Rainy Mood by the Potomac
December, 2023
After my not-so-successful summer experiment at New River Gorge, I wanted to make another attempt and fix earlier mistakes. But simply addressing the technical issues was not enough for me. I needed something meaningful. Something that will look interesting and moody with the process I intended to use.
For the playground, I picked two photogenic locations. Despite being very different in appearance, they have a couple of things in common: both are located along the Potomac River and managed by the National Park Service.
Another common element was the weather. Two Sundays in a row were cloudy and rainy, and the otherwise dull light was playing to my advantage. Plus, spreading the exercise over two weekends allowed me to develop the first roll, check the results, and adjust my process for the second shoot.
Glen Echo, Maryland
Although Glen Echo is not alien to photographers, most come here in better weather and a different season. Capturing the park in this semi-dormant state was a meditative experience. I was shooting on Kodak Gold 200 that day, and the film rendered my vision beautifully.
Great Falls, Virginia
Next Sunday, inspired by the past week's results, I decided to try another stock - Kodak Ektar 100 - and use it in its frequent application - on landscapes. This place is popular among landscape photographers. Images from three overlooks near the Visitor Center are all over the Internet. My goal, however, was to show the diversity of this rugged landscape beyond commonly photographed scenes.
Looking at the result, I call this attempt a success, both from technical and artistic aspects. From now on, I will consider this approach whenever I feel the same rainy mood.