Story continues...
Thursday Evening, in Gatlinburg, I headed out of the hotel on a
photo expedition.
For those not familiar with Gatlinburg, Tennessee, it is one
major tourist trap with thousands upon thousands of people
milling about and your common things like Ripleys Believe it or
Not, salt water toffee, fudge shops, restaurantes, indoor
go-cart tracks, etc., etc., etc. Traffic movement is
non-existant as thousands of cars are hamstrung by the thousands
of people jaywalking the crosswalks.
Into this I ventured with the BIG Bogan 3021 tripod, (nothing
whimpy tonight) and my large Lowe-Pro back packed with an OM-4,
24/2.8, 35/2.8, 100/2.8, 200/4 and flash. Oh, did I mention
that I also stuck the 600/6.5 in the bag too? My chiropractor
appointment is this week.
Walking the streets with this equipment was great fun. First of
all, I dressed the part of a reporter-type so I got great access
to places the normal masses were forbidden of going. Just
claimed to be a working pro and managed to terrorize a couple
good vantage points. Do you realize just how much attention the
600/6.5 gets? When anybody questioned my "credentials" I just
brought out the 600/6.5. Anyway, I'm standing in the MIDDLE of
the street on the double-yellow line with the 600/6.5 with OM-4
(with winder) doing time-exposures. Didn't have to worry about
getting hit by a car--traffic wasn't moving very fast. Hadn't
done this in years. Had great fun. Doesn't matter if the shot
turns out or not, the looks on people's faces made the entire
trip worthwhile. Spent the better part of the evening shooting
with the 35/2.8 and the 24/2.8 though.
Eventually, I returned back to the hotel just in time to watch
CSI. Realized that Gatlinburg and Las Vegas' Strip are
shockingly similar. At least I survived with cameras intact.
Especially glad since the 600 is a loaner.
Popped over to Asheville, North Carolina, dropped the family off
at a hotel and I zipped up the Blue-Ridge Parkway to Mt.
Mitchell. Mt. Mitchell is the highest mountain east of the
Rockies. I hiked the Deep-Gap Ridge Trail for a while (until I
knew my light would run out and the gate would close). Since I
wasn't planning on hiking far and pictures were most important I
hauled the 3021 tripod and my entire kit (minus the 600) in the
shoulder bag. It was a bit trippy scrambling up and down rocks
and steep trails, but I got some wonderful shots. Very
satisfied with the fact I was carrying 25 pounds of stuff to
take the pictures as I used nearly every single item during my
three hours on the trail. The wind was howling up and over the
ridge and it was foggy (clouded in) and rainy. I was nice and
toasty in my new winter foul-weather gear.
Did manage to listen to Jeff Gorden get black-flagged on the
sony walkman radio. :)
In the OMs I exclusively shot TMAX 100 and the IS-3 got Fuji 100
print film ($1 a roll at Walmart) for family stuff. It took
nearly the entire week for me to change my mindset over to B&W
photography and probably managed my only really acceptable
pictures up on Mt. Mitchell. Photographically, the trip was a
major disappointment. Lots of factors (sick child, weather,
etc) conspired to make the trip a bit stressful and less than
perfect. But we got away and spent quality family time
together. We got to see lots of deer and bears (five bear in a
single tree munching berries).
Glad to be home, but even less sure about my employment
situation than before. Rumour has it that I'm going to get
transferred to a different position. Worse things could
happen...
Eager to get in the darkroom.
AG-Schnozz
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