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Description
There was that story about the old couple who hosted some kind of gods in a brave country of honour, respect and wisdom—elderly people who never wanted to leave each other and the gods granted them a special mercy. They didn't have to live without each other, not even a minute. When one of them had to die, the other died, too, and they turned into entwined oak and linden trees. Don't ask me why, but it was a good idea that they're different species. Search me.

The whole tale is a bit hazy now, it barely could happen again and perhaps it was rare even in the ancient Greece (though we know the story from Ovid's narration).

This couple called Philemon and Baucis. They are my most patient models, made of pearwood (afaik) by gifted Polish artisans, and perhaps they, at their time of death, will turn into humans. You never know.

And this image was a result of some experiments and a mistake. It was the first time to try my VDS 8×10 field camera in my studio. My flash power was extremely weak for the photographic paper I used instead of (very expensive) film. I grouped all my flashes (quite a few) together and fired them several times during a 20 second exposure. And I tried it again with a different framing. Only one minor mistake: I forgot to flip the black slide of the film holder that would have reminded me that the paper inside is already exposed.

And I absolutely love the result.

The rather uncertain fiddling led to an error that brought the story to the surface. I wish I could know what was that story.

Techie talk:
It was shot with my VDS 8×10 wooden field camera custom made by VDS Camera Manufactory .
I used my Schneider-Kreutzach APO Symmar-S 240 f=5.6 MC lens with Copal 3S shutter. f=1/5.6, t=2×10 sec, on a 4×5" Ilford Harman Directpositive paper. I used all available flashes and fired them four or five times. (The seven units had the combined flash power of about 800 Ws.) Developed in Tetenal and scanned with my cheapo Canon CanoScan LiDE 200 scanner, then reversed the sides (to their normal positions).

Please don't use this image without my prior written consent. This picture is erratically copyrighted. Unauthorized usage infringes my rights and makes me very grumpy.

Description
There was that story about the old couple who hosted some kind of gods in a brave country of honour, respect and wisdom—elderly people who never wanted to leave each other and the gods granted them a special mercy. They didn't have to live without each other, not even a minute. When one of them had to die, the other died, too, and they turned into entwined oak and linden trees. Don't ask me why, but it was a good idea that they're different species. Search me.

The whole tale is a bit hazy now, it barely could happen again and perhaps it was rare even in the ancient Greece (though we know the story from Ovid's narration).

This couple called Philemon and Baucis. They are my most patient models, made of pearwood (afaik) by gifted Polish artisans, and perhaps they, at their time of death, will turn into humans. You never know.

And this image was a result of some experiments and a mistake. It was the first time to try my VDS 8×10 field camera in my studio. My flash power was extremely weak for the photographic paper I used instead of (very expensive) film. I grouped all my flashes (quite a few) together and fired them several times during a 20 second exposure. And I tried it again with a different framing. Only one minor mistake: I forgot to flip the black slide of the film holder that would have reminded me that the paper inside is already exposed.

And I absolutely love the result.

The rather uncertain fiddling led to an error that brought the story to the surface. I wish I could know what was that story.

Techie talk:
It was shot with my VDS 8×10 wooden field camera custom made by VDS Camera Manufactory .
I used my Schneider-Kreutzach APO Symmar-S 240 f=5.6 MC lens with Copal 3S shutter. f=1/5.6, t=2×10 sec, on a 4×5" Ilford Harman Directpositive paper. I used all available flashes and fired them four or five times. (The seven units had the combined flash power of about 800 Ws.) Developed in Tetenal and scanned with my cheapo Canon CanoScan LiDE 200 scanner, then reversed the sides (to their normal positions).

Please don't use this image without my prior written consent. This picture is erratically copyrighted. Unauthorized usage infringes my rights and makes me very grumpy.