My Artist-in-residence in Zion this past April

[Vaughn]

I just completed my Artist-in-residence (AIR) at Zion National Park. It was a great experience and I have many sheets of 5x7, 8x10 and 11x14 to develop…and many rolls of 120.

The AIR program is run through the Park’s interpretive folks, and visitor contacts are encouraged. One wears the Parks volunteer uniform for 20 hrs per week (minimum, which I greatly exceeded). One also gives a talk at the Zion Lodge and at a local university (SUU in Cedar City). I gave an extra talk/demo at the Park’s museum. The Park will pick one print to keep (all rights remain with me).

In return, one gets to live in the Grotto House, the first building in Zion NP, made of 1.5 + foot thick blocks of sandstone. The cabin is a mile up the Zion Canyon Road from the Zion Lodge. Private cars are not allowed up the canyon (unless one is staying at the lodge, then only to the lodge) and since the last shuttle exits the canyon at 8:30pm and the first one comes in at 7:20am, the AIR has the upper Zion Canyon all to oneself at night – an amazing fact, considering Zion is the second busiest park in the country. Imagine having upper Yosemite Valley all to one’s self every night for a month!

I occasionally (3 or 4 times) walked on busy trails with my 100+ year old 5x7 on the tripod and let visitors look at the image on the GG. It took me 5 hours to walk a 1.5 mile trail! More than 250 people got to look through a view camera for the first time. As I was out and about photographing, and if the timing of the light permitted, I also encouraged visitors to look thru the camera (including the 8x10 and 11x14). My photography has always had an education bend to it, so I quite enjoyed it. But on many hikes I took I saw no one or just a couple visitors.

Very few people asked if it was a Hasseblad, and a couple did ask me if I was part of a “living history” program. Most folks asked intelligent questions, mostly concerning with the advantages of using film in an era of digital cameras. I usually explained that I print with 19th Century processes and since one cannot enlarge with these processes, if I wanted a bigger print, I needed a bigger camera.

Photos: One of my van at the Grotto House, and the 5x7 on one of my hikes.

[ScottPhotoCo]

This is awesome in every way.

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Vaughn, I can’t wait to hear more when we get together next.

[Keith Pitman]

Nice. I was in Zion for several days last month. Wish I had known you were there, I would have said hello.

[Serge S]

Wow.
Sounds like a wonderful experience!

[Carl J]

This is awesome in every way.

Yes. ++

[Winger]

This is awesome in every way.

I agree!

I wish I could do this. Bucket list...

[Hugo Zhang]

Nice!

[David Lobato]

Thanks for sharing.

[mitrajoon]

What a terrific opportunity. More importantly, they obviously picked the right guy for the job.

[David Karp]

This is awesome in every way.

I agree 100 percent. Couldn't say it any better. Can't wait to see some photos.

[John Kasaian]

Way cool! Congratulations!

[Tin Can]

Very cool!

[Two23]

Gundlach Korona 5x7? I have one I need to start using more. Nice camera.


Kent in SD

[matthew blais]

Very cool experience Vaughn. Good for you!

[Merg Ross]

Sounds wonderful. Congratulations!

[Roger Thoms]

Vaughn, congratulations, sounds like a great experience. I also sure you were an excellent large format ambassador.

Roger

[Vaughn]

Gundlach Korona 5x7? I have one I need to start using more. Nice camera. Kent in SD

It is an Eastman View No.2. "Improved model of Century View and Empire State No.2", it says on the front. I bought it from someone on this forum several years ago, but have not used it much until this trip.

Unfortunately new bellows were put on it before I bought it and they were improperly installed. The first 20 sheets of film I put thru it in Zion will be iffy, as there was major light leaking around three sides of the bellows where they attach to the front standard. I try to keep the darkcloth over the camera when I have the darkslide pulled, so some might be okay. The lens fell off as I was carrying the camera on the tripod -- I had a makeshift lensboard on the camera. The lens hit the rocks, of course, but after bending the back of the lens round again, it seems fine. But while testing the lensboard for possible light leaks, I found the three big leaks around the front of the bellows. I blocked the leaks with thin black-coated aluminum material, so the rest of the negatives should be fine.

Silly me for not testing the camera before I left. But other than that (and no front tilt), the camera is a beauty. Geared movements that lock down nicely...swing and tilt on the back, rise/fall on the front. The back tilt is on axis, which is nice, too. The sliding block on the bottom gives stability to the front rail. Just about everyone I saw thought the camera was pretty cool. Of course, everyone asked if it was old, some asked if it was a replica. I said it was 100 years old, give or take a few years (made from 1914 to 1923 or so).

[Thom Bennett]

Sounds like a great experience, both for you, the park, and the visitors you interacted with. Well done!

[neil poulsen]

Sounds wonderful? Please share a few more details . . .

What happens with the photos that you take?

Do you retain full rights to the photos, or are they shared?

There are many obvious advantages for the artist. What are the advantages to the Park; what's their reason for having this program?

How did this artist in residence experience come about?

[John Layton]

Sounds like such a great experience...and nice to have some balance between lots of great interactions and "teachable moments" with others - and also have the place pretty much to yourself for a bit of each day! Perfect! But I feel your pain on the bellows leak...fingers crossed on those negs!

[Vaughn]

What happens with the photos that you take?

I retain all rights to all images I make. Within 6 months I am suppose to send the park jpgs of the images I have printed...and they'll pick one. I'll send them the print for their permanent collection. I'll retain all rights, but they will be able to use the image for PR purposes. From the Zion website: "...An original piece representative of the Residency will then be donated to Zion National Park. The work may be placed in the Park's permanent museum collection, interpretive collection, or, in partnership with the Zion Natl Park Forever Project, may be used in other ways to financially support the park's Artist in Residence programming."

There are many obvious advantages for the artist. What are the advantages to the Park; what's their reason for having this program?

The continuation of the relationship between Art and the National Parks. The formation of the Parks, especially the early western Parks, was highly dependent of artists, painters and later photographers. to provide the East Coast people with views of the West that they would never be able to actually visit themselves.

From Zion's website: "Artists have long painted, photographed, and written about the scenic beauty and natural wonders of the American West. Wide publication of the work of early western artists in the 19th century gave eastern residents the chance to see and dream about landscapes beyond the boundaries of their own neighborhoods and towns. Through their images, these early artists helped promote the idea of landscape preservation and tourism, while also playing an influential role in the establishment of our nation's first national parks...The work completed under this program will contribute to the public understanding and appreciation of Zion National Park and should reflect the National Park Service's mission to preserve and protect the park's cultural and natural resources."

How did this artist in residence experience come about?

I received an email encouraging me to apply for the AIR from someone who was not directly involved with the selection process. Appearently, the quality of applicants was lacking. The person who emailed me had seen my work and had met me in Yosemite National Park, where I am represented by the Ansel Adams Gallery and occasionally have work accepted to the Yosemite Renaissance Competition and Show. In my case, one of the selectors was impressed with my use of alt processes and was looking forward to me presenting to his SUU photo class. It also did not hurt that I have a BS Degree in Natural Resource Planning and Interpretation, worked 12 seasons with the US Forest Service, and was involved with the teaching of photography at a university for 20+ years.

From the website again: "A jury of representatives from Zion National Park and the Southern Utah University Department of Art and Design will review submitted materials and interview the top candidates. Selections will be made on the basis of merit and understanding of the mission of the National Park Service. Selections will be made without regard to race, religion, sex, disability, marital status, or age." https://www.nps.gov/zion/getinvolved/supportyourpark/artist-in-residence.htm



A previous AIR, a composer, for Zion arrived back at Zion the day I left. He was going to have his music played on the shuttles as they travel up and down Zion Canyon. His music will be heard by millions of people -- Zion is in the top 5 most visited National Parks in the USA. There were 4.6 million annually at last count.

[johnmsanderson]

A great opportunity. Glad you had it! These AIRs are very competitive.

[QT Luong]

Congratulations on winning the AIR and thank you for the report. I am curious to know on which figures you rely for the statement "Zion is the second busiest park in the country"?

[Alan Curtis]

Congratulations Vaughn and thanks for your report. A great experience for those visitors that were able to see what a real camera and photographer looks like.

[Vaughn]

Congratulations on winning the AIR and thank you for the report. I am curious to know on which figures you rely for the statement "Zion is the second busiest park in the country"?
It might be third. Info from the Park itself -- taking into consideration last season's fires in Yosemite that slowed visitor numbers for that park. Great Smoky Mountain National Park is clearly #1 at over 11 million. Zion got 4.6 million last year (more than either Yellowstone or Yosemite for 2017). Of course, one should consider park size when considering the impact of the visitor numbers. Zion is not particularly large, 230 sq miles, compared to Yellowstone's 3500 sq miles and Yosemite's 1170 sq miles. That, road miles in the park, and other facilities will determine how crowded it feels. Great Smoky Mountain National Park is not large either, just over 800 sq miles.

[vinny]

What a great experience. I'd like to see the results one day.

[QT Luong]

It might be third. Info from the Park itself -- taking into consideration last season's fires in Yosemite that slowed visitor numbers for that park. Great Smoky Mountain National Park is clearly #1 at over 11 million. Zion got 4.6 million last year (more than either Yellowstone or Yosemite for 2017). Of course, one should consider park size when considering the impact of the visitor numbers. Zion is not particularly large, 230 sq miles, compared to Yellowstone's 3500 sq miles and Yosemite's 1170 sq miles. That, road miles in the park, and other facilities will determine how crowded it feels. Great Smoky Mountain National Park is not large either, just over 800 sq miles.

According to NPS numbers as used by my methodology, Zion is the 7th most crowded national park: https://www.terragalleria.com/blog/the-less-crowded-national-parks-by-the-numbers/

[Vaughn]

Averaging over ten years ignores the increasing popularity of a park...and thus does not reflect what is happening on the ground...but all much of a muchness, as my Aussie MIL would say. Avoiding the heat and the crowds of summer, April was very nice...I got to watch the leaves come out on the Cottonwoods, ash and maples. One great thunderstorm. The Spring Break crowds during the first two weeks of April stretched the Park's resources and the shuttles! (but easy to avoid)

Zion's shuttle system was designed for about 3.5 million visitors per year, but recent increases (4.6 million visitors last year) is stressing the system. I was lucky in that 1) I had a permit to drive up and down the Canyon due to the amount of equipment (the 11x14) I had, tho I did ride the shuttle and/or bicycle when I could, and 2) the first shuttle in the Spring reached my cabin at 7:20am, instead of 6:20am as they do on the summer schedule.

I used that first shuttle as an alarm clock to get out of bed. It takes awhile for the sun to hit the canyon floor and often there was a strong morning breeze. I tended to start late (10 or 11am) and be out until dark instead. I can't haul the 60 pounds of 8x10 around for all of the daylight! Eight or so hours is enough! If I was exhausted the next day, I would just take out the little 5x7 -- kept it on the tripod and used a shoulder bag for holders and meter...or use the van and the 11x14.

I must hit the road -- heading to the East San Fransisco Bay Area to give a carbon workshop at PhotoCentral...and develop the twenty+ 11x14 negatives from Zion while I am there! Got most of the 8x10s done and about half the 5x7s.

[Alan Klein]

Vaughn, My wife and I just got back from Zion and a bunch of other parks in the Southwest. Unfortunately, we didn;t do an intense photo shoot. But we really enjoyed it's beauty and got a few shots to take home to NJ. That cabin looks great to hide away in.

[Alan Klein]

Oh, we also went to the Northwest section of Zion up in Kolob canyon which most people probably don;t visit. It's away from the main valley area. But I found it pretty awesome there.
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[germansaram]

Vaughn, that sounds like an amazing experience! I don't know much about this AIR program. Are you going to do it again? Sounds like you really enjoyed nature and a bit of educational photography.