Topic: Photography as Mood Drug

[Adam Doe]

One of the other organizers of our local photo meetup group decided to have a 4x5 meetup, location to be determined. As I had just been shaking off the holidays, which always seem to eat up all my spare time thus making any sort of photo expedition unlikely, I was eager to participate. A couple of days before the meetup he posted the location, Crowders Mountain State Park, in Gaston County, NC. While not K2 or Everest (Crowders has an elevation of 1,624') I am not much of a hiker and the thought of humping all of that gear up a mountain didn't thrill me. Also, while not totally against it, nature and landscape photography is never my first choice. I prefer my photo excursions to be on city or town streets. Not that I don't appreciate the efforts of good landscape and nature photographers. I do. It's just not my bag, photographically speaking. But, I hadn't done much shooting since the beginning of autumn, and I hadn't dragged my Crown Graphic out in ages, so I went. The trail we wound up taking to the summit was only 1.8 miles, but it was listed on the trail map as "strenuous". It was, with 40 + pounds (estimated, I could be off by a bunch) of gear on my back and shoulders. I had to have a bit of a sit down on the trail a couple of times near the top as the switchbacks (note the mountainy lingo I casually dropped there and be suitably impressed) got steeper and steeper. But the summit, though crowded with people, was worth it. Great views in almost every direction with scores of photographic opportunities. The people weren't a hinderance, though I found it a bit rude that they weren't huffing and puffing like I, and the rest of our large format sherpa-ing group were once we reached the top. I shot about 7 holders worth of FP-4 and Ortho Litho. I got to scramble up rocks, peer over cliffs, and delve into a form of photography that is not my normal thing. By the end of the day, sitting with my friends at a Latin American restaurant scarfing up El pastor tacos and going over our trip, I felt great. Exhausted, but great. The mood has carried over. I was really excited to get some sheets developed tonight and the six negatives I pulled off the Mod 54 look like they were exposed pretty well. We shall see if they are worth posting tomorrow when I have a chance to scan them. It feels great to get back into the swing of things. I may even do another photo hike sometime soon.

[Bryan]

Great story, I hope we get to see some of your photos.  I did several hikes last year, the highest being over 10,000 feet.  I didn't haul a 4x5, just 35mm cameras and lots of water.  I read that when you are in situations that get your adrenaline going your memory of it will be better than other situations.  I still have vivid memories of those hikes and despite being completely exhausted I felt great about doing it.

[Late Developer]

Adam, unlike yourself, my passion was always photographing mountain scnery.  In the UK, the highest point is just over 4,000' and the majority of peaks are under 3,000'.  However, the scenery in many of our national parks is beautiful - especially in the north of England, Wales and Scotland, where most upland lies.

I didn't have a lot of kit in those days.  Usually an SLR and a few lenses / rolls of K64.  I spent every waking hour possible scrambling about the Lake District and Peak District parks and loved every moment.  The photography was important but secondary.  Being with my friends and seeing views I'd never seen before was the motivation.

These days I live in the south east, 55 miles from London and the topography is flat as a pancake, towns and cities everywhere and, from a photographic perspective, I take every opportunity to escape to somewhere with a jagged horizon. When I am limited to the flatlands of East Anglia, I try to look for intereting things as I just can't find beauty here.

If you've found a new and interesting or exciting genre, grasp it by the throat and don't let go. 

[Francois]

It's a bit the same thing here when it comes to flatness. If my negs dried-up as flat as the landscape, I'd be really happy.
I haven't been to the mountain in close to 20 years. We do have a few hills here and there but their summit is mostly either inaccessible or just point to the boring flatness of the land.

(fixing the stupid auto-correct errors)

[Adam Doe]

It's a bit the same thing here when it comes to flatness. If my negs dried-up as flat as the landscape, I'd be really happy.
I haven't been to the mountain in close to 20 years. We do have a few hills here and there but their summit is mostly either inaccessible or just point to the boring flatness of the land.

(fixing the stupid auto-correct errors)

Head up to the Laurentians! We used to go on ski vacations up there when I was a kid. I loved it. Really beautiful area.

[Terry]

Adam,
I'm with you on the mood drug thing--nothing lifts my spirits like a shooting session.  Even if I don't get much that I like from it, the simple act of shooting and developing is a stress-reducer.

[jharr]

Growing up in eastern Washington state, mountainous horizons were the norm. I had no concept of a flat one. The Cascade Range was less than a day's drive away and that's the real deal. It wasn't until I moved to San Diego and drove out to the desert that I realized there were places where you could see to the actual horizon caused by the curvature of the earth! While that can be interesting in a minimalistic way, I don't think I would drive out just to take a photo of it. My plan is to retire somewhere a bit more interesting like Utah or Colorado. Looking forward to seeing your Mountain High shots Adam.

[mcduff]

It's a bit the same thing here when it comes to flatness. If my negs dried-up as flat as the landscape, I'd be really happy.
I haven't been to the mountain in close to 20 years. We do have a few hills here and there but their summit is mostly either inaccessible or just point to the boring flatness of the land.

(fixing the stupid auto-correct errors)

Head up to the Laurentians! We used to go on ski vacations up there when I was a kid. I loved it. Really beautiful area.

Ya, Francois, quit complaining about "Mount Royal" being flat    You guys can go on day skiing/riding at Tremblant with 2000' of vertical (and lots of other places that are pretty good and even closer).

IF YOU WANT FLAT: I was from Sarnia Ontario -- its flatness made for miserable skiing. We needed to travel 150 km (100 mi) (the same distance as Montreal-Tremblant) for 180' of vertical! If Sarnia was any flatter it would have been concave!

It was nice in the summer, tho. I lived just a few hundred feet from beaches like this (insert random but accurate google'd pic)

[Late Developer]

Growing up in eastern Washington state, mountainous horizons were the norm. I had no concept of a flat one. The Cascade Range was less than a day's drive away and that's the real deal. It wasn't until I moved to San Diego and drove out to the desert that I realized there were places where you could see to the actual horizon caused by the curvature of the earth! While that can be interesting in a minimalistic way, I don't think I would drive out just to take a photo of it. My plan is to retire somewhere a bit more interesting like Utah or Colorado. Looking forward to seeing your Mountain High shots Adam.

Eastern Washington State sounds interesting.  Sadly, my knees are knackered and I carry too much weight - which just adds to the frustration of not being able to shin up 2-3,000' peaks and shoot a sunrise these days.  However, a view from a valley floor against a majestic mountain backdrop is still a wonderful sight.

When we drove Route 66 in October 2013, I was amazed by the flatness of a lot of the mid-west.  Even so, we didn't mind as it was completely new to us and there were some fantastically interesting places to visit along the way.

[Bryan]

Growing up in eastern Washington state, mountainous horizons were the norm. I had no concept of a flat one. The Cascade Range was less than a day's drive away and that's the real deal. It wasn't until I moved to San Diego and drove out to the desert that I realized there were places where you could see to the actual horizon caused by the curvature of the earth! While that can be interesting in a minimalistic way, I don't think I would drive out just to take a photo of it. My plan is to retire somewhere a bit more interesting like Utah or Colorado. Looking forward to seeing your Mountain High shots Adam.

I spend a lot of time in the cascades, hiking, snowboarding, kayaking, ...  I think this hike was about 800' vertical, no trail, very steep, hot day, but well worth it.  We all took a long nap when we got back down, including the dogs.

Bailor on Cliff by bac1967, on Flickr

[Ezzie]

Great story. I love hiking in the mountains. I have on several occassions ran up mountians from sea level to 7000'. We get that in the west country (fjords and mountains) and in the north (Lofoton, Lyngen etc). But not many pictures to show of it.

This is one, I may have posted it previously. The young lady is at approx 3300', the lake below brimming with glacial water (milky blueish green) is 30' elevation.

[Francois]

It's a bit the same thing here when it comes to flatness. If my negs dried-up as flat as the landscape, I'd be really happy.
I haven't been to the mountain in close to 20 years. We do have a few hills here and there but their summit is mostly either inaccessible or just point to the boring flatness of the land.

(fixing the stupid auto-correct errors)

Head up to the Laurentians! We used to go on ski vacations up there when I was a kid. I loved it. Really beautiful area.

Ya, Francois, quit complaining about "Mount Royal" being flat    You guys can go on day skiing/riding at Tremblant with 2000' of vertical (and lots of other places that are pretty good and even closer).

IF YOU WANT FLAT: I was from Sarnia Ontario -- its flatness made for miserable skiing. We needed to travel 150 km (100 mi) (the same distance as Montreal-Tremblant) for 180' of vertical! If Sarnia was any flatter it would have been concave!

It was nice in the summer, tho. I lived just a few hundred feet from beaches like this (insert random but accurate google'd pic)

Well, the Laurentians are about a 2½ hour drive from where I am... would be faster if there wasn't so much traffic and an endless series of orange wedding cakes on the way (construction site cones).

I'm a bit closer to the Eastern Townships... that's about 1½ hours that way. The longest part is just getting out of the burbz. It would be 45 minutes normally if there wasn't so much construction going on.

As for Mount Royal... at 764 feet it's anything but giant. Though there's some prime skateboard territory there!

As for the beach... anyone fancy going in the Saint-Lawrence? It's said that you go in the water with 10 toes and come back with 11...

Are you sure that in Sarnia we can't see the curvature of the earth? Sure makes hiking uphill a whole lot easier

[mcduff]

Haha but Mount Royal is probably the same height as the biggest ski hill in ontario (blue 'mountain'). Yes the eastern townships are closer to Montreal and Sutton is one of my faves.

[FrankE]

too many memories
my parents moved the family to Sutton from Montreal so I did my Grade 11 there (Grade 12 in Montreal)
Sutton High had only 300 students (this was before Massey Vanier was built in Cowansville)
loved skiing at Sutton…
lots of fond memories, especially the Friday night high school dances (my first girl friend etc)
nothing like living in a rural community….