Incredible is a word that comes up a lot around here. Just seeing the house was started us down that track. Opening the front door continued our gawking, two floors three bedrooms, two baths, a completely outfitted kitchen with a somewhat stinky fridge, dining room and a front room that overlooks the water and downtown woody point.
We start to complain sarcastically– this isn’t right how can anyone expect to do work in this, it is too far from the water, The view from the bathroom wasn’t good enough – only looking over Bonne Bay and the mountains.
And the studio who can expect to work in only a 12x20 foot studios complete with two drafting tables and two work benches. Then were was the laundry room and a light tight room behind that.
We put up our things, put away the food read all the notes that other people had left and headed out we couldn’t take it.
It was a simple walk around town to see what was here. I brought the Hobo and a backpack of film holders. Kendra the digital borrowed from the school. Walked to shops down by the water then south – at this time we really couldn’t figure out directions. Then away from them. Two conveniences – three is you count the liquor store. We wondered how we would choose? would we alternate? Both could tell where you were heading.
The large camera drew as much stares as two cfa’s laughing constantly while walking along the road.
Serious testing could I carry all this stuff? What would I do? How long can I walk with the Hobo in my hand? Can I hold it even and steady? A nice horizon?
Walked along the water front south. Photographing wood piles. Saw an open boxcar with a chair in it and wanted to photograph it but for some reason talked to three people who were in a garden. They asked the usual questions which allowed me to ask the same.
-I’d like to photograph that shed does it belong to you?
-it belongs to him and no b’y go ahead.
The owner walked back with me as I said I liked the way that the chair was placed.
Joked a bit about the size of my camera and finally we continued on the walk, a figure eight around town following the path as far the main road coming back on the main road to the street downtown then – this time - turning right seeing a compact village right on the bay. There were shops – tourist and non – the fish plant, legion hall, library, post office, a few restaurants, one bar the Seabreeze.
There was a house that looked like it had been launched.
Returned to the house much calmer for I had been able to function with the Hobo without too much trouble, while I wasn’t making images in the quantities, I would have or Kendra was, I wasn’t racing to get the outing over with due to all the drawbacks of large format.
Dinner in town that evening as neither of us wanted to cook, bringing back a six pack of Black Horse to sit out front and watch the “weather” roll in and over the bay and the waning light playing tag with the mountains, waving every once in a while at a child who kept staring out the front door of her home.
At dark, went in the basement anxious to start, wanted to prove to Jessica that I didn’t come all this way to not make work and to get used to a new working method.
Setting up took longer than I thought I wished that I had brought one more tray than I had but everything worked out really well. The 25 minutes in the dark developing the negs was manageable but next time I would have a chair so that I wouldn’t be constantly bent over. The negatives were fine. Minor problems that could be solved but I could work very well this way.
Impatient to see one as a print, made a platinotype of the shed with the chair. Again no trouble everything was fine and I was on my way, relieved.
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