Into the Woods Again: Squaxin Park in the Snow (Oly 13)

Near the Squaxin Park trailhead (off Flora Vista Dr NE) 

It is summer in Olympia. The days can be hot (90º deg. F), but the nights are cool. Compared to my previous homes in Vicksburg, Houston, Athens, Karachi, and Rangoon, summer here is a delight. Still, let's cool off with some memories of the February 25 snowfall. This was the second snow of the 2023-2024 winter, and it was too good to resist. I drove to Squaxin (formerly Priest Point) Park with my tripod and Hasselblad and broke out a roll of Kodak's famous Panatomic-X. It is a slow film (EI = 25) and may not be the best choice for a gloomy afternoon under dense trees, but with a tripod, you can use as slow as shutter speed as needed. Most of these snow scenes were ½ or 1 second exposures. (Warning: no urban decay here, just "pretty" pictures.)

Looks like a furry chapeau on a stump

Heading home, time for a coffee

The Hasselblad works reasonably well in cold weather. I can use the controls with thin gloves. Loading a film back in the snow would be frustrating, so if in doubt, load a spare one in advance. For the pictures above, I used 50mm, 80mm, and 100mm Zeiss lenses, all with no filters. Praus Productions in Rochester, New York, developed the film.

I hope you all enjoyed this quick visit to winter.

Snow in Vicksburg - Twice in a Month??

Here in Vicksburg in the USA South, we do occasionally get snow or ice storms, but the frequency diminished in recent years. But in the last few years, we have been experiencing snows more often as well as other extreme meteorological events. Overall, the climate is getting warmer, as demonstrated by bird species that previously would have migrated south to the Gulf Coast or to South America, but now remain here. (No, I won't get into the debate with denial idiots that climate change is a hoax.)

Snow is rare enough that I can't resist wandering around with a camera and recording the way that snow outlines roads, topography, and rooflines. The following will be some digital snapshots. I also used film, but it needs to be developed. I will post film frames in mid-summer when the temperature is 30+ deg. C.

Storm 1, January 11, 2021

Kansas City Southern tracks, Pearl Street

Pearl Street

Pearl Street

Oops, some rail cars overturned at curve below Washington Street

Sycamore Avenue

This January storm was not too intense, and roads were open. I took a tour around town thinking it might be the last snow of the winter.

Storm 2: February 14-18, 2021

What, again? An immense storm pattern blanketed the southern and central United States. Houston, Texas, experienced rare snow and temperatures well below freezing. Here in Vicksburg, the freezing rain began to fall on Sunday, the 14th. Monday welcomed us to a white city. 

Room with a view. Wait, what's all that white stuff? (Morning, Feb. 15, 2021)

The mayor imposed a 24-hour driving curfew, which was smart considering that no one around here has snow tires (or ability). And consider, Bubba Joe normally gets in his truck with the widest and baldest tires and drives as fast as he can. Brakes, friction? What are those? Fire trucks and ambulances installed snow chains.

Confederate Avenue view west (Feb. 15, 2021)

Halls Ferry Road from the Confederate Avenue bridge. Where did the traffic go?

It is so peaceful when there is no traffic. The mayor extended the driving curfew to Wednesday, February 17.

Footbridge over Stouts Bayou, Avenue B (Feb. 15, 2021)

I walked to Avenue B and crossed the little footbridge over Stouts Bayou. I saw six unusual speckled birds with long beaks down at the riprap near the water. They were Wilson's Snipe. Here, in the city? As I crossed, they flew off, and two more followed. Later, I saw a Belted Kingfisher. 

Drummond Street view south (Feb. 16, 2021)

Drummond Street view north (Feb. 16, 2021)

Monroe Street view north (Feb. 16, 2021)

I know you readers in the northern USA or Canada, let alone Scandinavia or Russia, will not be impressed with this snowfall, but for us it is a big deal. It certainly changes the scenery. The Interstate highways are treacherous and dangerous because the highway department has very few plows. 

Oh, oh. About noon on Feb. 17, the rain started, and it soon turned into freezing rain. By late in the day, every surface was coated with ice. This mess continued through the night.

Temporary toaster (Feb. 18, 2021)

OK, skip the toaster; eat Panettone instead

Comfort food for those chilly nights

Hey, where did the electricity go? Fortunately, it returned around 09:30 on Thursday (Feb. 18). We heat the house with a gas-fired hot water furnace, but the system depends on two electric pumps to circulate the water through the house piping and radiators. So, no electricity = no heat.

No, not just snow, but ice-saturated crust (Feb. 18, 2021)

Every surface outside was slippery. I tried to break up some chunks of the crust to fill a bucket, but the crust was rock-hard. The City water came back on mid-morning, but we will keep some buckets filled just in case. And the sloping driveway was too slippery to descend safely, so that ended my limb and brush clean-up. Maybe I should have not sold my crampons and ice axe. 

Some spectacular news for Feb. 18: The NASA Perseverance rover landed on the surface of Mars at 12:55 PM Pacific Time. Bravo!! It demonstrates what science and engineering can accomplish.

 

From the Past: 1989

 

February 6, 1989, ice storm. Polaroid Type 54 print

The 2021 scenes are digital images. I also took photographs with film, which need to be developed. I will post them on a summer day when the temperature is 100º F to help you remember what it is like when it is cool. 

Snow in Vicksburg, Mississippi (B&W film)

Dear readers, the heat is here, and the winter of 2018-2019 is fading away into memory. Other than a minor dusting of snow sometime in January, we did not see any of the white stuff. But the winter of 2017-2018 was much more interesting, with three real snowfalls. Because this is a rare phenomenon here in central Mississippi, it is worth recording on film. I bopped out with the Hasselblad and tripod as soon as I could while the white stuff was still falling or just afterwards. Here are a few examples (click any photograph to expand to 1600 pixels wide).

Beulah Cemetery, MLK Jr. Blvd., Vicksburg (50mm Distagon lens, Kodak Panatomic-X film)

Zollinger's Hill Road, Vicksburg (50mm Distagon lens, Fomapan 100 classic film)

Zollingers Hill Road drops steeply down from MLK Jr. Blvd. In the snow, it looks like a country lane. In one of the snowfalls, the city closed it because of the slick surface.

Sycamore Avenue, Vicksburg (80mm Planar lens, Panatomic-X film)

Sycamore Avenue is another small road that drops down into a valley from MLK Jr. Blvd. Once there were small homes along Sycamore, but most have been demolished. When I took this picture on December 8, 2017, the snow was melting quickly, and I wanted to capture the scene in soft light.

West Pine and KCS railroad cut from Belmont Street (80mm Planar lens, Panatomic-X film)

This is the railroad cut between West Pine and Belmont Streets. This has carried the railroad between Vicksburg and Jackson since before the Civil War. Once, there were many more cottages on the opposite slope.

Washington Street, view north (80mm Planar lens, Fomapan 100 film)

Vans, 2640 Washington Street (80mm Planar lens, Fomapan 100 film)

Heading west, we reach Washington Street, unusually quiet on a snowy morning. I have been unable to do much photographically with Washington Street, but the snow added contrast and eye interest.

Fairground Street (80mm Planar lens, Fomapan 100 film, yellow filter)

Fairground Street drops down to the west from Washington Street. These little cottages at the west end of Fairground Street have been here for decades. I have photographed them before. Most appear to be occupied.

2521 Pearl Street (80mm Planar lens, Fomapan 100 film, yellow filter)

This duplex on Pearl Street is on the east side of the street and faces the railroad tracks. All the cottages on the west side of the tracks have been demolished as have many on the east side, but I photographed them years ago.

Fairground Street Bridge (80mm Planar lens, Fomapan 100 film)

The Fairground Street Bridge is a Keystone bridge from the late-1800s. It is in poor condition and may be demolished despite its historical significance as being one of the only bridges of its type in Mississippi. I wrote about it in 2017. According to the Vicksburg Post,

"Nancy Bell, executive director of the Vicksburg Foundation for Historic Preservation, said the bridge is listed as the oldest in the state, is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a Mississippi landmark. 

The bridge was closed to traffic in 1995 as unsafe. Its approach at the intersection of Pearl and Fairground streets is overgrown with trees and other vegetation, and the crumbling structure crosses over the Kansas City Southern Railroad yard."

Way to go, Vicksburg, make us proud! Demolish a historic engineering landmark, while meanwhile trying to promote the city as a tourist destination.

Durden Creek, Waterways Experiment Station (February 2010 snowfall, Sony DSC-R1 digital file) 

3000 block of Drummond Street, view south (February 2010 snowfall, Sony DSC-R1 digital file)

I found some snow files from the winter of 2010.

KCS tracks, Warrior's Trail, Bovina (80mm Planar lens, polarizing filter, Fomapan 100 film)

These are the Kansas City Southern tracks next to Warrior's Trail near the town of Bovina. The sun was just coming out and the light was magical briefly.

Highway US 80 over the Big Black River, Bovina (50mm Distagon lens, polarizer filter, Fomapan 100 film)

 Finally, this is the US 80 bridge over the Big Black River a short distance east of Bovina.

KCS railroad bridge, Big Black River, Bovina (50mm Distagon lens, yellow filter, Fomapan 100 film)

A short distance south of the US 80 bridge is this concrete arch bridge, which carries the Kansas City Southern railroad tracks over the Big Black. I am not sure when it was built, but an arch bridge this high  is unusual for Mississippi. The dark stain on the concrete shows how high the Big Black can rise after heavy rains in west central Mississippi.

This ends out short snow tour of Vicksburg and immediate area. Come back to this article when it is 100° F during some scorcher of a muggy summer day.

All square photographs are from my Hasselblad 501CM camera. I scanned the negatives with a Minolta Scan Multi medium format film scanner controlled by SilverFast Ai software, running on an old Windows 7 computer.

The Long View and some GAS: 250mm Sonnar Lens for the Hasselblad

Dear Readers, a confession: I suffered from GAS a few months ago. No, I did not eat baked beans or cabbage; I had Gear Acquisition Syndrome. All photographers suffer GAS to some degree or another, especially the ones who deny it! Last year, a friend let me use his 150mm Sonnar lens on a Hasselblad, and I enjoyed the longer reach compared to the 75-80mm lenses from past experience with my Rolleiflexes. Afterwards, while perusing eBay (a dangerous habit), I saw a 250 mm ƒ/5.6 Sonnar lens for $87, bid on it, and, amazingly, it was mine. So, for about $100 total, a magnificent Zeiss lens from the best of 1967 West German craftsmanship took up residence in my camera bag.

This is one of the chrome-plated units with single-coated glass, as opposed to the contemporary Zeiss T* multi-coating. Multi-coating has its greatest benefit in reducing flare in complicated wide-angle lenses, especially if they have large front elements, but usually has less noticeable effect with tele lenses. These Zeiss lenses were always built with baffles and edge paint on the elements to reduce flare, so they always performed well, even in glarey light.

But regardless of coating, you should always use a hood, and this is true for any lens. In this case, a Hasselblad Bay 50 hood cost half as much as the lens did. As the years go by, accessories become rare and the prices go way up. Decades ago, real camera stores often had drawers full of camera and lens fittings, filters, and accessories, often at reasonable price. Where have all these things gone? Were they mass disposed in dumpsters over the years or hoarded in cabinets of eBay customers?

The shutter speeds on this old-timer sounded good, although 1 sec. may have been a bit slow. But with some exercise, it smoothed out and appears to be fine as per correctly exposed negatives. The coating was pristine.

Clay Street, Vicksburg, Kodak Tri-X 400 film

Old Courthouse Museum, Vicksburg. The old Clay Street YMCA is on the right. Kodak Tri-X 400 film

Here are two examples taken with the 250mm Sonnar from the 4th floor of the Relax Inn in Vicksburg. The proprietor generously let me go to the balcony with my tripod. The light was misty, accounting for the soft contrast.

Washington Street view north, Vicksburg, Fomapan 100 film

Kansas City Southern (KCS) tracks view east from Mission 66 bridge, Vicksburg, Fomapan 100 film

Yes, it does occasionally snow in Vicksburg. We had two snowfalls this winter. It is such an unusual event, I could not resist recording the scene.

KCS tracks from Baldwin Ferry Road, Vicksburg. Fomapan 100 film

KCS tracks and rail yard from Washington Street, Vicksburg. Fomapan 100 film

So far, I have used the 250 lens on a tripod, thereby letting me stop down to f/8 or smaller. It is sharp, and contrasty - what is not to like? (To see more detail, click any picture to expand to 1600 pixels wide). Next bit of GAS: some Bayonet 50 filters, and maybe one of the 120mm lenses.

Hasselblad advertisement, Popular Photography, March 1981, p. 72.

UPDATE May 2021: The 250mm Sonnar continues to serve well. It is a spectacular lens.