Kodak Signet 30 to Garden of the Gods | a 7 Image Story

Kodak Signet 30 to Garden of the Gods | EnterKodak Signet 30 to Garden of the Gods | a 7 Image Story  My first trip to the Garden of the Gods with my first camera, the Kodak Signet 30, was an intense learning experience.  Luckily, a few photos turned out reasonable well.  In the Garden of the Gods, on a clear day you can see forever unless there’s a mountain in the way.  An easy rock climb adds incredible vistas to photograph.

Garden of the Gods is a Colorado Springs Park with 300 foot high sandstone rock formations.  It’s a registered National Natural Landmark. In 1859, two surveyors began a townsite survey; later to be called Colorado City.  While exploring they found a beautiful area of sandstone formations.  One suggested that it would be a “capital place for a beer garden”.  His companion exclaimed, “Beer Garden! Why it is a fit place for the Gods to assemble. We will call it the Garden of the Gods.”  In 1879, Charles Elliott Perkins purchased two-hundred and forty acres in the Garden of the Gods for a summer home.  Although he added eight acres, he did not build on the property.  He wanted it left in its natural state for the enjoyment of generations to come.  He passed away in 1907.  Two years later, his children conveyed his four-hundred eighty acres to the City of Colorado Springs with the stipulation that it be known forever as the “Garden of the Gods ” and remain open to the public, free of charge.

Manual cameras like the Kodak Signet 30 with no light meter or rangefinder really make the photographer think.  The photographer must guess the distance while making the depth of field large enough and the shutter speed fast enough to keep the subject sharp.  In other words, the photographer must determine aperture and shutter speed for the best exposure as well as the estimated distance.  Of course, the film used determines the ASA/ISO value.  Instead of my usual Kodachrome 64 slide film, these images are from Ektachrome slides.  In this case, High Speed Ektachrome is ASA 160.

Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Kodak Signet 30 to Garden of the Gods.

Click any image below for a slide show!

Minolta XG-9 to Maui | Beach Wave

Minolta XG-9 to Maui | Beach Wave

Minolta XG-9 to Maui | Beach Wave   This small beach, just north of Kapalua, almost always has really big waves.  The beach tends to have plenty of beachcombers, but few swimmers.  The undertow is very strong.  That’s Molokia island in the background.  For the whole story with all images, see Minolta XG-9 to Maui | a 7 Image Story.

Minolta XG-9 to Maui | Haleakala Crater

Minolta XG-9 to Maui | Haleakala Crater

Minolta XG-9 to Maui | Haleakala Crater   Haleakala, the world’s largest dormant volcano, means “house of the sun” in Hawaiian.  Sunrise on Haleakala may be the most spectacular sunrise on earth.  Near the 10,023 foot summit, the Haleakala Crater offers hours of hiking in a colorful, sculpted cinder desert.   There are many hiking trails offering solitude with scenic vistas through sub-alpine shrub land, cloud forest, and cinder desert.  A 10,000 foot mountain in the middle of an ocean can have dramatic weather changes in a single day including wind, rain, and hot/cold temperature swings.  For the whole story with all images, see Minolta XG-9 to Maui | a 7 Image Story.

Minolta XG-9 to Maui | Island View

Minolta XG-9 to Maui | Island View

Minolta XG-9 to Maui | Island View   Haleakala, a dormant 10,023 foot volcano on the east side of Maui, provides numerous breathtaking landscapes and skyscapes.  This image looks southwest from Haleakala toward Maui’s central valley coast, the West Maui Mountains, and the island of Lanai, west of Maui. For the whole story with all images, see Minolta XG-9 to Maui | a 7 Image Story..

Minolta XG-9 to Maui | Sugar Cane Fields

Minolta XG-9 to Maui | Sugar Crane Fields

Minolta XG-9 to Maui | Sugar Cane Fields  Maui is such a beautiful island, it’s hard to think about crops.  The sugar cane fields dominate the southern slopes of west Maui.  Notice the almost ever present clouds on the mountain tops.  The West Maui Mountains are also called West Maui Volcano or Mauna Kahalawai.  Mauna Kahalawai means “holding house of water” which relates to the huge amount of annual rainfall in the mountain tops.  The mountains are made from a highly eroded extinct shield volcano; approximately 1.7 million years old.  For the whole story with all images, see Minolta XG-9 to Maui | a 7 Image Story.

Minolta XG-9 to Maui | Rainbow

Minolta XG-9 to Maui | Rainbow

Minolta XG-9 to Maui | Rainbow   Maui is known for it’s rainbows. It seems like there’s a rainbow everyday. Rain clouds frequent the tops of the west Maui mountains.  Sometimes, the rain in the mountains will blow onto the beach while the beach remains sunny. You can sunbath in rain drops and get a sunburn.  One night, when driving back from dinner after dark, a rainbow made by a full moon and mountain clouds could be seen for miles. It wasn’t very colorful, but was clearly a rainbow.  For the whole story with all images, see Minolta XG-9 to Maui | a 7 Image Story.