Capturing Doorknob Detail

The church across the street is what I’m talking about here – a constant source of pleasure!  And, this time, I’m not talking about what happens inside it’s hallowed walls, either.  I don’t have to set foot over the threshold to be mesmerized by the building and its calling.  Heck, I don’t even have to go outside my house.  The view through my dining room windows is sufficient.

Yesterday afternoon when I glanced out, I was rewarded by a sight you don’t see much these days – a photographer with his 8 x 10 view camera set up on the church porch double checking his light meter and, apparently, bracketing his shots.  I don’t think I’ve seen a view camera in Oysterville since 1964 when Marta’s dad, (my then-husband) Bill LaRue was here for a family reunion.  But, in that case, I’m pretty sure it was his 4 x 5 speed graphic, not an 8 x 10.

I went out and asked the photographer if he minded me taking a picture of him with my cell phone.  We both laughed.  It seemed so wrong and yet…  It was he who called himself an anachronism and I who said that he could be speaking of the entire village, so it seemed just right.  We got to talking and it did not surprise me in the least to find that before he began to do serious black and white photography, he was into re-enacting.

“One of them arty fellas,” Bob Meadows would have called him.  (see http://sydneyofoysterville.com/2016/one-of-them-arty-fellas/).  “Zane Heath from Aloha, Oregon,” I think he said but he didn’t offer me a business card so I’m not so sure of the spelling.  He told me his work could be seen on Instagram (which I don’t do) and that he had a website (which I can’t find) that deals mostly with his reenactments.  Too bad.  I’d like to see some of his work.

I didn’t tell him – although I’m sure he already knew – that the doorknob on the church has been photographed about a gazillion times now.  (Raise your hand if you’ve done one!) Photographers don’t generally care that they aren’t the “first”.  It’s their own vision and how it’s captured through the lighting and composition and I-don’t-know-what-all that makes a difference.

When I came back inside, I looked through my own photographs and I was amazed that I have not a single photo of that dear old doorknob – not of my own, anyway.  I have only a quick shot that doesn’t even include the striker plate and that was done by Tucker a year or two ago.  It was one of the clues in a scavenger hunt for his grandchildren and friends.

Tucker’s Clue

And, here it is… another day in Beautiful Downtown Oysterville.  What will I see outside my window on this day?