April Snow in Red Square

Winner in the 2008 PDN World In Focus Photo Contest

The last roll of film that slid between the lens of my M6 and me on the last day of a 3 week trip around the world. 47 rolls in total :)

More from the series can be found here: www.joelaron.com

I woke on April 6th to rain. It was my last day in Moscow, and I was planning on staying up all night to head to the airport at 2:30am. I grabbed my camera, and made my way through the Metro to Red Square.. the only safe place in town. When I got out of the station at the square, I noticed the rain was slowing down, as if everything was entering slow motion. It was the rain forming into snow before me. The one thing I wanted to happen, had. Snow in Red Square.

I got to the square, and started shooting. After almost 3 hours of being outside shooting, it was almost 6pm when the crowds disappeared, and I got the shot I wanted. The snow was dropping heavy, and painted the sky white. My hands were frozen, and I was getting worried about my little mechanical camera...but she was colder than i was, and doing fine.

Within minutes, the sun broke, and the snow stopped...and I was in a coffee shop getting warm.

Developed as soon as I got home. Film had gone through a total of 5 x-ray machines, as I had carried around my Delta 100 for the entire trip. It's the most stable under x-ray eyes. I cringed when I pulled the neg off the spool, and saw this run of shots looking dead black, then when it dried, I saw the little white spots that I knew would be people... :) phew!

Ilford Delta 100
Tmax Dev 1:4 = 6.5minutes - agitation every min for 10 seconds
16bit scan @ 5K with 8x10 output : Nikon 9000 ED