Cloud formations and contrasting scenery make Mendoza Argentina an extraordinary place.
Chacras de Coria cloud formations
The kindness of its people makes this place extraordinary, as well the contrasting scenery of cloud formations, not to mention their excellent wines. These were the basic for us to have pleasant stay when I moved my family to this city.
As its surroundings are desertic type, storms are strong, so cloud formations were formidable. Hailstorms are very common, so people have thick blankets to cover their cars when it starts raining. The hail is called “Las piedras”, translated as the stones, I do recall seeing on the size of a tennis ball.
The first and second images are close to sunset at Chacras de Coria, but looking at different viewpoints. I used Black and White film, which I have recently re-scanned these images. With the latest version of Photoshop, was able to obtain many hidden details I missed before. However, the software to clean dust particles on a scanner does not work with black and white film. Basically the silver halide blocks the infrared beam that is need, so I need to remove each particle by hand. Each image took me about me day to review at pixel level these particles, to have a clean image.
San Rafael cloud formation
This last image is at Cañón del Atuel reservoir, where the surrounding rock formations are very impressive. There is a particular form emerging from the artificial lake, that represent this curious unique landmark. I used Scala film, which was a positive Black and White film, with rich blacks and contrast made by Agfa.
The development of this film was made only by a very few labs in the world, one in Buenos Aires. Similar to when I took photographs with Kodachrome film, I had to wait many weeks to see the outcome. Today not being able to see how the image came out instantly, is definitely unthinkable.
