Re: Requirements and standards for HABS/HAER photography
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kirk Gittings
5x7 seems like huge overkill on these humble buildings.
Hi Kirk,
I recently did a 5x7 job in downtown San Francisco on a reservoir that was also overkill. But once the mitigation language is written into the Memorandum of Understanding, there's no way to do anything less than the exact specification listed. Good thing someone didn't specify 8x10, or you'd be spending summer with an even bigger camera. I read your facebook post, good thing you still have 5x7 holders, they have become rarified over the years. I remember buying the last 5x7 holders Calumet Hollywood had as they were closing, not knowing those were the last to be made by Fidelity/Lisco.
It is pleasure to work with those 5x7 negatives in post production though, and the scans look fabulous. I recently "upgraded" a 4x5 HABS project of the Santa Barbara Presidio from 4x5 to 5x7 when I saw that it was an addendum to some of Jack Boucher's 5x7 photos in the 1970s. It was fun to put my tripod legs in some of his old spots.
-Schaf
Re: Requirements and standards for HABS/HAER photography
Quote:
Originally Posted by
schafphoto
Hi Kirk,
I recently did a 5x7 job in downtown San Francisco on a reservoir that was also overkill. But once the mitigation language is written into the Memorandum of Understanding, there's no way to do anything less than the exact specification listed. Good thing someone didn't specify 8x10, or you'd be spending summer with an even bigger camera. I read your facebook post, good thing you still have 5x7 holders, they have become rarified over the years. I remember buying the last 5x7 holders Calumet Hollywood had as they were closing, not knowing those were the last to be made by Fidelity/Lisco.
It is pleasure to work with those 5x7 negatives in post production though, and the scans look fabulous. I recently "upgraded" a 4x5 HABS project of the Santa Barbara Presidio from 4x5 to 5x7 when I saw that it was an addendum to some of Jack Boucher's 5x7 photos in the 1970s. It was fun to put my tripod legs in some of his old spots.
-Schaf
Thanks.
I think Cali has much more interesting HABS projects and better volume of interesting projects. The last many I have done here before this were largely hohum BIA buildings in NM and AZ. Which is why I lost interest in doing them for a few years.
If this had been a project 4x5 I could have shot it the next day-all equipment and film in hand and ready to go. I use it all the time. It's been ages though since I used the Linhof 5x7 Super Technika beast and it's a very different animal than my Phillips 4X5. As it was,I had to wait a couple of months for back ordered film to show up and did myself a refresher course on the 5x7 camera and developing 5x7, I got tired of waiting for the usual suppliers and then discovered Freestyle had it in stock the whole time, duh. It never showed up in an internet search. But......... the wait didn’t matter as the preservation architect running the project tore his knee up and the whole project was postponed for two months anyway. For better or worse the big problem now is the buildings are in a super high classified area and the bureaucracy is making me crazy.
All said and done? I’m enjoying myself. It's great to get out with the big camera.
Re: Requirements and standards for HABS/HAER photography
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kirk Gittings
For better or worse the big problem now is the buildings are in a super high classified area and the bureaucracy is making me crazy.
All said and done? I’m enjoying myself. It's great to get out with the big camera.
That reminds me of a quote I did to HAER photograph an old 1950s classified thing that was being demolished at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, it was also classified, and the week before the job someone was checking the logistics and I was told there were no cameras allowed on the facility. I mentioned that I was only going to take pictures and this was a surprise to someone important. And this job was all pre-planned with a escort/minder security team making sure there were no classified things in the views. We eventually established that I could probably bring my cameras and film IN but I couldn't take the photos off the facility when I was done. So I got that week off at the last minute in a HABSED Vacation.
California has an additional environmental law (the California Environmental Quality Act) that makes anything on the National Register need to be mitigated in a similar way to federal environmental NEPA/Section 106 mitigations. So there's all the federal stuff plus all the CEQA stuff in California to potentially take photos of. The federal stuff can be great (Like The Ahwahnee hotel in Yosemite NP) or very boring like navy hangars that are barely standing. The CEQA stuff keeps it more diverse that's for sure. Bigger state, more HABS/HAER photographers too.
I'd still rather do this than anything else I've done in 30 years of photographing.
How Hot was it?
-Schaf
Re: Requirements and standards for HABS/HAER photography
“I'd still rather do this than anything else I've done in 30 years of photographing.
How Hot was it?
-Schaf”
This has always been a sideline for me. My main source of income has always been contemporary architecture. But a very fond sideline and a nice break from the often sterile contemporary architecture. These old building have soul.
It was in the high 90’s. Going back tomorrow.
