All prints are made-to-order and will require one to two weeks’ production time before being shipped. Each order will be acknowledged after payment has been received to confirm the shipping date. To customers who order prints of the same image subsequent to their original order, there may be slight variations in image density and/or contrast when compared to the initial print. If exact matching prints are desired, these should be ordered at the same time.
All prints are shipped flat, durably mounted on high quality backing board with two inch borders top and sides and a five inch border at bottom.
Custom Matting and Framing crafted to fit the Mount Board Size shown will be required to complete the presentation. The bottom border will show below the lower right corner of the image the photographer’s signature. Due to slight size variations please await receipt of your mounted print before ordering custom matting and framing.
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Crystal Mill, Crystal River Colorado, September, 1973
One of my oldest and best-known images of the famed Crystal Mill on the Crystal River in Gunnison, County, Colorado on a rugged four wheel drive trail.
Taken more than fifty years ago at the height of fall colors, silver halide prints of this image captivate the viewer’s attention with a rich variety of tone and detail.
By the time I took this photo, I had mastered the technical challenges of medium format black and white photography, including exposure, film development and darkroom printing.
I was also working with the premier medium format camera and wide angle lens of the 1970’s–the incomparable Hasselblad 500C coupled with the Carl Zeiss 50mm f4 Distagon.
The downward tilt of the Distagon lens, necessary to bring the Crystal River into the bottom of the frame, created a subtle divergence of vertical lines in the structure that slightly exaggerated its precarious perch on the rocky outcrop.
What is most pleasing about this image is the deep shadow detail while preserving highlite tones in the same exposure.
When I view prints of this image I am taken back to the overcast, chilly fall day with aspens at their peak. The lack of direct sun light presented the opportunity to record rich detail in every area of the scene.
What is also striking is the magical integration of a primitive structure on a rocky outcrop overlooking a rushing mountain stream–the mill appeared then, as now, as if it had always been there.
Later images of the mill show it with a succession of unweathered rebuilt roofs with fresh new planks that destroyed the patina of the structure as seen in this photograph.
In a single image all the factors mentioned above came together to evoke what I saw and felt in a special moment.
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