City - Skull Valley State - ARIZONA Country - United States
About
Let's get one thing perfectly clear... this is not a good photograph. It is a shoot and scoot snap made with a camera that I thought would be pretty good for this kind of work, but I'm now convinced that it just isn't working out. Anyway, welcome to Skull Valley, a tiny little outpost on the byways of America. I often take these kind of detours simply because they are usually a lot more fun and the overall time used just isn't a factor. Yes, it is small. It is also a very friendly place, despite the name. I used 200 speed film because I figured it would be fast enough to allow a shutter speed selection that would negate to motion of my vehicle.
Hi Michael. Thanks for taking the time to give so much input on my lowly image. I got curious and went through your portfolio and I was quite impressed. In the next few days I'll be commenting on a number of your images. I especially loved the Dam Store. Only in America. When I just don't have the time to stop and shoot a deliberate photo, I just shoot hand-held from the vehicle without composing. I was using the XA-4 because it has a 28mm lens and the XA has a 35mm lens. I was looking for wider coverage, but overall I am disappointed. I'm going back to my XA for this type of shooting. There are a number of those already in my portfolio. The XA not only has a coupled rangefinder so I can get a better focus, and with it's adjustable aperture, I can make better use of DOF for sharpness issues.
Never been there, until tonight at least, yeah.. It’s not a great shot but I clicked on the thumbnail because I want to see places like this. Skull valley eh? Cool. Ya know, my portfolio is cluttered with bad shots of interesting places; at least they are interesting to me. I like it. But here’s my suggestions. If you live close to there, get out of the car on a nice sunset night, the more red the better, iso 200 color with a tripod if the traffic will lend itself to longer shutter speeds, or higher iso and b/w with some artsy fartsy film grain. Back up or zoom out and get some sky in the shot. It seems like an interesting place, I think it deserves a well thought out shot. I know that this shot is just a drive by shooting but, I’ll be watching for another one from you. Skull valley full serve gas station deserves the same global attention as some of the other shots and subjects I’ve seen from war torn 3rd world countries here on the internet. It’s just my opinion. ~Mike
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