I find that my 8-5 job often limits the amount of time I have to create art. On this particular morning, I woke early and inspired. I decided to get out before sunrise to practice some landscape photography along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Western North Carolina near my home. So I loaded my camera bag and hit the road. With my trusty Mamiya RB67, 180mm Sekor C f/4.5, and a handful of rolls of Kodak Portra 800, I was determined to get out and create before the workday began.
This morning, I decided to push the Portra 800 +1 stop to account for the low light conditions. I don’t often push Portra 800, but damn am I going to more frequently. As I drove along the parkway en route to Waterrock Knob, the sun began to creep over the Blue Ridge mountain range. The views were incredible and the images certainly made my early morning adventure worth it. I made several stops along the parkway and captured various lighting conditions as the sun cast long shadows across the landscape.
I find myself shooting landscapes and environmental portraits more often. Since the onset of the pandemic, I have found that I am creating art alone more often than not. The solitude can be refreshing at times, but lonely at others. On this morning, it was simply nice to get out and take some pictures on film before the workday began. All in all, I was pleased with a handful of images out of the two rolls of film that I shot. If you enjoy these photos and would like to see more of my latest film photography work you can find my Instagram here. If you want to watch the short film I created while I was out shooting you can find it here or by visiting my YouTube channel.
At times we can get in ruts in which we are not getting out and creating as much as we’d like to be. I encourage you all to make the time, even if it is early before work, to get out and create. If you’re anything like me, you’ll feel better if you do.
Cheers,
Jon
