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From Start to Finish

It’s about the picture, and maybe we’ll learn a few things along the way.

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The Look

The trick is to a make picture that’s neither too saturated nor flat — neither too contrasty nor flat — just plain honest. It’s tougher to accomplish than one might think.

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In Parts

West Texas is just far — far from perfect — far from over — far from anywhere.

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Off-kiltered

We’re each a little so-so and better at different things. The fear of not measuring up stings.

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You have to be

I’m as interested in how a picture is made as in what it shows because you have to be. I’m talking about tools, texture, and tone. I’m thinking about lighting, color, and composition, and how well-assembled pictures can show nothing at all — and that’s okay.

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Beyond Awful

Whenever I see a perfect picture, I’ll think, surely this isn’t real.

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A Thousand Tiny Diamonds

Out by a truck stop, work camp, and several oilfield equipment yards — trucks have cracked the pavement to hell under scarce rain, and when the sun returns, the damp road will sparkle.

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Bumbling

I embody something infuriating — an average person doing something. The combination of being run-of-the-mill and doing something creative is a frontier.

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Virtual Movements

With enough resolution, we can crop in, move a frame around, and simulate a view camera’s movements in post — including rise, fall, and shift.

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Basic Editing

Pull the contrast slider down to -100 and then set a tonal curve to one’s liking.

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Big Bend

A plan to construct a physical barrier across Big Bend would be unpopular.

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Nikon F Lenses

Nikon’s manual F lenses are worth considering because they’ll mount to just about any mirrorless camera today.

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Going to Town

A black-and-white picture of small-town Texas is sort of what western swing music looks like — if that makes sense.

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Film, Post 2020

Put film photography to rest. Digital is better.

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Traveling Kindly

Go without want.

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Poetry

If music is older than language, then that’s probably a large part of it.

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Makeshift Rangefinder

By most metrics, we’re lousy photographers, and that’s fine. 50mm might be the best focal length, and 35mm the best lens if we crop in a little.

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5600ºK

If sunlight’s temperature sits between 5000ºK and 6500ºK, then 5600ºK is a good custom choice.

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Taken Seriously

If a picture is good enough for a view camera, it’s potentially good enough for a series, seriously. I love getting lost under a focusing cloth.

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Aspect Ratios

Focal lengths and aspect ratios correlate. A 50mm needs a narrower 4:5 to emphasize relationships between foregrounds and back grounds, and on the other side, a 28mm does better with a wider 3:2 because it emphasizes side-to-side relationships.