From: Jeff Buck (jeffbuck@swcp.com)
Date: 01/14/03-12:30:11 PM Z
This is my submission for the Sandy King Archive of reasons we pursue large
format that have nothing to do with film size.
Yesterday I was traveling back to Albuquerque from Silver City, an
interesting old mining town in Southwestern New Mexico. The first step is
to scale and cross the lovely Sierra Negro range. At the crest, known as
Emory Pass, there's a spectacular overlook ringed by an old stone parapet
(just wide enough for mounting a big camera). From there, you look east
across an abyss at the Rio Grande floodplain and the Sacramento Mountains
beyond. I'd timed it to be there around 4:30 PM and started setting
up. No hurry at all.
I heard a car coming up the drive to the overlook area -- kind of fast and
noisy. I looked back as a rather disheveled old lime green Volvo
stationwagon slid to a halt in the middle of the gravel parking. I thought
something like, "These dang kids these days *&%@#!!" Out pops a big,
distinguished-looking man of 60 years or so. Also somewhat
disheveled. (Later I learned that his name was Hans and that he had a
fairly heavy German accent. And that he was a little tight.)
I went on setting up, but noticed as the man rooted around in the back of
his stationwagon for some unknown items. I heard him kind of slam a door
shut and watched momentarily as he disappeared into the woods with a bit of
a bundle under his right arm. A couple minutes passed, when I heard him
pumping up a set of bagpipes. For the next maybe half hour, he serenaded
me with a selection of delicious, mournful tunes. No one else about. Not
a sound but the pipes and the occasional call of a crow.
He came back from the woods and joined me at the overlook. I was all set
and watching the light. I thanked him for the tunes and asked if he
possibly knew "Amazing Grace." "Yah shuure! It's a easy von!" So he
pumped up and played "Amazing Grace" beautifully as we stood on the stone
parapet and watched across the great emptiness as the distant mountains
vanished slowly in the gathering dusk.
JB
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