Daily Inspiration #151 by James C Moffet IV

Hello Steve,

It was a cold winter day and I was driving around rural areas with my 8 year old daughter looking for interesting things to photograph. It was sleeting when we crossed a bridge spanning a small river and I saw something unusual in the mist down stream. After zig-zagging down some back roads i came across what was once an old railroad bed leading towards the river. We left the car and proceed on foot through a field until we came upon the supports of an old trestle crossing the river. The river was swollen from days of rain and the water was undulating resulting in a frightening roar. I photographed the massive supports from several angles before deciding to climb one of them in the sleeting rain. My daughter, albeit scared, decided she wanted to climb up as well and I precariously helped her about 20 feet to the top. From there I took more photographs. Right when I decided that it was time to leave, my daughter stepped in front of me in line with the columns and assumed a posture/body language that caught my eye. I raised my camera and pressed the shutter. This was one of those quintessential moments when you KNOW you got the shot. A month later I came out of the darkroom with a huge smile on my face. I had captured something worthwhile.

Taken with a Minolta XD11 and a Minolta MD Rokkor-X 28-85 lens on Tri-X.

It wasn’t long after I took that shot (January I think) that a friend of mine introduced me to the world of Leica and I bought an M3 and a 50mm Summicron. While researching Leica gear I came across your site and I have since become an avid fan.

The following picture is from my first roll of film (Tri-X) taken with the M3.

This last photo was also taken with the M3 and demonstrates the amazing sharpness of the Summicron.

My online portfolio can be viewed on my Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dormantdemon/
Thanks for always keeping it interesting!
Cheers,
Jamie Moffet

14 Comments

  1. Beautiful series and your daughter has a beautiful energy that just captures the screen here.

  2. hey james,
    cool shots !! but i must protest …!! no body shoud hang there classic bike ,its an outrage ….lol ,
    boris

  3. @dan Hi Dan. I had the negatives scanned at a local photography store. The first picture – “Life’s Hurdles Unfolding” is a scan from a print that Matthew (commented) did from my negative while I was visiting. I just bought a Nikon Coolscan V that should allow me to significantly improve the scan quality.

  4. Hi Steve.

    Will you be doing a review of the Leica v-lux 2. ( or it’s Panasonic equivalent)

    Nathan

  5. do you mind if i ask how you are digitizing? are you scanning yourself or are you having someone else do that? The scans look pretty good to my eye is why I am wondering. thanks

  6. James, This first shot has a power, a mood, a sense that is just wonderful. Congrats on snapping that one and sharing!

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