As part of my road trip with my son we stopped at a Washington Oaks Gardens in Palm Coast Florida on our way to Epcot. It was here I discovered the backing glass on my 4×5 was broken but the ground glass was still intact. I only had time for a couple of shots and had to unpack and repack between shots which always adds a bit of time. But both shots were worth the struggles and gave me a great start to the day. It was very bright out so my images are a mix of sunny and shady. If it had been overcast these images may have been even better.

The first thing I wanted to capture was a huge oak tree in the center of the garden. There are other oaks but this one has fantastic twisted branches, moss, and its own presence.

Capture:Chamonix 4×5, FP4+, 135mm lens, f22, 1second, EV range 8.2-13.5 and I metered such that the darkest part of the oak fell on zone4.
Development: Pyrocat-M 5:4:500 12:30 minutes with 3 minute agitation. 2 sheets in the tank.
Print: 8.5×11 on Ilford MGFB Matt paper in Ansco/PF 130. The smooth matte paper gives a print quality more like an ink print.
Finishing: Bleached the print back to the midtones and redeveloped in Pyrocat-M 10:10:1000 for about 8 minutes. Gave a nice warm tone with some paper stain warming the whole image tone.

One 11×14 print of the oak tree has now made its way to Indiana.

I knew there was a pond with plantings around it but then I stumbled upon the fountain at one end. The water in this pond has a white calcium or sulpher precipitate that seems to cover all the surfaces of things it flows over. There used to be large white Koi in the pond but I did not see them this time. Shooting the pond and its background was a bit of a challenge due to overgrown hedge and trying to be conscious and stay on the walkways in the garden.

Capture:Chamonix 4×5, FP4+, 210mm lens, f22, 1/8 second, EV range 9.9-15.3 and I metered such that the darkest part of the green background fell on zone3.
Development: Pyrocat-M 5:4:500 12:30 minutes with 3 minute agitation. 2 sheets in the tank.
Print: 8.5×11 on Ilford MGFB Matt paper in Ansco/PF 130.

There were other small vignettes I might have taken and there is a marsh area I did not get to explore but my son told me there were more interesting trees that he saw while walking around waiting for me. I hope to return again to explore the gardens further.