Moon, Clouds and Fir Trees
Sunday, September 7, 2008 at 11:45PM
Owen Long

Taken week of June 15 1971

Driving home to Iowa from a college visit in Missouri, I came over a hill to see this amazing moonscape.

By the time I was out of college 4 years later, (with a photography BFA.) I had unconsciously trained myself to see in black and white. I knew without thinking how the scene in my viewfinder would translate to print. Reds would be dark gray, blues a lighter gray. I saw in shades of light and dark.

I didn't realize this until I started shooting color slides in 1975. (working at a photo store made it affordable) The color slides just weren't looking like I expected. My brain was speaking black and white, but my camera was now speaking color. I had to learn to see colors again. That new color awareness shows in the Iowa City gallery images.

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