Clyde with his 6x10 view camera

In 1996, when Ron Wisner was still building large

format cameras, I asked him to build me a 6x10

back that would adapt to his 4x5 view camera. He

accomplished the request, and then found that others

liked that proportion too, so he build a few more.

There aren't many out there...if you own one it would

be great to hear from you.

I love the proportion of 6x10 and also the fact that

the camera would be much lighter to carry. My

8x10 Deardorf, without lens, weighs 16 pounds.

The 6x10 Wisner, without lens, weighs 7 1/2 pounds.

Plus, I can carry it in my backpack open with my

wide-angle 120mm Nikor already on it. This means

my set up time is reduced considerably.

Because I mostly use wide-angle lenses I had to

take a couple of inches off the back standard of

the 4x5 Wisner before the camera would work for me.

My first photographic use of the camera was in 1997

when I was Artist in Resident at Rocky Mountain

National Park. I was excited about the images...

except for one thing. The film holders leaked.

(Thank heavens I had taken more than one camera

with me on that trip!) When I inquired as to when

the film holders could be corrected, I found

out the company who made the holders

was no longer creating them.

So, for the past 14 years the camera has sat on my

shelf patiently waiting for me, until I me Richard

Ritter who builds and repairs large format

cameras - www.lg4mat.net - in Vermont. Richard

told me about Alan Brubaker who builds large

format mat camera equipment including film

holders - www.filmholders.com - in California.

Last week I received the film holders. It felt

like Christmas! I am, once again,

excited about using my "new"

6x10 view camera! The film holders are

beautiful...a piece of art.

I will be leaving for California in a few days for

my 50th High School Reunion, the opening

at the Annenberg Space for Photography, and

a couple of weeks in Yosemite. Taking the

6x10. Will let you know how it goes...

Labor Day Swamp Walks 2010

Another wonderful Labor Day weekend holiday

in the swamp! We enjoyed the company of

everyone who came to experience the nature

of Florida in a way that is only possible in a

swamp walk.

Can't wait for the winter walk

when we can share this special place

with you all again!

Clyde signing books

Niki gave demonstrations on how to

hand-paint a black and white photograph

using oil paint, Q-tips and cotton balls.

Clyde signing books and note cards

for some young admirers

Jackie putting color coded bracelet

onto customers arm. The bracelet

lets him know which walk he is

going to go on.

Swamp walk guide, Johnnie, explaining

the ecosystem of South Florida before

going out into the swamp.

We'd like to thank Kayla and Cody

for taking all of the swamp walk

photos and also for helping the guides

with the swamp walks. Good Work!

Into the muck

Into the swamp

The watery path

Cody holding up a bunch of bladder wort

Most folks are amazed that we have no

mosquitoes in the depth of summer and this

plant is one of the reasons.

Bladder Wort eats mosquito larvae.

Swamp guide, Mike Owen, explaining

the periphyton and it's importance to

the environment of South Florida. It is

like a sponge. When our environment

dries down the periphyton holds water

so that tadpoles, fish eggs, etc can still

survive. It also cleans the water.

Everyone checking out the periphyton

taking a photo of the periphyton

cypress knee

Swamp guide, Rick Cruz, with group

Rick explaining the bladder wort

plant and how it eats mosquito larvae

The peace, beauty and primeval feeling

of the swamp in summer is one of our

favorite memories.

For those of you who aren't quite ready

to head out into the swamp, we have a

short dry path behind our gallery that

is a pleasure to walk.

Gallery path

Gallery path

During the summer months our gallery

path is green and lush with growth.

It was a wonderful holiday. Sharing it

with so many great folks makes it even

better! Looking forward to our winter

swamp walk!

Kissimmee River Basin - The Northern Everglades: Williamson Cattle Ranch

Frank "Sonny" Williamson Jr. showing

Elam a map of the ranch

The restoration of the Kissimmee River

Basin would not be the success it is without

the cooperation of the ranchers who once

grazed their cattle on what is now flood plain.

Many ranchers have helped in the effort led by

the vision of Mr. Sonny Williamson.

---------------------------------------

Clyde and Elam Stoltzfus are embarking on

another exciting journey with a film

on the Kissimmee River Basin: the

Northern Everglades.

We are excited, once again, to be a part

of educating the people of Florida

about their state, tis beautiful environment

and the wonderful success of the

Kissimmee Basin restoration project.

To keep track of the progress of this film

check out:

http://northerneverglades.com

-------------------------------------------------

THE WILLIAMSON CATTLE COMPANY

More than a half a century ago, Frank Williamson, Sr.

founded the Williamson Cattle Company. Today

the business is still a family operation. Frank

"Sonny" Williamson Jr and his son, Frank

"Wes" Williamson III, run the 9,000 acre

ranch and citrus operation in Okeechobee while

Wes' son, John Williamson, runs another part

of the cattle operation and a catfish farm in west

central Alabama.

The cattle have access to more than 9,000 acres

but only 6000 of those acres are grazable. Most

are hammocks, pine forests, and swamps that have

been left in their natural state to assure the

aesthetic value of the property and promote an

abundance of wildlife. With deer, turkey and

otters viewable in their natural settings, the

decision to retain their habitat was an easy one.

"When you can ride through a place and love

looking at the animals and the woodlands, that's

a kind of pay day too," Sonny said.

Balancing a successful agricultural operation with

Florida's environmental concerns is a

challenge the Williamson have met head on.

"We are a family-owned corporation, and we have

a direction here," Wes said. "We feel we have a

responsibility to the owners of the Williamson

Cattle Company before us and the owners of the

company after us."

Frank Williamson Sr.

"You can make money and go on a vacation to

a beautiful place, or you can keep the beauty

where you are and enjoy it all the time."

Heading down the road while

enjoying great stories from

Howard.

Howard checking out the

image in the camera

Sonny getting under the dark cloth

to see into the camera

Elam, Howard Jones Jr.,

Sonny Williamson Jr.,

and Clyde

Howard Jones is Sonny's step-brother

and has written a wonderful book

about his years on the ranch, "The

Green Jeep". I didn't want to see the

book end...made me feel closer to the

earth, animals and humanity. A good read.

Watching Elam film

Elam filming

Discussing where to go next. The

ranch is so big and beautiful that

it is hard to choose which

direction to go.

The field was filled with all kinds

of wonderful plants and flowers.

I could have spent a lot longer

on my hands and knees photographing

the beauty of small things!

Family camp house

Discussing the Battle of Okeechobee

while standing on the site of the

last camp before the military

went into battle.

This area of the property is known for

being the last camp of the military

before the Battle of Okeechobee on

Christmas Day. This battle was one of

the major battles of the Second Seminole

War and the largest battle fought east of the

Mississippi.

The military followed the Seminoles to

this area, then camped for the night.

(The Seminoles were leading them

into a trap) When the military woke

up, the troops followed the trail into

a swamp where the grass stood five feet

high. The mud and water were three feet deep.

Horses were of no use, so Taylor moved

his men into the swamp. They were totally

surrounded by Seminoles, causing tremendous

damage, the volunteers broke and ran.

Taylor directed the men to keep fighting. In the end

26 soldiers died, and 112 were wounded. 11 Seminoles

died and 14 wounded. No Seminoles were captured.

There is a re-enactment of the Battle of

Okeechobee every year in Feb. Check out

the Chamber of Commerce in Okeechobee

for more information.

Military camped here before the battle

Heading back to the office

What a marvelous gift to live a life where

all you see around you is a beautiful

environment and it is yours. I am thankful

that folks like the Williamson's

understand the deep connection the

earth has for us all and work to make

a positive environmental difference

in their ranch management.

It was a pleasure to spend a morning seeing

some of the ranch...hope time permits us

to return to capture more of that beauty

on film.