100 degrees on the cold side.

The hot side is cooler because I don't have the water heater turned on. Water in the tank about 74 due to the A/C.

Blew through a 25 sheet pack of Ilford Multicgrade warmtone RC proofing 5X7 negs. Used Agfa warmtone developer. Gotta go back to Adorama and order a 100 sheet pack I guess. Fun proofing. My old Royalprint Chem is still good but all the paper shot. Guess I need to toss it all along with the little processor. It's on its last legs with the nylon gears missing a tooth here and there.

Update: Looking at proofs with a set of white "L" shaped cropping bars. Helps to isolate the image. Couple of nice photos in the group. You can always make a successful photo. Real magic quietly happens by some mechanism of its own. Got a couple of those.

Snail Hand.

Amon Carter has it along with Houston Museum of Fine Art. Several collectors. Just got the word that it's going to be used to represent the Marilyn and Jerry Comer Collection in a show in Dallas. The snails will be proud!

Shiprock, morning shadow and West Dike.

One of my favorite views after spending the night on a nice ledge and being run into the climber's cave by an evening thunderstorm. Trapped behind a waterfall I finally just went to sleep. Was up early for the series that contains this negative. 5X7 Deardorff.

Shiprock, Moonset.

A view with the Moon setting in the early morning light. Shiprock looked very metallic.

If you click on the "Shiprock" link below this post, you get all the Shiprock images.

Space to work.

I need to spend a couple of days working this wall. It's tough going- when you get close you are looking up at it from a severe slope. Difficult footing most places. From a distance the long lenses flatten it too much. Gotta be able to isolate some significant abstracts. I shot a couple with my 450 but didn't have time to really work it on this trip. It has good light several hours a day.

This is in color, by the way.

Shiprock.

I've got several notable shadow photos from Shiprock. We drove up on this one and I shot several negatives from the top of the 4-Runner. Can't wait to proof them. This is a digital file from beside the car.

Film, besides being a different palette of tones, won't be polarized. I think I stayed with a very light yellow. The sky tone was pretty delicate and I didn't want to screw it up.

Summertime tap water.

Bright Angel Canyon the evening before on digital. Once the sun comes over the horizon, the contrast range explodes.

Point Imperial on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Too late for good light. Just fooling around.

99 degrees out of the "cold" side. Tyler has great water for photographic (and other) purposes, but does get hot in the summer. Photographic Water Equinox is about March 5, when it runs 68 degrees, (standard B&W processing temp) out of the cold side. Had to ice it a bit and save some tubs in labs central air. Also used the old indian trick of leaving the hot water heater off and using the stored cooled water. Runs about 78 for a bit.

50 sheets of HP5 5X7 hanging and drying. Now I gotta cool enough water to proof.

Using Xtol for about 8:30 in trays, eight sheets at a time in the dark. The pup finds those 8-minute runs very boring.

Was at Bright Angel Point with the Deardorff on tripod before daybreak last week and a little pre-dawn crowd built. Had to remind them that even if I had a big old wooden camera, I might not be an expert. I could just be a nut.

Update: I finished my pre-sunrise shot and made a negative just as the sun came up to process first and check for density. Looks ok, though the light really was changing fast!