Photographing the Cotton Compress of Vicksburg with the Texas Leica (Panatomic-X B&W film)

Background

Dear Readers, for many years, I have used a splendid bear of a camera, the Fuji GW690II rangefinder, also known as the Texas Leica. It has a similar morphology to a Leica rangefinder, except it is, well, really big. The name is most appropriate. As you know, everything in Texas is larger: the vast open spaces across which you must drive, the enormous pickup trucks with dual rear wheels, the oil pumped from the  Permian Basin, the out-sized personalities like President Lyndon Johnson, the magnificent mansions in the River Oaks section of Houston, and the credit card bills of the ladies who occupy said mansions.

Notes on the Fuji Rangefinders

Fuji's original medium format cameras using 120/220 film were the Fujica G690 and GL690 from the late 1960s and mid-1970s. These had interchangeable lenses, and examples in good condition are highly coveted now. They provided a generous 6×9 negative area (actually, about 55×82mm). The GW690 Professional followed in 1978. This differed from the earlier models by having a fixed 90mm f/3.5 lens. The GSW690 Professional had the same body but was equipped with a wide-angle 65mm f/5.6 lens.

In 1985, Fuji made minor revisions and introduced the GW690II, GSW690II, and GW670II. My Texas Leica is the GW690II, which I bought new in 1991.

In 1992, Fuji introduced version III in sizes 6×7, 6×8, and 6×9. It is confusing to keep them all straight, but all are excellent picture machines; choose the negative size you want and look for an example in good condition. The leaf shutter is in the lens, and all controls are on the lens. On mine, filter size is 67mm.

The GW690II camera is a handful. The rangefinder is not as contrasty as one in a Leica, but the Fuji one works well. The body does not have the über-precise meticulous craftsmanship feel of a Rolleiflex or a Hasselblad, but the optical results from the 90mm f/3.5 EBC Fujinon lens are stunning. It is a five-element design with  four groups, all multi-coated. The film moves flat across the film gate and may lie flatter than in the Rolleiflex or Hasselblad. With the 690, you get 8 exposures on a roll of 120 film. When 220 film was in production, a roll would yield 16 exposures.

The main feature I miss in the GW690II is a self-timer. Because I often take pictures in old factories or buildings, I like to place the camera on a shelf or platform for a long exposure. But the lack of a timer means I need a cable release to avoid vibrating the camera. The older Rolleiflex is more handy in this respect.

The classic Panatomic-X Film

My favorite black and white film is the long-discontinued Panatomic-X. Eastman Kodak Company introduced Panatomic-X in 1933 and discontinued it in 1987. The film had been reformulated during its five-decade existence, so my late production was different than the original. It was designed to be an extremely fine grain film, which meant it could be enlarged for large prints and still retain details. This was of value to architectural, fine-art, and aerial photographers. Some 9-inch aerial photography film was a version of Panatomic-X. The version I have in 120 size was rated at ISO 32, but I shoot it at 20 and develop it in Rodinal at 1:50 dilution. Agfa’s Rodinal was a developer that retained the grain structure and therefore looks “sharp” (i.e., it does not have solvent action to partly dissolve the edges of the grain clumps). Used with good lenses and careful technique (that means a tripod), the detail in a Panatomic-X negative is astonishing, even in this age of 36-megapixel digital cameras.

My stock of Panatomic-X expired in 1989, but the rolls have been in the freezer and seem to be perfect. Unfortunately, only 15 rolls are left. Eventually, all good things come to an end. And honestly, Kodak TMax 100 or Ilford Delta 100 are almost as fine grain and will be a suitable replacement.

The Vicksburg Cotton Compress

A cotton compress was a facility that compressed raw cotton into dense bales. Early compress facilities were steam-powered and were active in Autumn, when the cotton was being harvested. Decades ago, compresses were found throughout the US South, when cotton was king. The cotton bales were transported away by rail or by steamboat. When I visited Łódź, Poland, a major textile and industrial center in the 1800s and early 1900s, I was surprised to learn that much of their raw cotton had once come from the USA South. I assume cotton bales from towns like Vicksburg were shipped down the Mississippi River and then transferred to ocean-going vessels in Baton Rouge or New Orleans.

In recent years, cotton production in Mississippi has greatly reduced and has been replaced with corn (for ethanol) or soybeans (export to China). The Vicksburg compress at 2400 Levee Street was in business through the late 1990s or early 2000s. I wish I had asked the operators if I could take photographs when it was in action. 

The historic brick buildings at the Vicksburg Cotton Compress at 2400 Levee Street are almost completely gone. Around 2010-2011, a company bought the buildings and removed the bricks for use somewhere else. Newer steel sheds are still standing but abandoned. There is no obvious action to reuse them.

I took the black and white film photographs in this article on a cold, gloomy day in late December of 2010. I also used a Sony DSC-R1 for digital photographs, which I have shown before (click the link). (Also click any photograph to enlarge it.)

I especially liked the textures and complexity of the tool benches and storage bins. These were old and well-used - from an era when we made things in the USA.

I think this was the machine that compressed cotton into mashed bales. I do not know how it all worked, and I wish I had asked to see the process when the compress was open in the 1980s and 1990s.

Cooper Postcard Collection, courtesy of Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Date not specified.

Vicksburg compress, from the Cooper Postcard Collection, courtesy Mississippi Department of  Archives and History.  Date not specified.

 I hope these massive old timbers were recycled. These were probably old-growth pine or cypress.

An interesting pedestal sink with a single metal support post. I could have a traditional sink like this at home.

Photographs technical:

Film: Kodak Panatomic-X film, which has been out of production since the late 1980s. I developed the film in Agfa Rodinal 1:50.
Camera: Fuji GW690II 6×9 rangefinder camera with a 90mm ƒ/3.5 EBC Fujinon lens.
Exposures: I exposed at EI=20, so all frames were tripod-mounted, and many exposures were ½, 1, or more sec. long.
Scanning: Minolta Scan Multi medium-format film scanner, operated with Silverfast Ai software, film profile set at Tri-X 400 setting.
Clean-up: I used the heal tool in Photoshop CS5 to clean up lint and other marks.

Rural Decay en route to Hot Springs, North Carolina

Map from ESRI ArcGIS online. Red dashed line shows the route from Asheville to Hot Springs, North Carolina.

Every year, The Vintage rally for older BMW automobiles is held in Hot Springs, North Carolina. Most participants stay in the Asheville area, so the day of the show sees hundreds of classic BMWs streaming north on I-26 and US25/US70 towards the small hamlet of Hot Springs. Once the group leaves the interstate at Weaverville, US25/US70 winds in and out of the hills, past small towns and farms, and past some occasional bits of rural decay.

This is a streamlined/moderne-style filling station, possibly once a Mobil station, but a gas station archaeologist needs to weigh in and provide an identification. 

Marshall has a number of old garages and filling stations. The main town is out of sight west of US25 and 70.

I also saw old barns or sheds in the Marshall area, slowly being engulfed by trees and vines. I usually think of Mississippi being the place where the jungle takes over, but here in wet western North Carolina, the same happens.

Further north, somewhere in Madison County, I saw a similar vine-engulfed barn during my 2017 trip.

Barn, US25, Madison County, NC.

The second photograph is a former gas station built into a house, or a house built on top of a gas station. You can see the island where the pumps were once located.

Rick's Gro, 10994 US25 (digital photograph from Fujifilm X-E1 camera).

USA Raft at 13490 US70 occupies an unusual stone-clad filling station. You can see where one of the service bays on the left was filled in. Again, I cannot identify the original fuel brand.

The Laurel River Store is a friendly place to stop for an espresso. The lady who runs it is very nice. A number of the BMW drivers stopped to tank up (with coffee, that is, but the coffee might have had enough octane for the carbureted engines).

The remains of a log trailer court cabin were to the right of the Laurel River Store. Some units beyond this building were in better shape. The vines are taking over.

Just before you reach Hot Springs, US70 crosses the French Broad River. There had been almost monsoonal rain in May of 2018, and the river was in flood, with brown water roiling angrily downstream.

Finally, Hot Springs, and the grounds of the Hot Springs Spa. The 2017 show was sunny and warm; 2018 started out dry, but by 2:30, the rain came thundering down. Regardless, a good time was had by all, and it was a good chance to check if your car leaked (mine certainly does).

The 2017 black and white photographs are from Tri-X film and a Hasselblad 501CM camera. The 2018 square frames are from long-expired Fuji NPH400 film, exposed in a Rolleiflex 3.5E camera with 75mm f/3.5 Xenotar lens.

Travels on the Mother Road, Route 66: Part 19, McClean, Texas

McClean is another now-quiet Route 66 Texas town that is trying to reinvent itself or at least attract more Route 66 voyagers. It looks like so many other small towns in the heartland: a main strip, sturdy square-front shops, of which some are occupied but many empty, an occasional hair/fingernails emporium, and an occasional government entity in one of the storefronts. This could be in Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, or Oklahoma.

The outskirts of town have some interesting farm sheds, but probably not of interest to the typical Route 66 traveler.

Ah ha, an artist has been at work on a 66 mural.

We saw another classic 1920s peaked-roof Phillips 66 station. This one was restored by the Texas Route 66 Association, according to the Route 66 Adventure Handbook ("Turbocharged Fourth Edition").

Here is a mid-century gas station, possibly clad with enameled steel panels, although not in the best condition.

This little house was across the street from the Phillips 66 restored station. The housing stock in McClean was mixed, but mostly rather rough. We only stayed a short while and proceeded on our way on the Mother Road.

Digital images are from a Fujifilm X-E1 camera.

Update: I found a black and white film photograph of the Phillips 66 station from my Olympus Trip 35 camera on Kodak BW400CN film. A polarizer enhanced the clouds. Comments welcome on whether you prefer the color or monochrome versions.

Return to Learned, Mississippi (using film)

Gibbes&Sons is a venerable country store, in business since 1899, in Learned, Mississippi. During the week, the store sells souvenirs and munchies. But on Friday and Saturday evening, it hosts steak dinners. And it is popular - what a great way to reinvent! The gent in the second photograph said I was welcome to take a picture - I wish I had written down his name.

It features country-style dining. Share a table and bring your own wine or beer. The proprietors will provide glasses. Wipe your fingers with paper towels. My friends and I ate on the back porch, which was reasonably comfortable despite the humidity.

The back yard has some interesting sheds and bits and pieces from the old days. I did not see these when I visited the shop mid-week in 2014, so it was well worthwhile to eat out on the back porch. While my friends chatted, I walked around with the Hasselblad and tripod.

Back out on Main Street, there are a number of old buildings and one interesting Magnolia tree outlined by the fading light (I warned you readers that I would be taking more "pretty" pictures in the future).

This former country store sits at the corner of Main and Front Streets. I do not know if the building is used today or is just part of the ambience of Learned. It is a nice town and I recommend a visit. Go eat a steak.

The square photographs are from TMax 400 film, taken with a Hasselblad 501CM camera and the 50mm f/4.0 Distagon lens. I had not used 120-size TMax before and was testing a roll. I exposed it at EI=320. The frames from dark locations were underexposed, and I think this film suffers reciprocity failure as low as 1/2 second. TMax is one of the new technology films introduced in the 1980s with so-called tabular silver grains (similar to Ilford's Delta films). The TMax is remarkably fine grain, but I think I prefer Tri-X 400's tonality. Tri-X is more grainy, but with a 54×54mm negative, grain really is not an issue. I scanned the negatives on a Minolta Scan Multi medium format film scanner operated with Silverfast Ai software.

Travels on the Mother Road, Route 66: Part 18, Amarillo, Texas

Amarillo is the "big city" in west Texas. Heading west, it was the largest town that a Route 66 tourist drove through until he reached Albuquerque. Heading east, Oklahoma City was the next major metropolis. Today, Amarillo is a busy city with a lot of construction and renovation, thanks to oil money. It is a bit difficult to see much of the old Route 66 because it followed city streets, which have new or modified buildings over the decades.

Coming in from the west, I think Route 66 followed what is now W. Amarillo Boulevard, which is also Business 40. Amarillo Blvd. is a bit seedy (all right, very seedy), and most Route 66 structures have been recycled or greatly modified.

The English Motel is one of the few Route 66 remnants. It is just north of Amarillo Lake, at the junction of NW 9th Ave and N. Lipscomb St. The place looked mostly abandoned, but I met this gent in the photograph above, who said he lived in one of the units. He was the caretaker and  made sure no one vandalized the site.

Downtown on Polk Avenue, I was pleased to see historic buildings being restored. For example, this Kress store, with its distinctive architecture, was in beautiful condition. S.H. Kress & Co. operated five and dime department stores throughout the United States from 1896 to 1981. The Kress chain was known for its architecture, which often included Art Deco motifs and the exuberant use of terra cotta tiles, curved glass, and stone floors - high end features intended to make the shopper comfortable and linger (for white shoppers, not African-Americans).

The former Woolworth store on Polk Avenue is also being restored. The F. W. Woolworth Company (also known as Woolworth's or Woolworth) was one of America's most successful retail companies in the early 20th century, one of the original pioneers of the five-and-dime store. Woolworth's thrived until the 1970s, when it began a rapid decline. The rise and fall of these retailing empires is a fascinating social and economic history. None seem to last more than about a century or maybe 150 years (examples include Sears & Roebuck, S.H. Kress, S.S. Kresge Company, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, and Montgomery Ward). WalMart is about 50 years old; could it already be half way through its era of marketing dominance? (WalMart certainly will not leave behind an architectural heritage of any value.)

When you drive through Amarillo and are feeling carnivorous, the Big Texan Steak Ranch & Brewery is a mandatory stop. Big Texan served Route 66 travelers but in recent years relocated nearer I-40. Now it is at 7701 Interstate 40 Access Rd. Texan is famous for a 72-ounce steak which is free if you can devour it within an hour. The evening we were there, a video crew was filming a fellow on his gastronomic marathon with the steak (see the bright lights in the interior scene above). Oddly, when I mentioned this to a coworker, he told me that his brother took up the challenge and ate the steak in the obligatory hour. And my friend and his brother are not big people by any means. Amazing. My ribs were some of the best I have eaten in years.

After digesting our ribs, we will continue east on the Mother Road. To be continued....