Andy guesses that it... >Must be a nice weekend worldwide! And figures that... >Everyone out photographing, eh?! I'm on the road, lamenting the fact that my schedule is so tight that I've had to stick to the interstates, instead of the old two-lane highways that are much more fun. No time to wander around and shoot. Have managed to work in a couple drag races. Spent Friday night at the very photogenic Edgewater Sports Park, outside of Cincinnati. Heavily forested, lots of grass, Great Miami River in the near distance. Quite bucolic, give or take several score dragsters and the inevitable noise, fire, and smoke. Gorgeous late afternoon and evening light. Light from the towers at night might have been even better. Spent Saturday at Gateway International Raceway, outside St. Louis. Big, sleek, corporate. Asphalt and concrete. But once again great light and terrific folks. Did very little shooting, despite the light and the settings. Takes weeks and months of hanging out to develop the relationships that allow for the sort of snaps that have come out of my Eastside Raceway project. Spent today looking sorting some of the several hundred rolls of film that my father shot between the late 1940s and early 1980s. He shot mostly slides and mostly Kodachrome, with some B&W. Let me say this: God bless you and rest your soul George Eastman. These Kodachromes, some of them over 50 years old, look at though they were exposed and processed yesterday. Stunning in every way. What a brilliant film. These Kodachrome slides were hardly archivally stored. Tucked away in a hot and humid (summer) or cold and dry (winter) attic. They were, thankfully, kept out of the light. My father was a pretty fair photographer. But the value of these slides is as family treasures. The earliest date from about the time my parents were married, and they continue through my youth and into my parents late middle-age. I'm struck by how lucky I am that my father shot Kodachrome. These photos are immediately accessible. Hold them up to the light and be transported into the past. How different it will be for people who are recording their family's lives digitally. Does anyone really believe that a digi photo created in 2004 will be accessible in 2054? About as likely as being able to read a Kaypro or Commadore 64 file, today. (Which is to say that there's a geek and an archivist in every town who can do it, but 99% of us can't.) For that matter, I'm lucky my father shot Kodachrome. The few rolls of non-Kodachrome slides are fading away; some are gone almost completely. What survives is the K-chrome (and the B&W prints and negs). Cheers, John ===== J. Mason Charlotteville, Virginia __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Domains ? Claim yours for only $14.70/year http://smallbusiness.promotions.yahoo.com/offer
