Grandfather Mountain
Ah, it's always lovely coming home from vacation, isn't it? The house is
messier than you remember, there are bills you forgot to pay, and of course
there are 350 e-mails, a grocery bag full of mail, and, in my case at least,
water in the basement, all awaiting attention.
At the tail end of my vacation this year I got the chance to meet a whole
bunch of photographers at one of the most beautiful places in the world. The
indefatigable Don Nelson, Mr. Pentax in real life and former official
photographer for the Washington Redskins (Don and his friend John Riggins
are approximately the same size) invited me to be a presenter at an event
called the Camera Clinic at
Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina.
Don Nelson, Director of the Nature Photography Workshop
and the Camera Clinic on Grandfather Mountain, near
Linville, North Carolina.
Grandfather Mountain (elevation 5,964 ft) is the highest mountain in the
Blue Ridge. Although it's not quite the highest peak in the area, it's
certainly the most dramatic, rising precipitously from the valley floor. The
mountain is privately owned and operated as a scenic day attraction and a
world-class nature preserve, with bears and bear cubs, cougars, eagles, deer
and otters in special habitats. Besides being a favorite day trip for
families, hikers, and picnickers from all over the region, it's also a
favorite destination for amateur and professional nature and wildlife
photographers.
The "Camera Clinic" is a weekend party thrown for photojournalists and
newspaper photographers. Anybody can come--there's no cost, no credentials
needed, free food for all. There are several lectures and presentations in
the auditorium at the superb museum halfway up the mountain, also free of
charge, for photographers.
Doug Brewer, Administrator of the Pentax Mailing List
and a "Team Member" for the Grandfather Mountain
photography weekends.
Although camping on the mountain is normally not allowed, participants at
the Camera Clinic and the similar Nature Photography Weekend can stay
overnight at the picnic areas. A number of photographers who participate on
the Pentax-Discuss Mailing List (PDML) cluster around the camper owned by
Bill and Phyllis Owens in the early mornings and late evenings, drawn by the
magnet of Bill's completely unaffected hospitality and Phyllis's great
breakfast cooking.
Attendee and unofficial campground host Bill Owens,
a guy with a big heart and a camera to match.
As a presenter, I got to stay in one of the nicest little places I've ever
been — a tiny cabin perched on a cliff on the mountainside
called Anvil Rock. Built by Grandfather Mountain's owner, Hugh Morton, and
his brother, the tiny cabin is off the beaten path and inaccessible to the
public. Anvil Rock itself is actually built into the cabin (or vice-versa).
Not ten feet in front of the cabin's panoramic windows are the tops
of thirty-foot trees! It's a simply gorgeous location (CBS
newsman Charles Kuralt used to use it as a retreat for writing his books). I
joked with Hugh and his son Jim Morton that when Nelson dragged me out of
the place, my fingernails would make trails on the flagstones. For a writer,
it's an ideal hideaway.
Anvil Rock. Although it's difficult to see because of the foliage, the
one-room cabin is built right on the edge of a dramatic cliff. Anvil Rock
itself actually forms part of the front wall of the cabin!
The best part of the weekend for me was meeting all the people and,
especially, getting to see the work of my fellow presenters, Don Sturkey and
Aristides Economopoulos. First of all, North Carolinians have about the
nicest and most natural way of speaking of any English speakers in the
world. I'll tell you, if I emigrated there, I'd be speaking like the natives
inside of a week. There's a nice, relaxed hospitality on the mountain too,
that visitors can't help but notice. Whether this is the famous "southern
hospitality" or a unique part of the atmosphere at Grandfather, I can't say,
but I can say that it's easy to enjoy.
In my own lecture, on Saturday, I harangued the audience on one of my
favorite topics: finishing and presenting work so that it can stand for
itself. As an "intermission" to my talk, Hugh Morton, who has been a
semi-professional photographer for decades, showed examples of work he's in
the middle of making into a retrospective book. An ideal interlude.
Aris Economopoulos, Southern Photographer of the Year '01,
and Don Sturkey,
Southern Photographer of the Year '62 and '64.
On Sunday, Don and Aris presented. Don Sturkey was a staff shooter at the
Charlotte Observer for many years, and he was one heck of a shooter. (I
can say "was" because Don's been happily retired for ten years and no longer
does much photography.) His black-and-white Tri-X prints of "real life" are
the kind of photography that's close to my own heart; his backstage portrait
of Johnny Cash is a masterpiece, and he took probably the best picture ever
made of Ray Charles. Speaking selfishly as a photo-book collector, I was
delighted to get a signed copy of Don's out-of-print book, A Slice of Time:
A Carolinas Album, 1950-1990. Although the reproductions
don't do justice to the pictures, it's a fine example of skilled and
responsible newspaper work, and every fifth picture or so reaches the
heights of the art. If you're interested, there are a few copies of the book
left. They're available from John F. Blair, Publisher: www.blairpub.com, 1-800-282-9796.
Don Sturkey showing his famous picture of Louis Armstrong being interviewed
getting ready for a show. My photo (not Don's, of course) was taken in the
dark by infrared light.
Although Don was a hard act to follow, all of us — Don and I
included — were blown away by the incredible pictures of Aris
Economopoulos. Aris was present at Ground Zero on 911. Robert Capa said "If
your pictures aren't good enough, get closer," and Aris took that dictum
literally: if you've ever seen the famous picture of a lone photographer in
silhouette running frantically away from a wall of onrushing debris from the
fall of the second tower, well, that was Aris in the picture. Although Aris
wasn't very articulate about his work, he certainly demonstrated visual
intelligence — I've seldom seen more articulate photography.
His pictures of 911 are without a doubt the best I've ever seen. He's been
widely honored for the work, and never were honors more richly deserved; I
think it's both a body of work that will stand the test of time and that
he'll be proud of for a long time. Aris is a truly gifted shooter in his
prime.
I'd never been to North Carolina before, and I sure got a nice introduction.
Whether you make the trip for one of the two free photography weekends or
just as a destination for your own outdoor photography, Grandfather Mountain
is truly a special place.
—Mike Johnston
Mike Johnston writes and publishes an old-fashioned, entertaining quarterly
ink-on-paper newsletter called The 37th Frame (
www.37thframe.com). He has a
B.F.A. in Photography from the Corcoran College of Art and Design in
Washington, D.C., where he was a student of the late Steve Szabo and of Joe
Cameron.
He was East Coast Editor of Camera & Darkroom magazine from 1988 to 1994 and
Editor-in-Chief of PHOTO Techniques magazine from 1994-2000, where his
editorial column "The 37th Frame" was a popular feature and where he
presented, among other things, a set of three articles on "bokeh" by John
Kennerdell, Oren Grad, and Harold Merklinger that were subsequently widely
discussed among photographers.
His critical and technical writings have appeared in various publications
and newsletters such as The Washington Review and D-Max. A number of his
articles written under the pseudonym "L. T. Gray" (el Tigre) appeared in the
English magazine Darkroom User.
The 37th Frame is an ink-on-paper
quarterly for a small but select audience that's sardonic, sarcastic,
intelligent, independent, practical, entertaining, funny, and well written.
It's especially notable for detailed subjective reviews of lenses.
TO SUBSCRIBE: send a check for $18 for one year or $32 for two years to:
Mike Johnston, The 37th Frame, 316 Windsor Drive, Waukesha, Wisconsin 53186.
You can also make a PayPal payment to michaeljohnston@ameritech.net, but
please be sure to send an e-mail to the same address reporting your payment
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