Wagons through Monument Valley
I could have stood in the middle of the road and taken the bog standard empty road shot like the one in the guide books.
I decided instead to try and get some movement into the shot. Motion blur in a place that sees little motion... a wagon going past.
Because of the way that the lighting together the rules of composition and applied meaning through mise en scene dictate the look of a final picture I found myself waiting for a Northbound wagon coming up from Arizona.
I set the RB up on a tripod, precomposed the shot in the viewfinder by finding a point on the other side of the road where the wagon would be 'frozen', and waited.
I kicked stones around that layby in silence for nearly 40 minutes before a wagon came up from the South.
It's fair to say that here at least, once you see a Wagon trundling towards you in the distance you have time to prep up. A quick look through the Bolex lens at the distant object to check its suitablilty. (let's face it... I'd been there all that time, I didnt care what type of wagon it was.)
As it gets closer and you actually start to hear it you find yourself starting to panic a bit. you only get one shot at it. Is the film wound on ? is the dark slide out ? Is the shutter cocked ? Maybe I should fire a test shot just to make sure everythings OK. The wagon's getting closer, you can hear it now but it's still a mile or so off. Another look through the viewfinder, is the point on the opposite verge the right one ? Will the lens flare work in my favour, should I risk the shot by stretching round to shield the lens to try and get rid of it ?
You now hear the wagon shifting down through the gears as it climbs up the hill towards you.... it's still doing about 60mph.
your breathing gets a bit faster, you can start to feel the adrenaline, should I have gone for black and white ? Is the lens clean? is the camera level? Then it's at 100yds....
You're now only seeing the world through the viewfinder. The wide angle lens kind of distorts how far away the vehicle is... The noise of the wagon is clear and loud, it starts to accelerate across the frame.... you can start to feel the vibration under your feet... as soon as it crosses your marker point on the opposite verge you fire the shutter. It roars past, the dust of the layby swirling around you in it's wake.
All that jazz and I still have to wait more than two weeks for the image to return from the lab back home.
Location: Monument Valley
Photographer: Christopher Hartford
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