Critique Welcomed Some Pictures from Monument Valley

[Brian Moore]

I've wanted to see Monument Valley ever since I saw John Ford's film "Stagecoach." Finally got there a couple of weeks ago. Shot B&W with my Canon F1. I used Tri-X for some and Ilford SFX200 (with red filter) for others. I was pretty disappointed with the SFX200. I underexposed most of the roll. I shot some color film as well but haven't processed those yet.

A View from John Ford's Point I
CanonF1SFX200_0007.jpg by brian moore, on Flickr

A View from John Ford's Point II
CanonF1SFX200_0005.jpg by brian moore, on Flickr

West Mitten Butte
CanonF1TriX_0031.jpg by brian moore, on Flickr

East Mitten Butte (left) and Merrick Butte
CanonF1TriX_0032.jpg by brian moore, on Flickr

West Mitten, East Mitten and Merrick Buttes
CanonF1TriX_0029.jpg by brian moore, on Flickr

Camel Butte
Camel Butte by brian moore, on Flickr

Camel Butte (first of the roll)
Camel Butte, Monument Valley by brian moore, on Flickr

 

[Gianluca Drago]

Quite suggestive and well photographed, Brian.
Please note that "A View from John Ford's Point II" and "A View from John Ford's Point III" are the same photo.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

I look at these, and the area will always be Cowboy Country for me, especially accompanied by music of the classic cowboy-movie sound tracks. It’s impossible not to associate these incredible landscapes with that cultural connection, which is incredibly silly, really, considering how ancient they are compared to the films. Extra-fine shots, Brian. Hard to do without blurring when you are saddled to a horse. So, well done!

 

[Brian Moore]

Quite suggestive and well photographed, Brian.
Please note that "A View from John Ford's Point II" and "A View from John Ford's Point III" are the same photo.

Thanks Gianluca. (I've removed the redundant photo.)

 

[Brian Moore]

I look at these, and the area will always be Cowboy Country for me, especially accompanied by music of the classic cowboy-movie sound tracks. It’s impossible not to associate these incredible landscapes with that cultural connection, which is incredibly silly, really, considering how ancient they are compared to the films. Extra-fine shots, Brian. Hard to do without blurring when you are saddled to a horse. So, well done!

Thanks Rob. It is indeed iconic as cowboy country, but ironically it is so very Indian country. Monument Valley is actually a Navajo Tribal Park. It's a magical place.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

You mean I should never have got my education via Hollywood? I'm shocked!!

 

[Ralph Turner]

Fab shots, Brian.
The penultimate shot, of Camel Butte, with it's slightly warm tone gives the impressionof a very old photo, maybe taken by some early European settler.

 

[Gianluca Drago]

Fab shots, Brian.
The penultimate shot, of Camel Butte, with it's slightly warm tone gives the impressionof a very old photo, maybe taken by some early European settler.

Exactly. Edward S. Curtis comes to mind.

 

[Brian Moore]

Fab shots, Brian.
The penultimate shot, of Camel Butte, with it's slightly warm tone gives the impressionof a very old photo, maybe taken by some early European settler.

That’s exactly what I was aiming for in that photo, Ralph. I actually had the photographer Timothy H. O’Sullivan in mind. After the US Civil War he made a lot of images out in the West (though none of Monument Valley that I could find). I had an ulterior motive, however. That particular frame I liked very much but it had water stains on it. So I got rid of the stains by overexposing the sky in Lr to make the image look like it had been made with a 19th Century emulsion and then played around with a tiny bit of toning of the rock.

 

[Brian Moore]

Exactly. Edward S. Curtis comes to mind.

Read a biography of him a year or two ago. “Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher,” by Timothy Egan. It’s a good read. By the way Ed. Curtis’s brother—can’t recall his unusual first name offhand—was a noted photographer in his own right. Both of them plied their trade out of Seattle.

 

[Ralph Turner]

That particular frame I liked very much but it had water stains on it. So I got rid of the stains by overexposing the sky in Lr to make the image look like it had been made with a 19th Century emulsion and then played around with a tiny bit of toning of the rock.

It's funny how sometimes a little adversity can have such good outcome

 

[Brian Moore]

It's funny how sometimes a little adversity can have such good outcome

Much appreciated Ralph. Thank you.

 

[Gianluca Drago]

Read a biography of him a year or two ago. “Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher,” by Timothy Egan. It’s a good read. By the way Ed. Curtis’s brother—can’t recall his unusual first name offhand—was a noted photographer in his own right. Both of them plied their trade out of Seattle.

I have a probably couple of books about his work. Thank you for reminding me of Timothy O'Sullivan who, three decades before Curtis, began documenting Native American life and landscapes, working without prejudice in his photographic art.

 

[Gary R. Smith]

I'm guessing the last shot of Camel Butte is on SFX200 with a red filter and the one above it is with Tri-X? Was there any sky left when you switched to the Tri-X? or did you need the red filter to bring things out? I like the "first of roll" exposure of Camel Butte although the sky is a bit too dark but I like the contrast in the rock in that one better than the muddy tone of the butte in the one with the blown out sky. What ISO did you shoot both at? Box speed or did you push/pull?

 

[Brian Moore]

I'm guessing the last shot of Camel Butte is on SFX200 with a red filter and the one above it is with Tri-X?

Correct.

Was there any sky left when you switched to the Tri-X? or did you need the red filter to bring things out?

The sky was the same.

What ISO did you shoot both at? Box speed or did you push/pull?

Box speed.

 

[Gary R. Smith]

Brian - I've never shot b&w with filters. Maybe a different value red filter would have yielded something more to my taste. It feels like the Tri-X shot is bland (to my eyes) while the SFX200 with that filter is too over-the-top (again, for me). I'll be curious to see my most recent Tri-X results as it really has been a while but I remember Tri-X as having good contrast as compared to the HP5+ that I shot last.

 

[Brian Moore]

It feels like the Tri-X shot is bland (to my eyes)

Deliberately so, Gary. (See my earlier response to Ralph for the reasoning behind the treatment of the image.)

but I remember Tri-X as having good contrast as compared to the HP5+ that I shot last.

I'm sure you'll find that your own Tri-X images will have more contrast than my (bland) image of Camel Butte.

 

[Ivar Dahl-Larsen]

I've wanted to see Monument Valley ever since I saw John Ford's film "Stagecoach." Finally got there a couple of weeks ago. Shot B&W with my Canon F1. I used Tri-X for some and Ilford SFX200 (with red filter) for others. I was pretty disappointed with the SFX200. I underexposed most of the roll. I shot some color film as well but haven't processed those yet.

A View from John Ford's Point I


A View from John Ford's Point II


West Mitten Butte


East Mitten Butte (left) and Merrick Butte


West Mitten, East Mitten and Merrick Buttes


Camel Butte


Camel Butte (first of the roll)

Are you sure you exposed them? I see just some crosses.

 

[Brian Moore]

Are you sure you exposed them? I see just some crosses.

That's interesting. They were visible previously. Thanks Ivar. I'll look into this later.

 

[Brian Moore]

@Ivar Dahl-Larsen: Pictures loaded up again. Don't know what happened to make them all disappear before.