Postcard Reflection

Postcard Reflection, a photo by DeForestRanger on Flickr.

I don't know what possessed me to convert this to the albumen process because it was quite nice in color, but when I did, all thoughts of posting the chromatic version went entirely out the window. This is the type of shot my grandfather would have made when he was looking for postcard material. Of course the Cowlitz was an undammed river in those days, and Lake Scanewa didn't exist, but I could imagine my grandpa walking along the bank here, tripod over his shoulder and a suitcase full of plates in his hand, my mother tagging along behind as she so often did, carrying even more plates and equipment.

The two of them often went on photo shoots together, one of the most memorable causing my grandmother great consternation when they hadn't returned by dark from a long hike. She rousted out the rangers, and was insisting that they mount a search effort when my mom and grandpa straggled in with several dozen exposed plates in the bag. Yes, I can see the two of them in my mind's eye here, waiting for the breeze to slacken just long enough to capture the reflection. The color version of this image does not evoke those memories, and so I put it aside. There will be other reflections in Scanewa which do not call my grandfather into my heart as this one does.