Documenting the landscape on a small scale with a large camera---any ideas?

[David Richhart]

Here is the link to my piece of the world... 7 acres with the 1 acre pond that I had excavated. The pond is that dogbone shape about 2 inches to the left of the red thumbtack. Its a 10 year old satellite photo so the new darkroom with attached living quarters are still merely a latent dream.

http://terraserver.microsoft.com/addressimage.aspx?t=1&s=10&alon=-84.47439996&alat=40.2045751629&w=2&ref=A%7cKlipstine+Rd%2c+Versailles%2c+OH+45380&Lon=-84.4758999199&Lat=40.2047564099

If you have the geographic coordinates, or a street address, you can find yours...

[John Bailey]

John

I might suggest you leaf through a copy of Paula Chamlee's "High Plains Farm"...a most important documentary look at her family's farm. Perhaps, you will find some thoughts through that wonderful book. It should be a must for anyone's library.

Congratulations!

John Bailey

[Ed Eubanks]

I knew a guy who spent a year on sabbatical in a cabin he owned on the side of a mountain. He loved the view from the back of his cabin, especially as it changed from season to season, so he decided to document it with one photograph at the same time every day for the year. Here is what he did: he took a piece of iron pipe, cut it to the height off the ground that he wanted his camera to be + 3 feet extra in length and had a fitting attached to the to so that it would screw into the threads on the bottom of a basic tripod head, which he mounted to his camera. Then he took another piece of pipe-- this one just large enough for the first piece to fit inside of-- and cut it 3 feet long, attached a cap on one end, and drove it straight down into the ground. Every day, he would simply face directly away from the house and slide the camera-mounted pipe down into the fixed pipe. I believe he locked the tripod head in a fixed position, so it never changed. (In the end, he made a flip-book out of all of the prints-- it was amazing.)
Maybe something like this would work for your project. It would certainly give you continuity of perspective. Just a thought.

[Robert A. Zeichner]

Perhaps you could set up several vantage points at which, after carefully aiming your camera, you could construct, from cheap materials like cinder block, pipe and a little marine grade plywood some semi permanent platforms to take the place of a tripod. You could possibly fashion these platforms to have a depression the exact size of the base of your camera, so you could simply drop it into place anytime you wish. Neutralize all the movements (marking any which you absolutely need) and just note what lens you use in each position. There will no doubt be seasonal discepencies in your camera position, but unless the ground really heaves or someone (wild beast) moves them, your platforms could survive considerable time in the elements. With several positions, you might get a fascinating study of how it all develops and you will ensure getting at least one or two pretty consistent series of images.

[David Richhart]

You may also want to consider a method to automatically trigger your camera so that you can occasionally document yourself within the landscape... after 35 years of photography I have many memorable locations and events recorded, including family and friends. Like most photographers, I forgot to include myself...

[John Kasaian]

Thanks for all the great ideas! We went out this morning to have a well "witched"---what an interesting couple of hours that turned out to be. Finding the locations to drill was one thing, but then being told the depth of the various strata that might contain water was pretty amazing. We also saw an egret and a coyote on the place. Maybe I should grow a beard and learn to play the violin like Pa Ingalls? Nahh, too painful if I get my beard caught in the bow--I'll stick with the alto sax. Thanks!