams, in whose footsteps he follows.
One thing Rodney hopes to stimulate through his work is a greater public awareness of our remaining wild places.The other day I saw a bumper sticker that read: “Mommy, what did trees look like”. Granted, that may sound somewhat apocalyptic, but I think the message needs no interpretation. All of us—from how we vote and what products we buy, to special contributions of time or money—can all do our part to ensure that places, beautiful beyond imagination, remain that way. Rodney is certainly doing his part. As a master landscape photographer, his images remind us that with the technological renaissance of the new millennium, a strong sense of stewardship is needed if we are to preserve the aesthetic, cultural, psychological and spiritual values that only wilderness can provide.
Rodney has developed the ability to create visual poetry from the world of nature and put the viewer in touch with an intangible energy that informs his subjects. This book is the compendium of Rodney’s best work created over the past three years. Thousands of hours on trail and highway have gone into the work between these pages. What could it be that produces such intensity and duration of effort? Simply put, for Rodney, its all about being out there—in the forests, mountains, deserts or along the ocean’s edge—and to share his experiences through fine photography. To this end he does us all a service, reminding us of the incredible beauty beginning just the other side of city limits. Take your time with the visual feast in the pages that follow. You may find, as I do, that all that seems lost in translation are the enticing scents of pine needles, ocean air and sagebrush.
Artist Statement by Rodney Lough Jr.
The world is a remarkable place full of beauty and splendor. To witness the simple grandeur of creation, the miracle of nature, is perhaps all we need. The peace felt while viewing a leaf turned color at the height of fall or the bright green grass that comes in the early spring perhaps is all we need as well.
I have stood on mountaintops that echo a pure silence, like that of a chapel, and wept from the excellence of the experience. It is at those times when I realize there is an eternal purpose and I know what my role is. A ‘calling’ made sure fills me with a sense of completeness, happiness, and contentment. Every one of us has a specific talent and we are meant to share those talents wherever possible for the betterment of all humankind. Some sing, others create compositions in food, and still others build. The talent I have been blessed with – why, I can’t explain – is seeing and capturing nature’s intimate release – moments in time captured for the benefit and prosperity of all.
A wonderful and marvelous place is this world we live in. If we only take the time to examine it we can be refilled with its glory. As a race, we have become indifferent to the world and the delicate role we play in it. We have been destroying the very thing that gives and sustains our lives. Modernism has forced us not to become more independent, as it was suggested technology would bring about. Rather we have and are becoming more drone like. It is laughable, but the Disney song sung by the seven dwarfs…”Hi ho, Hi ho, it’s off to work we go”…has become so intertwined in the way we thing and act that it stifles the child inside each of us.
When you look at much of the artwork throughout the past few centuries, there seems to be a dark, even sad, symbolism, the message being that life is barely worth living, life is horrible. For me, perhaps because I have taken “The Lough Road”, life is fun, it is grand, and I desire to begin each day anew! Life is worth the effort it requires and the beauty, the natural beauty that surround us, is breathtaking if we only take the time to see it.
A gallery director at my first gallery show in Chicago told me that my work would be loved if I could only get those attending to slow down long enough to actually look at it.
Please slow down, if only for a few moments, and enjoy the view along life’s trail.
See Ya on the Trail!
Beyond the Trail | Volume II | SOLD OUT
Forward by Clyde Butcher | famous fine art photographer
The warm glow of early morning light embracing the Grand Teton Mountains is a
profound experience. I had been photographing the Tetons for two weeks, and every morning I found myself humbled by the sun casting its light on the majestic beauty of those great mountains.
I was far from the damp humid swamps of my home in Florida on a trip across the Untied States to photograph some of my favorite places to include in an upcoming museum exhibit. As I stood next to my camera waiting for the light to be right for black and white photography, I found myself comparing the environment of Florida to that of the Grand Tetons and found that the difference between the two ecosystems complimented each other and made each more beautiful because of their differences. As I waited and watched for the light, my mind pondered the philosophical question of how differences also compliment life rather than constrict life. I thought about how different people, places, cultures and events have enriched my life.
Reaching into the quiet depth of my being, I began my morning reverie of meditative communication. I thought about philosophical questions of life, about the earth, its splendor and the pleasure of being able to take the time to experience this wonderful place. My soul was filling up with thankful joy when I heard a voice say, “Clyde Butcher, is that you?! What are you doing so far away from the swamps of Florida?” I turned to see Rodney Lough walking toward me.
“What do you mean, what am I doing here…what are you doing here so far from home?” I asked. I was humoring Rodney because we both know a question like that given to a photographer in the Grand Tetons is crazy. Of course we are there to photograph!
I had last seen Rodney several years ago in Florida. It was a joy, and an amazement, to bump into him in the middle of no where. With a brief hug we began what turned into a morning of talking about the past, present and future.
“Do you remember when I brought my portfolio of photographs to you eight years ago?” Rodney asked. “You told me that I was going in the right direction with my photographs and said, ‘Keep up the good work kid!’ It was your comment that inspired me to take my photography seriously and when life conspired for the right moment, I decided to take the leap and make photographic landscape photography my life work. I’m so glad I have this opportunity to thank you for that encouragement because now my life is a glorious adventure.”
I was overwhelmed by this acknowledgement. I have often said that a positive word or single action can have a ripple affect, but this was the first time I had the pleasure of seeing the result and what an amazing result! Rodney has his own unique view of the world around him and expresses it beautifully in his photographs. He has such joy in his life that his photographs explode with the energy of creative expression. All of that is wonderful, but what is even greater is that he has grown in depth. Yes, he has a love for photography, but he also sees its value as a teaching tool to help others understand the world around them.
As the day wore on our conversation naturally turned away from photography and toward the environment. We agreed that it was of vital importance that photographers work together to shout with their art, “We live in a beautiful world, let’s take care of it!”
As our population grows, our wild places are shrinking and we are loosing the biology of our earth, which we need in order to sustain a healthy life. Rodney agreed with me that each of us must take responsibility for our life and have less impact on the earth. The goal for our lives should be to leave the earth better for having walked on its surface. With that in mind, Rodney told me about his latest book, “Beyond the Trail”, and how he hoped this book would help people understand the beauty of the earth and the need to take care of it. With that thought I was thankful that Rodney is in the world joining with so many others in working to help the community of the earth to understand the importance of our environment to the health of our lives, economy, and the future of our country.
The art of photography has enriched my life in so many ways and to see the same thing happening to Rodney is fulfilling. The images in this book, captured with the artistic eye of Rodney Lough, lift the spirit with the realization of the splendor our world possesses. It is my hope that you will regard the beauty of this earth as a gift from one generation to the other and find tranquility in your heart while contemplating the images in this book.
Artist Statement by Rodney Lough Jr.
It was the most unlikely place one might think of learning a valuable life lesson, but there I was about to come face to face with one. The train had just pulled away from the station during a Friday morning rush hour and I was on it. It did not smell like the pine forests that I am accustom to. It was standing room only. For me, being bunched in next to strangers is one of the most uncomfortable experiences, but the Pier 39 gallery was expecting me and hundreds of people were waiting for me to give a talk. It’s not like I could just go back to the airport and book a flight to some wilderness location – after all I had responsibilities and they were all waiting.
At first I didn’t even notice her sitting there just to the right of me, mostly because you’re not suppose to I guess. We don’t live in a society that rewards outspoken friendly behavior. You’re thought to be ‘weird’ if you say ‘Hi’ to someone on the street you don’t know. Can you image doing that in New York City?
Her notebook was open and she was obviously studying. The book bag at her feet had the name ‘Mulisha’ penned onto its canvas surface. In my line of work - my first career that is - ‘mu’ or “µ” is a symbol used to represent the mean of a mathematical function, often referred to as the average. “Average”, that’s what her parents had called her I thought, an average ‘lisha’. I wondered if her parents even thought about that when they named her, doubtful, but there she sat doing her homework – an average ‘lisha’.
She closed her notebook and sat it on her lap and then opened her biology book, if I recall correctly, and started reading. The top of her notebook, which she had just closed, poked out from underneath the biology book. There were several things written on the outside cover and it reminded me of the ‘Pee Che’ notebook covers I had when I was in junior high. I had penned a thing or two onto those covers in my day, but nothing as poetic as what I was about to read.
I took another look at her young face, so full of hope. She had stenciled “You need me, I need you, together all our dreams can come true” on the cover. Sometimes it takes nearly an entire lifetime to realize that the precious nature of life is something we need to celebrate. But there she was, at such a young age boiling it down to that simple truth – I need you, You need me.
So Mulisha, if by some chance you read this someday, I wish I’d had the courage to say it then, but ….. Hi! My heart and my thanks go out to you for your unknowing youthful spirit because you are the impetus of our future and with youth like you, I am encouraged. Mulisha - you are anything but average.
Like the fish in a stream, or the storm clouds on the distant horizon, or the trembling of the leaves on a nearly vanquished aspen at the end of fall, or the alpenglow off a freshly dusted snowy mountain peak at dawn, or the beavers tail slap against the water at evenings twilight, or the mid day shade of a prairie oak in lush spring grass watching cartoon clouds float overhead, or bald eagles playing across the sky in a symphony of flight, I wonder if there is anything better than this life. It’s interesting to me how things come to be. I’ve got a fine life - one filled with people who truly care about me, as I do for them. I awaken everyday not knowing exactly what’s before me. Will the day bring joy or sadness, or a little of both? How can we know? What I do know is that it is a new day and I will embrace it and live it as it comes.
Many a ragged mile, a couple stitches, and more than a few blisters have gone into the making of this book. I have spilled my own blood for this book - for you, for all of us. It is enlightening though, as I find myself between the two worlds that I am bounded by, a bit of a stranger to both, the city in which I live and the wilderness to which my heart belongs. My heart pounds and my lungs gasp with each step taken over a twelve thousand foot pass, step after step, knowing something wonderful awaits. Wilderness truly does hold the answers to questions we’ve not yet learned to ask.
A common question I am often asked is: “How do you do that?” – I tell you now bluntly – I do it stripped emotionally naked, that’s how. That’s what it takes. One must be willing to let the world, strangers mostly, peek into the inner sanctum of your soul. It takes being strong enough to not care about what others think of the work you’ve created. You bear your soul with every piece shared, and that alone will speak volumes about who you are and what you believe in; what you believe to be important. It’s like finding a treasure chest and knowing that you must share the treasures inside, for some treasures are too precious to keep to ones self.
If a ‘picture’ is worth a thousand words, then this collection of photographs will have you ‘reading’ for some time. I trust that you will enjoy ‘reading’ it as much as I have enjoyed the work it has taken to bring it home to you.
One of the most renowned living photographers of our day wrote the forward to this book. We had not seen each other in years, but on that spring day in the Grand Teton National Park it was like we’d never missed a step in our personal relationship and we picked up right where we had left off so many years ago. During our conversation the subject of this book came up and Clyde asked, “What is the underlying purpose of this book?”
No one had asked me that question. I knew why I was doing it, but no one had asked me, until then. The purpose of this book is very simple in nature, however the final result can only be measured years, if not decades from now.
Within these pages I want to show you the beauty of the world we live in. Can you experience this beauty firsthand? Can you witness to others the beauty that you have seen? Can and will you protect it for future generations?
If you don’t know about wild places such as these how can you be expected to understand anything different than what you now know? The images in this book, for better or worse, are meant to bring the beauty of the wilderness into your home.
If you can’t experience these places first hand, know that they are real, know that they need to remain there untouched and unspoiled, know that you can make a difference, know that your children’s children must have these places available to them. The purpose of this book is very simple – You will now know about these places.
See Ya on the Trail!
Stand Here | Volume III | SOLD OUT
Forward by Miriam Leuchter | Editor in Chief, Popular Photography
All documentary photographers beckon us to look through their eyes, to see what they see—to see as they see. And in the tradition of the greatest landscape photographers, Rodney Lough Jr. demands that we stand with him and share his awe at the beauty of the world as he finds and frames it.
Stand Here ushers us on a visual journey from a sweeping vista of Alaska’s Mount Denali to a tight curl of swirling water in Nicaragua’s Somoto Canyon, from unspoiled wilderness to carefully cultivated gardens to the ruins of a vanished civilization. Grassland gives way to redwoods; mountains cede to the sea. A spindly tree emerges from a cleft of rock amid an enormous cascade. Wildflowers, waterfalls, storm clouds, and snow drifts follow one another, each a window on the natural world filtered through the photographer’s vision.
Lough captures the stillness and quiet in the midst of a world in motion. His photography renders a brief slice of time—when the light and the weather and the smallest details of the scene all align—timeless and magisterial.
Yet this book isn’t all just purple mountains majesty and amber waves of grain. By riffing on what he experiences in reaching (and returning from) these often remote places, and how and why he photographs them, Lough reveals a lot about himself: He’s at once sensitive and tough, a loving husband and a goofball, a spiritual seeker and a camera geek. His narrative allows us to tag along—without having to haul his gear.
The title similarly evokes multiple meanings: The word stand implies firmness of purpose (to take a stand), courage and tenacity (the last stand), metaphor and principles (to stand for something), a grove of trees, a support for lights. Here places us simultaneously with Lough in the field and at home with his book.
In reading Stand Here, we take Lough up on his invitation to join him on his rambles and look through his lens. Perhaps his book will inspire us to explore in person, camera in hand, the parklands he depicts and to stand up, as he does, for the preservation of the wild places of this earth.
Artist Statement by Rodney Lough Jr.
Some people are flowery’, some are soft, cozy and easy to be with – you just want to snuggle up next to them on the couch at the cabin and watch the logs burn in a fireplace on a cool winters evening. Some, perhaps you’ve just met, are like old friends who seem happy to just see you and find out how you’ve been. We’ve all come across these type people at some point in our life. No one knows what it is about them, but we all just seem to like them. Maybe it’s pheromones. Or maybe it’s the way their eyes twinkle or dimples pinch, or the perfectly straight teeth and white glistening smile that draw us in. It’s anyone’s guess, and it’s elusive and hard to put your finger on the reason why.
Now, if you think I’m one of those types of people, you’d be wrong.
I’m a rough around the edges modern day mountain man who could care less about what anyone else thinks about me, or my work. And as the years grow, one to another, the deeper my resolve to ‘not care’ what others think of me becomes. Maybe I just need a hug - where are those flowery souls when you need one anyway? Don’t you just love sarcasm, or was that too subtle?
That’s not to say there aren’t special people in my life, or that there are not those that have touched my life in profound ways; because there are, in fact there are many, too many to mention here for sure.
They say that the third times the charm – and maybe this book will prove that true. This, in my humble opinion, is the finest book of its kind ever created.
When it came time for me to write the Acknowledgments section, specifically for this book, I was lost. There are of course the usual suspects, Dr. Phyllis Perrin Wilcox and Dr. Sherman Wilcox for their invaluable help in proof reading and dealing with my multitude of misspellings – you guys are awesome, but you already know that. Let’s not forget my staff here at the studio without whom none of this would have gotten finished – thanks to you all. And then there’s my family – who for the most part ‘understand’ and tolerate me.
A complete list acknowledging everyone would contain thousands of people and organizations and frankly it does them a disservice to even try and list them all; You guys know who you are, so pat yourselves on the back because you deserve it! Just pretend it’s me doing the patting and saying “You’re Awesome! Thank You!”
So where is all this going, you’re wondering? Well, it’s headed into a bit of a history lesson so keep reading.
The first camera ‘presented’ to me was a 35mm Olympus OM1 from my ‘Uncle’ Bill. Now Bill wasn’t really my uncle, but he was my Dads best friend. Have you got an ‘Uncle Bill’ in your family? If you don’t then there’s probably something wrong with you. Sorry, just being a mountain man there – forget it, just let it pass, like water off a duck. Anyway, long story short, that camera and the simple advice of “Just go have fun!” has fueled a life’s path and career some would call remarkable and blessed. In hindsight, maybe they’re right. But that’s not to say there weren’t a few forks in the road where we should have turned left instead of right. All in all though, the road has certainly risen to meet the soles of my worn out hiking boots more than once. That didn’t happen all by chance, we’re sure of it.
But that’s not where the story ends. Nor where my gratitude, humble or otherwise, stops.
It does bother me though that in today’s world if someone wants to publically give thanks to God for their blessings, they have to be socially conscious as to not offend others of either the same basic faith or those from other faiths, and even those with no faith. By the same token if they do outwardly express their faithful thanks there will certainly be claims that they do it to ‘market’ their faith in an attempt to gain sales and additional profits. It’s a no win proposition. How sad is that? So my thanks on that matter will be done on my knees in the privacy of some back woods wilderness, somewhere where no one will ever know. That way I can’t be accused of ‘selling’ my faith or offending anyone. It’s a win, win!
While attending an exhibit of work, many years ago, from a photographer shooting with a medium format film camera, the prints blew me away. Compared to the 35mm which had almost never left my side, they were so clear and sharp; and because of that, all the 35mm equipment had to go and it was all replaced with medium format. The transition was simple because a medium format film camera is just a larger version of a 35mm, basically. Surely the techno-geeks reading this will scoff at the comparison, but other than an interchangeable film back, they are virtually the same type of camera.
Then the most amazing thing happened, a presentation of photographs from a 4x5 camera where being shown at a local museum. CRAP!, all that medium format equipment had to go, because those photographs made the medium format stuff look like kindergartners color-crayon work on toilet paper (that’s just me being a mountain man again, keep ignoring it – go for the gist of it instead.)
With that 4x5 system my search for the perfect photographic system had ended, or so I thought.
An exhibit of work from a camera that was four times the size of the 4x5 and sixty four times the size of a 35mm just ‘happened’ to show up in front of my eyes. Talk about intraocular trauma! What happened next? You guess it, out with the old and in with the new. The 8x10 large format film camera became the camera of choice for me. If you’ve ever seen some of my images large, you know why the switch was made.
So there you have it, from 35mm to medium format to 4x5 and eventually to 8x10 large format. I thought I was done. But that camera weights a ton (ok, that might be an exaggeration – but it is very heavy, especially when you start carrying all that back country gear too.)
Something had to change, either a hip replacement, or a camera system replacement. But if a switch had to be made to something else, what would it be? It would have to equal 8x10 or rival it, be lighter and have many, if not all, of the same technical aspects afforded to the large format photographer. So the testing began with one basic premise, could the new-fangled camera systems out perform a process we’d been using for nearly a decade? We were all doubtful.
The first system we tested nearly four years ago was a massive 65MP camera. However even at it’s best this system could not, single shot for single shot, compete with our process using the 8x10 film camera. That camera failed and especially at sizes larger than 30”x40”. However there were more than a few things about this camera that were very impressive. For example, it was able to see into the shadows and keep the highlights from blowing out much better than film. But alas, it wasn’t to be. The system just couldn’t beat the 8x10. Seems I would be stuck carrying that huge beast around for a few more years.
Fast-forward three years because there seems to be an 80MP camera system marching the empty halls during class (is there a new sheriff in town?) By now my knees have started to hurt on long trips (let’s face it, this is a tough physically demanding job) so now there was even more enticement to find a suitable replacement to the 8x10. Not only were my knees and hips feeling ‘it’, but now my favorite film had stopped being made! What! No More FILM!? When did that happen? It seemed to come out of the blue. Luckily there are three cases of this film remaining in the freezer, but now it would be treated like a rare wine – looked at but not touched, unless something amazing was happening, then a celebration would ensue and that film would be drunk up in a heart beat.
So the pressure was now on to find something suitable and fast. Otherwise retirement was just around the corner.
It turns out that the ‘new’ camera system comes pretty darn close to 8x10. Bottom line though, being perfectly honest, it still isn’t as good as the 8x10 (single shot to single shot) – especially on huge photographs. But how often is that likely to be an issue? Time will tell.
We’ve been extremely picky in our analysis between these camera systems over the years. After all I’m known for my quality, not faking it and that’s not something to be ignored. So when the scene warrants it, the 8x10 comes out, otherwise the new system is getting used. Still waiting for that credit card sized device that’ll capture over a GIG sized image – it’ll be awhile yet though.
There is an army of unsung hero’s out there and so a huge “Thank You!” goes out to all the photography professionals who’ve envisioned, crafted and created all the tools used in my daily work routine – you are the real hero’s here. Keep making this stuff even better and we’ll keep using it!
Now after saying all of that, does anyone really believe it’s the camera that crafted these images? It would sort of be like having read the “Shinning” by Stephen King and asking him what kind of typewriter he used. I’ve got a set of Emeril’s pots and pans, but I still don’t have a cooking show and the reason continues to elude me.
Se Ya on the Trail!
Swan Song | Volume IV | Available
Forward by Jon Snoddy | Walt Disney Senior Vice President | Studio Executive
I stopped taking photographs on backpacking trips a long time ago. A tiny viewfinder was not a great way to survey the whole of nature, and when I was done, the results were always disappointing. Nature is alive and brilliant, not well suited for printing onto paper. I learned that its beauty is complex and illusive and it does not readily give in to capture. So I put the camera down and did my best to absorb and remember whatever I could in the moment.
Rodney was walking around a Space Shuttle launch a few years ago at NASA when we first met. I was trying to capture the launch with a ring of multi-view stereo video cameras just to see if it could be done. Rodney was there taking images with what he referred to as his “snapshot camera”: an impossibly high-resolution exotic digital prototype of some sort. He later sent me some posters he produced of the event and as I looked at them I realized he had somehow captured much of the excitement I remembered experiencing as I stood there watching the real event. The giant size of the rocket was there, as were the clouds of smoke, and the brilliant lighting, but there was something more. Somehow he also managed to capture the thunderous roar of the engines, the sense of danger, and the anticipation at the magnitude of what was being attempted. All that in a couple of photographs.
As I hinted before, I don’t know all that much about photography. In fact, I tried to talk Rodney out of having me write this, but he was unrelenting, so here are some observations. The works of only a few remarkable nature photographers have ever really spoken to me in unique ways. They seem to have possessed a special gift that set them apart. Ansel Adams comes to mind, and more to the point at hand, so does Rodney Lough Jr.
With his photography he manages to capture the awe I feel in nature and somehow magically encodes it into his images. Part of it must be his insane obsession with detail. As a technician and perfectionist of the art-form, he is second to none. Whether he is shooting digital or packing in his completely over-the-top obsessive 8x10 film camera (just like his forbearers did), it is about capturing the entire moment in all the detail that the eye can see in resolution and color and contrast. He simply wants to share what it is he saw.
The fact that he always manages to be standing in exactly the perfect spot at exactly the perfect moment speaks volumes about his commitment and preparation. Whether it is the first instant of light of the day, or the last, he is right there. Whether it is on a burning hot desert or on a freezing cold glacier, Rodney is there.
I find myself staring at his works for long periods of time much like I do in nature. I find myself looking deep into them, beyond the initial read, digging deeper and deeper into the photograph, experiencing the sounds and smells and feelings that complete the scene and it always makes me smile.
I am happy I stopped taking photographs of nature, and I am very happy Rodney didn’t.
[Jon Snoddy knows a thing or two about creativity given the work he does at Walt Disney. Jon wrote this foreword as a personal gesture and it in no way represents an endorsement of any kind by the Walt Disney Company]
Artist Statement by Rodney Lough Jr.
Even though I can’t bear the stuff, coffee that is, on occasion I make my way down to the local Starbucks for a hot chocolate and sausage sandwich in the morning. Every now and then it’ll be a bagel. They make a pretty darn good cup of coco I must admit.
It’s nice, early in the morning before things really wake up and the day gets going, to just sit and relax before heading into the studio for the day. Besides, I admit, I like to people watch.
For some time now I’ve had the chance to speak with the same fellow behind the counter. He takes my order with a smile, wearing his black headband to keep the excess moisture from ‘the goods’. He’s very pleasant as fellows go. But I had never really given more than two thoughts about him, as a person. He was just always the guy who took my order.
I knew a few things about him though. He seems nice and has a genuine smile. He’s a consciences worker, Starbucks got lucky there. He is most likely married, because he wears a ring. He is a bit out of shape, but aren’t we all. But that was about it. Sad right?
Today though was different. Different indeed.
A mother came in carrying a small child (almost newborn sized) while holding the hand of her small boy. The little man couldn’t have been more than two years old, I’d guess. Having had four children ourselves, you get pretty good a guessing, I figure I was close.
Then a few moments later my good man ‘Starbucks’ comes in – we’ll call him ‘Friday’ in honor of a wonderful movie for which Hollywood has not yet made a remake of (give it time, they will.) Headband in place he was ready to go to work.
I hadn’t noticed at first but he must have gone over to the woman with the children and said something, what I don’t know – while I’m a watcher I have poor hearing. But as Friday moved away the little boy broke down in to tears and started crying. If you have a two year old you know it doesn’t take much to get those little guys to blast off into the stratosphere – perhaps that is why they call them the terrible two’s.
As you might have guessed the entire population in the store, that early in the morning, was taken a bit off guard by the poor little boys screams and tears. Now, I was no longer the only one watching.
Then something happened that took me off guard. My good man Friday came back over to the table and spoke to the little boy – quietly scolding him to be quiet.
An epiphany - Friday had a family!
After a bit the boy settled down, Friday went back to work behind the counter, the population of the story with full knowledge let Friday know it was OK. The mother walked over by where I was sitting, close enough for me to share with her “Don’t worry, they are always like that at when they’re young. We have had four, so we know how it goes.” She looked so relieved to have someone tell her it was OK as well. Much like how Friday must have felt when people showed him compassion behind the cash register. She must have felt ‘alright’ about my comment because she started up a conversation. Explaining that she was a Kindergartner teacher. She further explained that her son was just upset because he was going to miss his daddy for the day in pre-school. Separation anxiety, we’ve all experienced that so we certainly can empathize and relate.
Before she left she kissed Friday good-bye and he gave the children a hug. That was the moment, pivotal in fact, I realized something was wrong.
At that exactly moment a chill went down my spine and fear entered me for the first time in a very long time. How could I have been so numb! How could I have been so blind to what was happening around me everyday. Caught up in my own little world I had forgotten the world I was living in everyday.
What was it that could have caused such turmoil in my life, right then? I realized that I didn’t really know any of my neighbors. Not truly. They are just bodies that I pass by on a daily basis, because I am so caught up in what I have to get done they had become obstacles to avoid for fear of keeping me from getting done all that I needed to.
I don’t want to make this sound like I don’t know people, or that there aren’t people I care for and have caring about me. But when it comes to being a good neighbor, maybe I’m not as good as I thought I was. After all here was a man who by all rights certainly deserved more from me than a couple bucks everyday, and I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT HIM. ‘Him’ as a real person that is.
By now an entire new crowd of people had come in, the previous population had been replaced, none the wiser to the alarm clock that little boy had set off earlier. And so I watched, as I do, to see if I was alone in my oblivious nature.
As one might expect, sadly, I wasn’t alone in this behavior.
This entire mornings prologue forced me to ask a question – are we doomed? What had happened in our communities where once we knew the people in our daily lives?
There was a time when one would have walked into such a place and began the day with a Hello Friday! How’s the family doing!? The question would be sincere and heartfelt.
Remember a moment ago when I admitted to you that I was frightened by what I had been a part of, what I had witnessed? Unfortunately, I still am.
Friday has a family. He has a son who obviously loves his father. A caring wife and mother who works as a teacher with the youngest of our young school age children - in fact – perhaps she is one of the most influential and pivotal points in the lives of the youths’ development. Friday works a simple job, certainly not one of prestige but, honorable and he’s providing for his family –one can only respect people like these.
I watch as generations younger than mine (and I swear I wish I’d never have never say this) lose contact with the world in front of them. And it’s primarily due to the interactive nature of the gadgets in their pockets and sadly not with the folks right in front of them.
Is there anything to be done? How do we get back to being people who engage with the world, with one another?
Yesterday I saw an ad for a new mobile app that allows people to rank other people, much like a travel website. Oh the anonymity of it all.
Is there no end to this?
Open up, please.
See Ya on the Trail!
PS | If you have enjoyed these books please feel free to leave your comments below.