"test of time" 14 of 30 - sandstone at Point Lobos, 1965

photo by Donald Kinney

Admittedly, I idolized Edward Weston. He was the "master of shapes" of the layered sandstone rocks of Point Lobos. Today "Weston Beach" is officially named in his honor.

A long line of photographers, some perhaps more serious than others, have made the pilgrimage to Weston Beach on the south shore of Point Lobos, just south of Carmel. And in 1965 when I made this image and many others, I was one of those very serious photographers. Long hours in the darkroom.

In 1969 I was finally drafted into the Army. Somewhat inevitable, but as luck would have it, I was sent to Germany--not Vietnam. I offer no apologies--only sadness and regret for the thousands of lives lost in another one of those messy wars. History has a way of repeating itself.


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"test of time" 13 of 30 - Winter vacation, Oregon, 1968

photo by Donald Kinney

The lure of Point Lobos and Big Sur had made a mess out of my community college grades, and I had no inkling of the path on which I would eventually be headed. This was an awkward time of my life--with the threat of being drafted looming over my head.

But in 1968, without responsibilities, a trip to Willamette Valley, Oregon, in the middle of Winter late 1967 or early 1968, seemed entirely appropriate.


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"test of time" 12 of 30 - designs in nature, 1966

photo by Donald Kinney

At age 18 or thereabouts, I was quite the "framer-upper" of bold designs. And the hills of Carmel Valley and each side of the Salinas Valley could be dramatic when the sun was at a low angle. I found this near King City.

These were my "Polaroid" years, when one small black and white print was enough. This was a professional Polaroid product--individual 4x5 packets that were processed by a special back for the view camera. Quality was very good and the properly coated prints have passed the "test of time".


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"test of time" 11 of 30 - Bodie and shutterbug, 1965

photo by Donald Kinney

I've been to and fallen in love with Bodie, California, before...
And I've written about the ghostly history of Bodie -- click here.

My aunt and uncle introduced me to the old frozen-in-time town at age 10, and at 14 I convinced my parents that the 12 mile dusty washboard road would be worth the rough adventure. And of course, a few years later, with a driver's license and a $100 VW-Bug I was able to visit this remote gold and silver mining outpost at 8375 feet, east if Yosemite, on my own.

At the time I was shooting extra long rolls (220) (2-1/4"x3-3/4") in a roll-film holder that slid into the back of my 4x5 Calumet View Camera. This was a problem if different exposures on the roll needed special development times. Sometimes rolls could be cut in half and developed differently.

This is the camera I would take with me for one semester at Brooks Institute of Photography in 1968. I used both 150mm and 210mm Symmar lenses on the Calumet. Single sheets of 4x5 negative film (SuperX) made full use of the view camera's capabilities. With a multitude of adjustments, the camera is about as "old school" as it gets. Not an expensive camera, but the lens is.

At Brooks Institute of Photography the Zone System was not used in favor of their own "Scene Brightness Ratio" scheme for balancing the dynamic ranges of film and scene. For a ratio, an incident reading was taken pointing at the subject, and then another reading taken from the subject pointed directly at the lens. That ratio is used in conjunction with film/developer variables to determine exact development times per the desired and planned result.


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"test of time" 10 of 30 - Bristlecone Pine, 1965

photo by Donald Kinney

Gnarly Bristlecone Pines. Said to be the oldest living things on Planet Earth with some as old as 4000 years, although Creosote bushes or Ginkgo trees might dispute that claim.

Located remotely in the White Mountains, east of the Sierra at 12,000 feet, the Bristlecones aren't exactly easy to get to. Scientists did not discover the age of these gnarly and tough old trees until the early 1950's.

Rather than re-write the story, CLICK HERE for a post I did on the Bristlecones when I visited in 2012.


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"test of time" 9 of 30 - finding the real Big Sur, 1966

photo by Donald Kinney

It happened frequently--I would be at Big Sur and someone would ask me "where Big Sur was".  Directions to the center of it all, I guess.
A valid question, I suppose, but it is too bad that most coast-cruisers never see much of Big Sur's fern-studded and creek-filled canyons.

Palo Colorado Canyon, north of Bixby Canyon Bridge, was for me, beyond bliss. Full of lush compositions and exquisite nature. Redwoods and Horsetails with Ferns and Clover. An outdoor photo studio complete with waterfall and stream. I visited often.

The beauty hides way back in the hills; in the deep and steep canyons. At Bixby Bridge a tiny road heads southeast. This is the harrowing "Old Coast Route", which cuts through the El Sur Ranch and across the shoulders of the mountain made of marble; Pico Blanco. This dirt washboard was the main road to Big Sur until the paved Coast Route (Highway-1) was completed past Hurricane Point in 1932.

"In my day" Big Sur was less of a tourist destination and/or yuppie hangout than it is today. Until the 1970's Big Sur was still isolated and unique enough for Beatniks and Hippies to live cheaply. Kerouac and Miller had set the scene.


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"test of time" 8 of 30 - the Photo-Plaque biz., 1963-66

photo by Donald Kinney

I had a very crafty uncle, Uncle Jim, who was responsible for introducing me to photography. Uncle Jim manufactured a plain routed edged particle-board plaque for the decoupage trade, and with a bit of brainstorming we found a way to mount my black & white photographs to the particle-board plaques.

The plaques were 8" x 6", and shrink-wapped with a recessed hanger on the back. The edges had been dipped in flat black paint. If you stopped by the Wharf Gallery in Monterey in the mid-1960's you could pick up one of these Donald Kinney "originals" for a mere $1.95. I managed to sell over 300 at the Wharf Gallery between 1963 and 1966. That's not a lot of money, but it is 300 people who bought my work.

I built a nifty flip-though box that was popular with Wharf Gallery visitors. The gallery owner, Les Anderson often remarked how much interest the "Photo-Plaques" generated. My biggest plaque seller was probably "The Lone Cypress", or maybe it was this scene (above) of Point Sur along Highway-1.

The Monterey Peninsula and the Big Sur coast are incredibly photogenic--a plethora of photo-ops. Just seemed logical for young teenager and camera-bug, Donald Kinney, to glue those photo-ops to pieces of particle-board.


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"test of time" 7 of 30 - Cypress, P.G. graveyard, 1964

photo by Donald Kinney

Oh, I guess I've always spent a lot of time in graveyards. Probably more than the average Joe... But where else is a guy going to find some peace and quiet, and maybe a few photo ops.

This is a print I showed Ansel Adams on my return trip to his home in the Carmel Highlands in 1964. He really liked the image and asked me where this grave was located, and when I reported the Municipal Cemetery in Pacific Grove, out by the lighthouse, he said he wasn't aware of the place. I don't know if he ever visited "P.G." Cemetery or not--he was a busy guy.

Anyway, this is probably my best photo from that era. In 1964 I was a "junior" in high-school, and at that age all I could think about was photography. My hobby had rewards: The Monterey Peninsula Herald published a full page of my photos with the bold title of "Forms in Nature". The Monterey County Fair was a yearly challenge. I won a few ribbons!


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"test of time" 6 of 30 - Cannery Row wasn't far, 1964

photo by Donald Kinney

Living on the east side of Pacific Grove, Monterey wasn't far, and Cannery Row was even closer. My dad worked in several of the canneries in the early 1950's as a bookkeeper, and he saw cannery after cannery fail because the once plentiful Sardines either got fished out or left town.

This is the land of Stienbeck. And his buddy Doc. About "Good Old Roy" who

SIDE-NOTE:
in 1962 Good Old Roy, who operated his curio business in the historic Wing Chong Market building got together with either Brett or Cole Weston and curated a really great showing of Edward Weston's work. I don't remember what an Edward Weston print was selling for in those days, but today his 8x10 contact prints go for upwards of $8000.

had a curio shop on the main drag at Cannery Row. Right here in Monterey Bay I remember taking terribly cold dips in icy salt-water. We had a favorite beach behind the Stanford Marine Biology Station where we weren't permitted to swim, but did anyway.

At night, it was the bark of sea lions. The fog horn and even a ding from the buoy off Point Pinos. I can remember fishing for crab off the back of one of the canneries where my dad worked. The Monterey Bay Aquarium at the west end had not yet been built.


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"test of time" 5 of 30 - generosity of Ansel Adams, 1963

photo by Donald Kinney

A STORY ABOUT ANSEL ADAMS, BY DONALD KINNEY

The year was 1963. I had just gotten my driver's license and a fifty dollar '49 Ford. Freedom at last--it was a very good feeling. I lived i an exceptionally beautiful area of California--the Monterey Peninsula, and now I could finally go places on my own. There was little doubt about what I wanted to do--shoot, develop, and print photos.

One sunny morning I set out for the short trip south towards Big Sur, but as I rounded a curve I spotted the bearded man with the camera platform on top of his car that I had been idolizing for the past few years--it was Ansel Adams. My heart started to race. I had to find out where the "greatest photographer in the world" was going, so I turned my old a around and followed him into Carmel. Being much too shy to approach him directly, I watched as he visited the post-office and cafe to have breakfast. If I had been more brave I would have waited for him to return to his car, but instead I left him a note on his windshield with compliments and a rather bold request that I wished he could look at my photos some time. A few days later a postcard arrived in the mail--it read; "Can't decipher your signature, but sure, I'd love to see your photos--just give me a call when you want to come over".

Somehow I got enough courage to call him, and about an hour later I was sitting in his front room with him giving me pointers on how I could improve each image. Of course, my photography at that point was pathetic, but it inspired me to read his books and get a grasp on the Zone System--a method for predetermining results by carefully manipulating exposure and development. A few months later I felt I had to show him my new attemts, so I re-invited myself to his home and after he had looked through my new work he complimented me on how much I had improved. The moment was probably the finest in all of my short sixteen years.


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"test of time" 4 of 30 - soot, chalk & Ansel Adams, 1963

photo by Donald Kinney

Okay, tomorrow I'll tell you all about how I coerced the great Ansel Adams to take a look at my photos--twice--for free--back in 1964, but this is one of the photos I showed him on my first visit. He didn't like it.

Yep, the way I had printed this image did not meet with his approval. "Soot and chalk"; he exclaimed! "I see Zone-0, Zone-5, and Zone-9, but where are all the OTHER tones that should be in this image?" Then he showed me a simple little trick of illuminating the the print with a strong light through the back. And there they were--invisible when viewed normally--all of the subtle mid-tones I had "murdered" by using a high-contrast printing paper. Oh, I guess I was going for a "graphic look", but way too stark for Ansel's design sensibilities.

Not that I hadn't heard of Ansel Adams' "Zone System", but until then I really hadn't understood or used it. It is the key to a full range of tones. Detail in the shadows and high values with texture.

Now, the Zone System is a bit more complicated than this and the technique mainly applies to black and white film, but the photographer bases the exposure on the dark values of the scene, and then adjusts development time based on where the photographer plans for the high values to fall. Basically, a shortened development time will produce a soft image, whereas a lengthened development time will boost contrast. Everything is planned.

When Adams most generously granted me a second review a few months later I had buckled down and was using his Zone System. The improvements in my work were major.   What a kind man...   More tomorrow.


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"test of time" 3 of 30 - developing my vision, 1961

photo by Donald Kinney

Working as a bookkeeper, my dad didn't pull in a large paycheck, but he managed to make ends meet. Handouts and an allowance were out of the question so I had to scramble for my own spending cash. I quickly realized that photography was a rather expensive hobby.

I had jobs from a very early age--there was money in pulling weeds and babysitting. At age 12 I went to work as an independent contractor for the Monterey Peninsula Herald, delivering newspapers daily except Sunday to about 130 customers, netting me a steady $40 per month; which I dutifully spent on film, chemicals, printing paper, and photography magazines.

The Monterey Peninsula offered me a wealth of photo opportunities, but the buzz-phrase of the day was "learning how to see", so I was constantly framing up scenes with my fingers or a cardboard rectangle in efforts to isolate important elements. If the composition met my approval, I would then reframe it in my viewfinder and commit it to film.

Then one day I saw it--the artful ends of all those newspapers I had just rolled. A bit of side-lighting for contrast, and there it was; the alpha and omega--my vision and the resulting photograph.


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"test of time" 2 of 30 - foggy pines, Carmel Hill, 1961

photo by Donald Kinney

In 1961 I was still two years away from getting my driver's license, so my realm of photography depended largely on where my dad decided to point the Kinney's first brand new automobile--a beige, big-as-a-boat, $2300, six cylinder, four door, 1961 Chevrolet Bel-Aire.

Dad was usually more focused on getting from "point A" to "point B", so I imagine I probably had to make a strong plea for him to pull over on Carmel Hill in heavy fog so I could snap this image.

At the time I was shooting 35mm black and white and doing the developing and printing in my own darkroom. Accounting for the obvious film grain, this was enlarged and cropped more than normal. This was my "high contrast" period--my favorite printing paper was Agfa Brovira #6, which gave me intense whites and blacks, but only a few discernable intermediate tones. Two years later Ansel Adams would straighten me out.   Stay tuned...


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"test of time" 1 of 30 - Nuns at Point Lobos, 1963

photo by Donald Kinney

Robert Lewis Stevenson called Point Lobos, between Carmel and Big Sur, "the-greatest-meeting-of-land-and-water-in-the-world". And as a young teenager with a camera, I saw the place as a fertile area for discovery.
I quickly realized the importance of "just-being-there" and walking in the footsteps of my idol; Edward Weston, and those of my hero; Ansel Adams.

I probably spent an inordinate amount of time at Point Lobos. And of course spooking around the freeform sandstone shapes eroded by water was an endless source of delight. It was just by chance that I happened to look up one afternoon and notice these nuns on what was probably a rare outing.


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