The Trip: Olmsted Falls, Ohio, 2001
The Story:
During the second semester of my Sophomore year of high school, my parents pointed out a potentially interesting summer photography and darkroom course. The class was being offered at Baldwin-Wallace College as part of their Summer Academic Institute for Talented and Gifted students. This presented an obstacle: my high school did not have such a program. I knew, however, that I wanted the chance to learn more about my photography hobby. I would not self-proclaim myself “Talented and Gifted,” but I did lobby my high school counselor to petition for a waiver on my behalf due to the lack of such a program. Apparently my interest and good-enough status as a student were sufficient to be successfully admitted.
The program offered classroom study, darkroom instruction, and several opportunities to photograph around Cleveland with my Dad’s Minolta SRT-102 that I had learned on. During the school year I had been taking pictures for the yearbook in my spare time; I really enjoyed covering sports in my off-season. Luckily the moderator was fairly lenient on artistic license of photos around campus, however this would be one of my first opportunities to take photos of “whatever.” On trips to the Cleveland Zoo and an Olmsted Falls branch of the Cleveland Metroparks system, we were given rolls of Kodak TMax 100 and Ektachrome slide film.
On previous trips to my local library branch I read Ansel Adams’ The Camera, The Negative, and The Print. I was pretty excited to finally see what translated from the color world to monochrome film, corresponding to what I had read; I took photos of a wide variety of things. One thing that caught my eye was a stainless steel water fountain that was slow to drain. The proverbial shiny object at the entrance to a park with great landscape features.
The Photo:
Given the opportunity, 16-year-old me definitely did take advantage of free reign. This is definitely something that happens when you hand a teenager film someone else financed. I saw areas of shadow and areas of highlight. It was a warm day, so I took a quick drink and noticed the refraction of the ripples. Unfortunately, I do not remember how I metered it (it’s a little dark). I also do not remember how I focused, activated the fountain, and snapped the shutter. Since this was the time of film, I probably only took one frame. I was happy that it worked out (mostly) as envisioned, and that I got the chance to try my hand at printing a copy in the dark room.
This photo is not likely one that anyone else would hang in their house. However, I have it hanging near a sink in mine. This photo was my first introduction to the world of monochrome photos. I certainly developed a style starting in Olmsted Falls.
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