Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/12/31

[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]

Subject: [Leica] Last sunset of Y1K
From: "Gary Todoroff" <datamaster@humboldt1.com>
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 23:22:08 -0800

Guess I've been taking Ted's advice and doing a lot more shooting than
e-mailing the last few months. However, this evening with the Leica seemed
worth sharing.

Just southwest of Eureka is Cape Mendocino (not the town, which is almost
100 miles further south). Geographically, the cape is the furthest west
point of land on the continental United States. In fact, you can't get
further west latitude without getting your feet wet until somewhere north
around Vancouver Island, B.C. and somewhere south even more remote in
Antartica!

So sunset off Cape Mendocino qualifies as the last one of the "1000's" for
the lower 48 states. Besides that, the site is incredibly beautiful, often
referred to as the Lost Coast. It is only accessible from the road called
The Wildcat, which climbs out of Ferndale for about 30 miles before dropping
down to the coast.

My oldest son, his wife and I got there around 3:00pm and scouted the
coastline. There were no cars to be seen for a half hour at a time, and we
were the only people on the rocky beach for five miles in either direction.
The afternoon was grey, but clouds parted enough by sunset for some
wonderful light.

Along with the M6 and assorted lenses, I also brought a Graphic View 4x5.
However, the wind was too stong, with gusts obviously shaking the big
camera, even on a sturdy tripod. The Leica presented a much smaller
aerodynamic target, and I mostly used the 21 and 28mm Elmarits. I shot
almost three rolls of Velvia, using various rocks, tidal pools and crashing
waves as foreground to the last sunset of the millenium.

Tonight, I E-6ed the film in the JOBO, and it's now drying in the film
cabinet. A breif look shows good exposures, but I never study film much when
its wet, which seems to scratch or spot it no matter how careful you are.
Instead I loaded the CAP40 with fresh Ilford chemistry for Cibachrome print
processing in the morning.

At noon tomorrow, the Humboldt Arts Council is having its Grand Opening at
the old Eureka Carnegie Library building, just restored at a cost of almost
$2 million. I should be able to frame and get my "Last Light" photo there by
noon tomorrow, in time for the ribbon cutting ceromonies at 1:00pm. The
director of the Arts Council and I planned all this about a month ago, God
provided the light, and Leicas fit the bill for a memorable shooting day to
wrap up a thousand years.

Regards,
Gary Todoroff
Tree LUGger