Gone

Like a previous post entitled ‘Desert Storm,” this was shot in the fall of 2004 at the Apache Canyon Trading Post on route US-62 on the outskirts of the town of Carlsbad in Whites City, New Mexico. This place was closed and is now demolished, so the photo is truly one of a kind. This picture can be seen elsewhere on this site, but I have never given it the full treatment until now. In particular, I never really took time before to edit the film negative after scanning it. Working with light and shadows I uncovered layers of cloud cover, as I had visited during the rainy season in desert country. I was also very surprised to see just how grainy this came out – whether it’s the result of exposure or developing by hand I could not tell you. This sort of grainyness, visible especially in the clouds, is what gives film its charm. It’s impossible to really duplicate this in digital photography. There are some that don’t really care for this effect and I suppose that’s fair enough. But, this is why I’ve never given up on film. Now that it’s warmer outside here in the northern hemisphere, I am hoping to shoot some more Kodak ProImage color. Meanwhile, shoot photos – not each other!