Photography by Naomi Drew
I was in the passenger side of the car, in the back seat. The land was barren and dry, filled with rugged rocks and sparse vegetation – beautiful and lonely.
I like to have my digital camera (here, X100V) set to a fast exposure and point and shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot out the car window. It is always surprising what you get and rather fun, too.
This is a distance shot of one of the remaining mess halls / dining halls at Manzanar, the Japanese interment camp located in the Owens Valley of California. The Eastern Sierras butt up against with a sort of barren plain between the camp and the mountains. Over 110,000 Americans were forced here during WW2.
Not a lot remains here. Barracks were many, as were latrines, laundries, manufacturing, kitchens, and a cemetery. A hospital and schools and recreation areas kept this from being a dreadful place of extermination, but it did often exterminate self-worth and communities.
Following cataract surgery in both eyes, editing photos is subtly different. I can’t quite explain it, but it is.
This is the view across the street . . .
I have a lot still to do – and then the clean up. But the result will be making itself known soon – flowers, herbs, and the sheer pleasure of watching things grow. Birds, bees, and other critters are welcome here – except rats and digging dogs!
Another composite image taken with the Fuji X100V. This little camera is very capable, and I don’t even know all it can do. Basically, I am lazy! However, I do know the areas that, for me, are the parts of a camera I want to know the most. The thing that drew me to the Fuji X100V was its fixed focal length, film simulations, and the fact it can be manual, shutter, and aperture priority. Add to that, it shoots square pictures, and that is a big plus in my book. I think I like the 1:1 ratio the best.
Trees – always something new to see.
Playing with filters, it is possible to make a black and white photo look like a hand-tinted one from the late 1800s, early 1900s. I think this peony turned out rather nice, and it was a pale pink in real life, too. Shot with an Olympus XA4 using Ilford FP4+.
Hmmm.
One thing I rather enjoy about going out to test things out – film, camera, lens – is the fact it puts me in a mood to experiment. Not that this is an especially inspiring picture, but what I mean is that I think about photography a bit differently than at other times. Maybe this approach – the thought of “experimenting” and not worrying about the results – is a more creative, and consequently satisfying, approach.
Again, Nikon and Ilford Ortho Plus 80.
