Monday, February 5, 2018

Arizona moments from Jerome and Sedona



I had not used my Zuiko100mm lens for a long time. It is good that in the desert the humidity is so low that I do not worry about fungus growth between the lens glasses. So, took my Olympus OM and the Zuiko lens for an outing.

I have posted photos from Jerome here https://liveingray.blogspot.com/2014/07/jerome-arizona.html and here https://liveingray.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-eclectic-town-of-jerome-arizona.html. It is a small once a mining town which today is home to artists and to those who want to dissociate themselves for a few hours from reality.

On this day I wanted to take only one photo challenging myself that it should represent a true moment in Jerome. It is like taking only one baitfish to go fishing, I suppose.

The street guitar player was photogenic, and the wall had a lot of texture. But I wanted a candid moment. So I waited for a while and it happened: a young lady came to empty her can of beer right in front of the guitar player. Such are the moments I hope for – unscripted and gone in a split of a second.


When I printed the photo, I thought of a muse-visit to inspire the artist.

Next trip was to Sedona, another artist-town in the high mountains. I have posted photos from Sedona here https://liveingray.blogspot.com/2014/07/sedona-arizona.html and here https://liveingray.blogspot.com/2017/12/cowboy-painter-joe-beeler-statue-in.html. The red rocks are unique in the world and again, artists find their inspiration there.

Again, I aimed at taking only one photo, and this time focusing on the train that passes through the town. After viewing perspective of the railroad through the 100mm lens, I realized that ant photo will be without a message. After all I am a street photographer and I need people not railroads or trains.

As I was waiting for the next train, a young lady also stopped at the crossing. She was checking her phone messages when the train passed. I thought messages and trains go well together. So do goodbyes and trains…

So, I set the shutter speed on my OM at 1/500 sec and opened the lens wide. I was hoping that with over exposure I will get some feeling associated with the speeding train and her checking her messages.


In my darkroom, I dodged parts of the photo during exposure. Maybe I got some of her feelings captured.

February 6, 2018

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2018

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