report: Tonopah Temptation Workshop May 2011

**Michael Clark** · 30-Aug-2012, 06:22

That sounds like a nice meetup Jim, I would be in for that.

**Asher Kelman** · 5-Sep-2012, 09:23

Originally Posted by Jim Graves

Well, I've been on two of these and would go on another.

I had originally planned on going back with my digital shooting brother the week of 10/15. Now he can't make it. I may still go ... I would love to stay and have dinner in the restored Mizpah Hotel (opened last fall after a full renovation) and I'd like to have another late-night Dead Laden (the drink of the week when we were there last time after Bin Laden was killed) while playing video poker at the Clubhouse Saloon on Main Street (the bar where Jack Dempsey tended bar before he became heavyweight champ.) Plus, I lost 12 8x10 shots in six holders last time when I set them down by my car and drove off ... so I have some re-shooting to do.

That Bin Laden night was memorable! I too have a lot of makeup shots. I now have wide angle bellows for my Chamonix as I was cutting of parts of the image using a 150 mm Super Symmar XL with the regular 8x10 setup. Certainly, it would be useful to get that fireman's place. That would be a group cost. Also there may be a group price to enter the Nevada mine area. In any case, this is a great idea.

Originally Posted by Jim Graves

The mid-October date is perfect because the early and late golden hours are at decent times, the temps around Tonopah are good, the eastern Sierra will be turning colors, and Tioga Pass is likely to still be open ... and all those things open up a ton of possibilities in Tonopah, Goldfield, and the Nevada Desert for the main shoots and on the way there or back, the Eastern Sierra, Mono Lake, the Bristlecone Pines, Bodie ghost town, and even Death Valley, Vegas, and Yosemite (I love the reflections available on the Merced during October.)

How much time for the total get together do you imagine?

Originally Posted by Jim Graves

I like the idea of an independent ... non-workshop type get-together ... Per's workshops were pretty close to that anyway ... and that is what I really liked about them. And, I like the idea of limiting the group's pressure on Jim ... so he doesn't end up having to host. With a little coordination we might be able to rent the firehouse hangout for a night or two and swap stories, pour drinks, share photos, and plan a shoot ... and add some new shots to our joint group effort on PhotoNet.