Manhattan Skyline, 9/11/2024

   Following up on last month’s Story Behind further reinforces, “the” decision. My transition from B&W film to a digital capture medium was not as seamless as seen with this month’s opening image. A 6 week cross country trip with my wife this past summer would confirm my new direction. New and exciting opportunities lie ahead, but not before what I’d hope would be an epic final large format film image.

    Many know I am a huge Springsteen fan, certainly for his music, but it goes much deeper than his music alone. I see so many parallels in his pursuit of perfection and craft to my own photographic pursuits. Not because I pretend to be as talented as he is in music as in my own craft. But when I heard him in his recent interview on ABC answer the question “What keeps you motivated to continue”? Springsteen answers, “Curiosity” moves you in new and different directions to remain creative” !! That singular word aligns perfectly in what lies ahead, and is the impetus for me in the new mountain I have chose to climb !   

   I have for years been interested in documenting any and all landmarks paying homage to the horrific events of September 11, 2001. So, the just past 23rd anniversary of the senseless tragedy that decimated lower Manhattan and captivated the world there would be one last chance to close out my film career with a memorable image. I knew the exact location I wanted which allowed me to strip the backpack of unnecessary lenses and required only several film holders. However, the weight savings would be offset by the added weight of the Sony a7CR mirrorless camera. The result, a 41 lb. backpack of gear was trimmed down to 35 lbs for 9/11/24. I approached the drive to NYC with guarded optimism, knowing there would be hordes of photogs in my chosen area. As with most any photograph I plan it’s rare that someone beats me to the location and “my” prime spot. I arrived at the Brooklyn pier parking area exactly @ 3pm. The area has since been developed since my last visit and my walk turned into close to a mile…with 35 lbs on my back, in a rather hot afternoon.

  A dear friend and an ultra-large format film photographer himself balancing the integration of a digital camera capable of producing huge files would be joining me. We got to the location looking across to the Manhattan skyline. I quickly setup the 5×7 Deardorff to claim my spot, checkout the video at the end to see the activity around this shooting location. My “Light Tribute, Manhattan Skyline” shot was still 3 hours away, but there were a few photogs already there, ones who clearly understood the potential and benefit of arriving early. An unexpected plus was meeting a talented photographer who once lived in my home state of CT and now living in Manhattan. We do communicate on Instagram, if nothing else came of the day, that acquaintance was worth the drive and traffic to NYC.

    I learned early on in film and darkroom applications that almost all things relative to film capture were the exact opposite in the darkroom positive printing process. Case in point, in order to get acceptable detail in the “darker” areas of the original scene adequate exposure must be given at the time the film was exposed, chemical development hardly plays a part in reproducing very dark detail. Conversely in the darkroom printing stage in order to get adequate detail in the “lighter” areas of the positive print is again a function of exposure, full development has zero impact on producing detail. I have since found that exact relationship between film photography and digital photography where a sensor takes the place of film.

   So, consider the following 2 images, essentially the same composition from my exact tripod location. The brown tone image from 5×7 film, a 25 minute exposure, nearly impossible to avoid the tourist helicopters and other activity in the night sky. Those light streaks in the sky make the  negative unusable for my aesthetic. The color image was a 30 second exposure at the same f stop. Why such a difference ? Essentially with film photography the negative is grossly overexposed, followed by significantly reduced chemical development to preserve the necessary tonalities. That approach will compress huge amounts of contrast, such as the Manhattan skyline at night seen in the brown tone image. Conversely with a digital sensor the exact opposite is the approach, the brightest parts of the image cannot be overexposed, or they will lose all detail just as film will in the darker areas unless adequate exposure takes place at the time of exposure. In processing the digital file, the shadows, while nearly black when first brought into the computer are expanded and restored to a rendering seen in the color image. So many Film photographers are stunned to see how much shadow detail can be recorded when using my exposure and development approach. I too am surprised at the amount of shadow information that can be restored in the darker area with post processing in the computer. To be clear, it’s not any computer magic or AI, it’s understanding how to maximize the potential information that took place at the time the shutter was clicked with the given tool / camera that was used.

   Lastly, I was so hoping for a trademark image with my last large format film image, fortunately the night was not a total lost as seen in the color image of the 9/11 Light Tribute. That color image can be turned into any rendering of Black & White that I choose with one click of the computer mouse. I will always print all final B&W images in the wet-process darkroom approach, that will never change. Hindsight always being what it is, I wished I’d taken my buddy up on his offer. He travels a lot for work…“Steve, I’ll get us a room with points and we can come back here @ 3 in the morning”…no other photogs, no tourist helicopters, just the skyline and lights until dawn…wish I had taken him up on his offer !