Compositions In The San Juan Mountains | Colorado Large Format Photography - Ep2

A rust colored river and an old mining building -
Conditions change for the colder - and prettier - in the San Juan mountains. After driving more mountain passes and scouting for large format compositions I wake up to beautiful snow capped mountains.
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
00:43 Top of the mountain
03:03 Rusty river composition
06:24 Light table review image 1
08:10 Edited image 1
10:05 Old mining building
13:49 Light table review image 2
14:14 Edited image 2
Looking for more to watch?
Binge watch everything from in the field:
kzbin.info?list...
Binge watch everything from the office:
kzbin.info?list...
🙏🏻 Help support the creation of more and better content:
/ chrisdarnellphoto
Follow me on social media:
Instagram - @chrisdarnellphoto
Vero - @chrisdarnellphoto
Twitter - @cdarnellphoto

[@treyusher32]

Oh man finally the algorithm recommends something I actually want to watch. Enjoying the channel so far! Your voice is amazing.

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thanks so much Trey and welcome!

[@sophietucker1255]

I liked them both but the color water shot is the real winner

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thanks Sophie! I think that's why I kept shooting exposures because I was hoping that might be the case..

[@robertwhitemoto]

Well done... my second home for the past 40+ years.

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thanks Robert, I can totally see why; such a gorgeous place!

[@brandt_bennett]

Every now and then KZbin recommends some great content. This was one of those, thank you for sharing.

[@carlitodcreative]

Amazing video Chris, Thanks so much!!

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thanks again Carlos!

[@craigfouche]

Brilliant episode Chris, nice shots.

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thanks Craig!

[@hirubik]

Nice video. i like the color in the river rock and frames drone... dope

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thank you so much!

[@constantinestewart7416]

Beautiful image.

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thank you!

[@chandimabodhinath1779]

Truly a wonderful presentation. The photos are unbelievably beautiful. Subscribed and best wishes from Sri Lanka.

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thanks so much and welcome!

[@Robert-Jaudon]

Thank you for the video. LOve the shots.

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thanks for watching Rob!

[@user-lq3sw2fn9v]

Nice shoot!Great video!!

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thank you!

[@bruceharvey6428]

This is terrific, Chris, so well done. Your videos are always a treat to see, and I really enjoy your discussions about composition. Well done indeed!

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thanks as always Bruce, and again for the feedback!

[@andymanson]

Nice video, Chris! You're producing wonderful content that's really enjoyable. Thanks so much for sharing your work!

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thanks for watching Manson!

[@studiomarand]

This channel is becoming one of my favorite photography channel on YT. Keep on the good work.

[@ChrisDarnell]

Will do, and thank you! That's quite the complement!

[@philipculbertson55]

The river shot was stunning Chris. The old building was awesome as well. I loved the various tones and textures in that image, even with the sign.

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thanks as always Philip!

[@jimrookphotos]

Hey Chris, you were in the area about a week after I had left. You picked the right time. I remember that old mining building from 42 years ago. There was another structure behind and to your right of it as you look at it. No highway department sign back then LOL. That's a beautiful area and one I'd recommend returning to again. I'd recommend a little further north possibly but definitely east.

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thanks Jim! I faintly remember a smaller outbuilding to the right and a bunch of crumbled infrastructure, although I have to imagine it looked a bit different that long ago. Although not strictly "landscape" material I find these old buildings super fascinating, perhaps 40 years down the road it'll look different again and I'll have a record of it from now! I'll definitely be returning, probably next year and I'll have to check out east of the highway, thanks for the tip!

[@jasonlamarking]

Great video Chris. That Chamonix is a beautiful camera. Love both of these images.

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thanks Jason, it certainly is!

[@d-nd-n5028]

The Silverton Railroad served the mine loading structure you photographed. It ran from Silverton up the loop in the road just west of you and then to the top of red mountain pass, then down to Ironton (you should have seen the remaining stone building in ironton as you drive this route north toward Ouray, just before it enters the canyon with the million dollar highway, Good to hear you enjoyed the San Juans - they are spectacular. A lot of the mining structures are gone that were there when I started fourwheeling and photographing back in 1985. Still worthwhile to go!

[@ChrisDarnell]

Not sure why I didn't think of the railroad, that makes total sense! The San Juans were incredible and I expect it won't be anywhere near the last time I visit, I'm already planning on returning next year and perhaps exploring some of the trails you recommended!

[@stevenmeitner8477]

The tmax is looking good. The wood has a nice richness with enough tonal separation from the trees in the background.

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thanks Steven!

[@RandyPollock]

I was thinking not landscape, shoot it vertical, but it came out looking great.

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thanks Randy! Perhaps on a return trip a vertical in color will be in order..

[@jimwlouavl]

Loved the one of the rusty stream. I haven’t seen your videos in a while as I limited my time on YT. Your storytelling is really top shelf. Thanks for sharing.

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thanks so much Jim, it's definitely nice to have a break now and then!

[@carbonejack]

Another super video, Chris. I was on the side of one of those mountains and my car (off-road Xterra 6 gears stick) and I stalled and I started rolling backwards. Tough clutching and starting. Found out later it has clutch start so you don't have to depress the clutch to start it...just press the switch. Would have been nice to know that. A case for reading the manual. Beautiful images. Love the drone shots and the background music...helps create a mood.

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thanks Jack! Ooof, I can definitely imagine the pucker factor that goes along with that, haha. Definitely nice to not have to worry about a clutch in the 4Runner, but I certainly have stories of my own driving stick on some treacherous hills, ha!

[@valdezapg]

Rusty river pictures are very beautiful, I prefer how they look on the light table as opposed to processed scan though, but thats just my taste.

[@ChrisDarnell]

Perfectly understandable, that's a pretty common struggle I have because they often look way better in person than they do on a screen 😕

[@valdezapg]

@@ChrisDarnell I have struggled with scanning slides and getting accurate/ decent color with plustek 35mm scanner using SilverFast and Vuescan. Both dont give very accurate results with Vuescan being a lot more accurate though. The best accuracy I have found is if I scan with VueScan with close to default settings (but black and white point set to 0) to DNG format, and then opening the DNG in Adobe Camera Raw, reducing contrast a little bit, and checking, setting black point for each color channel (the red channel for my scanner usually has not set the black point correctly and the image gets a red tint). Maybe if you have VueScan you can try this with your flatbed (if I recall correctly you used a Epson flatbed).

[@berthaduniverse]

Nice work Chris, thanks for the warnings about back-country fire-roadig. One thing really stands out here, old weathered wood is hard on B&W. I think there's a good set of videos in that. Also, spruce up that Patreon page!

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thanks Paul! I'll be in touch on Patreon soon and will get to work on that, and thanks for the video suggestion!

[@lensman5762]

Magical place. You have done it justice. Thank you. PS: I looked up the sheds owned by Colorado Dept of Transportaion and your shed turned up. You were right, it was an old mining shed. Your photo is in a different league to the stock photos.

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thanks for watching! Interesting.. I'm going to have to look it up and see what history there is on it!

[@d-nd-n5028]

that pass is very easy, only one easier in the San Juans is Ophir. Your forerunner should have done fine. You should avoid Black Bear unless you are fearless. But you should try corkscrew and Poughkeepsie gulch. Make it a day trip to go over Engineer and come back Cinnamon Pass - visit Lake City in between

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thanks for the tips! Engineer was on my list until it snowed and I canceled not knowing how much of the trail got hit, so I'll look forward to checking it out next time!

[@danncorbit3623]

Wonderful images. I lived in Denver and Aurora Colorado in the mid to late 1970's. I had a Suzuki TS-370 that was hopped up to give me 50hp at the drive shaft. I used to go to the area around Leadville and other high places and then go off road. Needless to say, your video gave me the most wonderful feeling of deja vu. I thank you sincerely for this. I'm sick today, laying in my bed and this really cheered me up.

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thanks Dann! Always an honor, and I hope you're feeling much better by now. I saw a few bikes on the trails and was thinking what a blast that would be on something that agile!

[@podhoncisty]

Hi Chris, beautiful photos 😍😍😍 But Velvia and that mining building would be a stunning combination 🙂 (in my humble opinion)

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thank you! And I agree.. might have to revisit it next year!

[@andrewfindlayphoto]

Great road trip video. It looks a bit 'Bottom Twitching' driving to me hope those roads are one way. We've all had the cable release in the shot. At least it wasn't your finger. I would have photo merged some shiney rocks back in to the good shot. Awesome drone footage. You t-max looks a bit thin, try selenium toning one to help the density. Keep up the good work 🤠

[@ChrisDarnell]

Haha, thanks Andrew! Agreed, and I might still merge some highlights in post in the future. I hadn't heard of toning a negative until now so thanks for the tip - seems I have some research to do 🧐

[@andrewfindlayphoto]

@@ChrisDarnell I think the technique is in Ansel Adams the negative or he mentioned it in an article.

[@MattWeddis]

Another great video with great images. I don’t think the image with the polariser suffered from having full polarisation. The rockets still appeared to have enough shape and texture to hold their own.

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thanks as always Matt, you're probably right. As bummed as I was about the cable release on the other it was probably too much in the highlights anyway

[@alfredanheier4779]

Very nice images, despite your struggles at the river. I like them both, but when you were explaining the composition of the mining shed, I thought the shed would be in the left third of the frame, showing more foliage, and leading the roofline into the frame.

[@bruceharvey6428]

Interesting, I was thinking exactly the same thing. I liked it, but if one is being picky (that's what the internet is for, yes?), as I looked at the image I was thinking that I'd like to swing the camera just a bit to the right, as you suggest.

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thanks Alfred, that's great feedback! I think I failed to mention in the video that the mountain slopes down off to the right and there's some open sky I was trying to avoid, but with better camera positioning that might have been a better arrangement. Perhaps next trip!

[@naturelvr123]

I know that building along 550 but what developer did you use to develop your T-Max 100? Good presentation. :)

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thanks Paul, these sheets were sent off to the lab and according to what they've told me they use Clayton chemistry

[@132indo]

Have you tried Pan F or FP4 ?

[@martin-f5482]

beautiful images, but why don't tilt the lens a little for getting a better depth of field?

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thanks Martin! I might have failed to mention that in the video, but there was indeed a bit of tilt applied. Still, with the depth of the scene and the taller trees close to the camera I couldn't get it all tack sharp so there were compromises that had to be made, but in the end I was still happy with the results.

[@d-nd-n5028]

That creek is polluted by extemely acid mine waste - note that nothing is growing within the spray zone. Yes, the iron content causes the orange.

[@ChrisDarnell]

Yikes.. glad I didn't go wading through it!

[@califmike2003]

I would have unbolted that no trespassing sign and then put it back on after the shot.

[@ChrisDarnell]

Haha, perhaps next time I'll have to show up early in the morning with a powered nut driver..

[@markusklein6309]

What do you do in oncoming traffic? Greetings from Germany

[@ChrisDarnell]

Hi Markus, most of the time if you can see a vehicle coming ahead of time there's somewhere wide enough to pull off to the side and enjoy the view while you wait for the oncoming car. Other times you have to do a bit of shuffling to get past one another, and worst case you might have to reverse until you find a wider spot. Speeds are pretty slow on those roads and most people are out enjoying the view so everyone is usually pretty patient, but it can certainly get a little hairy in the wrong spot!

[@jackyleecs]

Is that a Intrepid or a Chamonix 4x5?

[@ChrisDarnell]

Hi Jacky, this one is a Chamonix 45F-2

[@frstesiste7670]

It's of course cheating, but I slightly desaturate water sometimes if it's discolored.

[@ChrisDarnell]

Thanks for the tip! I've done similar approaches in the past, but in this case it was that color that attracted me to the scene just because it seemed so odd!

[@bernardkealey6449]

Wonderful video as always; I hope that it’s the last time u document your cable release… I had a wry grin as u tried to salvage that indignity with the light leak…

[@bernardkealey6449]

By the way - have you retired the Toyo, or keeping it for when u want to do the sort of wide angle that a fixed rear standard won’t let u do?

[@ChrisDarnell]

Haha, I thought it was a great pivot away from that 🤣 I do still have the Toyo, I don't think I have any immediate plans to get rid of it; at least not in the short to mid-term future. It's a beast but it's still a lot of fun to shoot, and indeed having the full compliment of movements is another plus!

[@tim31415]

Cable release?! What a rookie mistake. A real pro would stick his thumb in front of the lens. It's nice one shot turned out. It is a great composition.

[@ChrisDarnell]

Haha! Give me time and I'll eventually get there, I'm sure of it! Thanks as always Tim