Time to dust off the cobwebs on the ol’ blog again and start posting again. I’m not sure why I always manage to neglect my website like I do. Part of it has to do with not being as photographically active lately but that’s not all of it. I’ve managed to post a few things on my social media channels since my last activity on the website. I wish I knew why that was, too. More and more I’m realizing how much I despise most social media outlets. Flickr is possibly the only one left that I still enjoy and yet that’s the one I use the least.
I think some of it just relates to the ease with which all of the major outlets run. It’s quick and easy to make a post on them. And it’s easier to mindlessly scroll through all of the targeted ads, political vitriol and everything else that’s wrong with them hoping to find some pleasant nugget of happiness. The thing is, it’s getting harder and harder to find those nuggets and I really just end up hating all of the mindless hours lost to them.
I really need to do a better job of reminding myself that I enjoy taking care of my own site and I enjoy my time on Flickr and I pretty much loathe my time online spent on other social media outlets.
Anyways, with that diatribe aside, here’s a recent photo that I’ll be adding to the grain elevator project. I spent Sunday wandering some trails in Illinois’ state parks and finished the day by adding a couple of grain elevators to my list. I’ve got a Google map made up of all of the elevators in IL that I’d like to photograph. Mostly, they’re old wood elevators but there are some unique elevators of other construction mixed in, too.
This elevator in Meriden, IL is one that I’ve wanted to add for quite awhile. It’s got a really unique dual headhouse that I find very appealing. Add in a nice sunset at the tail end of a low pressure system passing through and the result is a shot that I’m very happy with.
I had hoped to use the 8×10 to document a couple of elevators but I only had E100 with me and there was way too much dynamic range for that film in this scene. If I had had Portra with me, I might have tried to grab this (though composing to include the sunstar might have been a challenge with the big camera). Nevertheless, I like what I came home with courtesy of the Z7 and Z 85mm f1.8S. The more I use that latter lens, the more I realize just how special it is. It very well might be the best lens I’ve ever used (and I’ve used a lot!).