[LargeFormat] Rites of passage

[Brock Nanson]

This is something I suppose we all face at one time or another.  Often, if 
we're like U.D. and enjoy stirring the pot!

A friend and I went out into the country one cold and dark February night 
about (Aaack!) 16 or 17 years ago.  It was 35mm equipment, but that 
doesn't really change the thread any - we'd have used LF if we'd had the 
gear at that time.

The goal was to mess about with long exposures and paint with flash.  We 
set up on an old snake fence next to the road (the zig-zag fence made from 
small logs commonly used in this area before barbed wire).  Wide angle 
lens, shutter on B, I walked down the road and popped my flash at a few 
points to light the fence.  A few minutes after the first exposure, a 4x4 
came careening out towards us from a farmhouse at the far side of the 
field.  The old coot and his two grown sons (apparently home from 
rocket-science school for the weekend) were wedged across the bench seat, 
with a rifle between one's knees.

'Whadya think YOU'RE doing out here?', in full view of the camera on 
tripod.

'Building a piano, what does it look like?'... We were still in university 
at the time and cocky... besides which, the gun wasn't leveled at us and 
only served to egg us on.  The intimidation was having the opposite effect 
to what they had anticipated.

One of the sons was evidently a photographer because he figured out what 
the camera and tripod was for.  'What are you taking pictures of?'

'The fence.'

'What speed of film are you using?'

'100 speed TMax'

'That'll never work, it's too dark out here'.  Real stretch to work that 
out... 11PM in the dead of winter, no moon, out in the country.  It WAS 
dark.  No question, this guy was bright!

'Well, I guess we're just wasting our time and film then.'

Old Coot: 'You guys better clear out of here - this is private property'

'That side of the fence might be, but not where we're standing.  We'll 
leave when we're done.'

'You better move out now, I'm calling the cops'.

'Tell them to hurry, we'll likely be done within a half hour.'

Off they went in a cloud of dust and a spray of gravel.  We hung around 
for longer than a half hour hoping the police would show up so we could 
casually mention these guys were driving around with a rifle.  No luck.

We got some great shots that night as it turned out.  I guess it wasn't as 
dark as they thought ;-)

-- Brock Nanson
Kamloops BC Canada