There’s nothing photogenic far from your vehicle ― why search?

[William McEwen]

"If you can't drive to it, screw it." - Huntington Witherill.

[Wayne Lambert]

Since the topic is how far do you need to walk to find a good photograph (and in essence, refined seeing), I should have related this anecdote first. On another morning at the 1969 Yosemite Workshop our first stop was at a roadside pull-off on the Valley floor. From the roadside we had an open view across a meadow toward the high cliffs and granite spires of the south valley wall. While most of us began to scatter into the meadow Ansel proceeded to set up on the roadside. The stop seemed precipitous and unplanned, and I wondered if he had seen something that the rest of us didn't; in fact I was pretty sure he had. Soon there was a small crowd around him, and he was letting people under the darkcloth one at a time to see the groundglass. Lots of oohs and aahs. I got in line. I looked toward the cliffs but couldn't see anything particularly remarkable. The bellows were wracked way out. I don't recall the lens but it could have been as much as 500-600 mm on the 4x5. When my time came I was amazed. He had selected a spire at the very top of the cliff. The brilliant morning sun was grazing it at 90 degrees and there was just enough mountain haze to make it look as if it were glowing with light from within as well as from without. I could see it in one of his books. It was roadside photography, but it was undoubtedly by a master of the genre. Here the story breaks down a bit. All the above is true, but this next part is debatable. Over the years I have convinced myself that one of the last lookers that morning was Beaumont Newhall who happened to be visiting Ansel for a few days in Yosemite that summer. He summarized the moment for us all. As he stepped from under the darkcloth he shook his head and quietly said, "My God, Ansel, I can see better on your groundglass than I can with my own eyes."

Well, memory can play tricks on you and mine more so than others. A few years ago I thought I should see if any one else remembered Newhall's presence and this wonderful quote, or if this was a Newhall anecdote (unrelated to 1969 Yosemite) that I had picked up somewhere. Probably the only student at the 1969 Workshop who really became a famous photographer is Bob Kolbrener who also happened to be my roommate at the Yosemite Lodge that summer. In later years Bob had a close relationship with Ansel and assisted at the Yosemite workshops. I called Bob and related the story. Nope, he said, he didn't remember Newhall being there. So, there's the story. Probably I have mixed up Newhall and the quote and an experience that certainly could have provoked a comment like that. If anyone can shed light on the matter, please let me know.

[Bill_1856]

"If you can't drive to it, screw it." - Huntington Witherill.

Sounds about right to ME!

[Mark Sampson]

There's a quote from Thoreau that applies here. A mangled version follows:
'The best reason for a walk is the arguments against it.'

[engl]

So it is an American thing? Pretty much only Americans responding here, and none of the (admittedly few) European LF photographers I know stick close to their cars.

[Heroique]

...none of the (admittedly few) European LF photographers I know stick close to their cars.

Too true to be good! If it’s not quick, easy, and repeatable, it’s not American. And walking 500 yards w/ LF gear is certainly not quick, easy, and repeatable. Besides, we Americans have a love relationship w/ our cars. Who wants to abandon her by the road?

[Daniel_Buck]

get a 4x4 vehicle, and cut that walk down a bit :-D And you don't have to leave the vehicle by the road, you leave it stashed away behind some bushes somewhere out of the way where probably nobody else is up there anyway.

Just as example, you could hike up to this point, maybe an hour hike up hill with mostly loose dirt and rocks. But it only took me less than 10 minutes to drive up there in the jeep. Don't get me wrong, I love hiking, but I also like driving off road too. Some trips I do mostly hiking, some mostly driving, and some 1/2 and 1/2. Having a 4x4 vehicle certainly gives more more options :-)

[Roger Cole]

So it is an American thing? Pretty much only Americans responding here, and none of the (admittedly few) European LF photographers I know stick close to their cars.

Too true to be good! If it’s not quick, easy, and repeatable, it’s not American. And walking 500 yards w/ LF gear is certainly not quick, easy, and repeatable. Besides, we Americans have a love relationship w/ our cars. Who wants to abandon her by the road?

True, BUT - we also have thousands of miles of roads that go through relatively undeveloped, unspoiled areas where everything within range of the road hasn't been built up. This is particularly true in the west but also in some parts of the Appalachians I'm familiar with too.

[Zaitz]

Thanks, Heroique. At the 1969 Yosemite Workshop Ansel divided the students (about 50 as I recall---could be wrong) into two groups, an A group and a B group. When we were out photographing he would spend the morning with one group and the afternoon with the other. His workshop assistants were also with the groups. One morning we were photographing in the forest on the Valley floor and Ansel told us to spread out and look for good subjects. I walked a good ways, farther than I realized, and finally found a good Yosemite subject---trees and a big rock. For 30 or 40 minutes I tried to find the right view but nothing seemed to work. I was about ready to pick up and leave, hadn't heard any voices in an hour or two, when I heard crunch, crunch in the forest and "yahoo." It was Ansel. He asked me how I was doing and I said not very well. He said "May I have a look?" and I said "Please do." Actually quite a thrill to have Ansel check your groundglass. After a few moments he said "Very interesting. May I move your tripod?" I said "Of course" and he moved the tripod forward about 6 feet and then said "What do you think of this?" The image had moved from the realm of Wayne Lambert to the realm of Ansel Adams. He said "Let's try it", so we made a Polaroid. He looked at the print and handed it back to me. "Pretty good" he said and continued on into the forest. The photograph is on my website [URL="http://www.waynelambert.net"] in the Polaroid Type 52 section. The tripod tip and the lesson I learned that day was Get closer. As a postscript, I have always been bothered by the fact that the silhouetted branch from one tree merges with the branch from the other tree. I've always thought that if it were a 100% Ansel Adams photograph he would have done something about it.

What an awesome story....thanks for posting this and your other one. I could read these all day.

Edit: And the photo is really great too.

[Grif]

What a great thread, and timely for me. I've been driving the same commute for the past 5 years, and really started "looking" at it last fall. Only a few shots so far, but wow. When you just stop and "look" instead of just seeing the same old commute it's a whole new world. I guess the portfolio name wouldn't be far off if it just said "From My Car". I guess I'll add that to the list of things I need to do RealSoonNow ;-)