We visited the town of Tombstone while on our fulltime travels in our motorhome. These are photos of "Wyatt Earp Days". The first photo is of the great grandson of Wyatt, who travels the world performing in theaters, and his real name is actually Wyatt Earp. The rest of the series is of the famed "Gunfight at the OK Corral", which is held annually in Tombstone, and originally occurred at this site in 1881. Many of the visitors also dress in character which adds to the fun of the event.

[wshi]

I think the sepia goes well with the theme... overall great job.

Last one is my favorite.

[RioRico]

Of course, the Battle of the OK Corral wasn't actually in or at the OK Corral, but that's OK, the Battle of Bunker Hill wasn't at Bunker Hill, either.

Our ancient adobe house in Old Bisbee is near the mouth of Tombstone Canyon. We stopped in nearby Tombstone for one last go-round before heading out maybe 10 days ago. The themepark elements remain about the same, but the quality of merchandise has improved over the last couple years. Tombstone is a fair place to shop for Native American jewelry, pottery, weavings etc. Once you get past the Chinese crud, there's lots of decent stuff at decent prices.

The streetshow is always fun and keeps a goodly cast of locals employed. I didn't pay them much attention, though. I had a ringflash & FA50 & Raynox 250 on my K20D, and I was just shooting macros of whatever gnarly details I didn't have to crawl for. I've seen enough staged gunfights, thanks. What I will say about Tombstone, though, is that it's a good place to chat up a (real) wrangler in the middle of the street, share a few swigs of tequila, light up cigars, and yell at German tourists as their pony cart just misses your feet. Yay-hoo!

[Ash]

Quite a 'blast from the past' look (pun intended).
Nice series. I enjoyed it.

[SpecialK]

Looks like fun. Wyatt Earp (the first) was the first mayor of Tombstone and started the local Epitaph newspaper, but is buried just south of San Francisco.

[Bob Harris]

I think the sepia goes well with the theme... overall great job.

Last one is my favorite.

I liked the sepia also, I tried b/w and it didn't have the same feel. thanks Bob

[RioRico]

I'll throw this in again: For period-looking photos, SHOOT ACTINIC! [Dang, I have GOT to write the article about this!] Early photo emulsions could only 'see' UV-Violet-Blue light, called actinic. Only when dyes were added did their sensitivity extend into the Green-Yellow-Orange-Red-IR ranges. Remember when if you xeroxed a page marked with yellow highlighter, and the highlighting came out black? That generation of xerography was Orthochromatic, not all-color Panchromatic. Ortho copy films and papers are still available.

To replicate the look of pre-1880 photography, sepia isn't enough. I shoot B&W using an optical Violet-Blue CC or Light Blue filter (handheld shooting) or a Dark Blue filter ('podded). Using a digital Blue filter, in-camera or during RAW development, or using only the Blue channel in PP, will somewhat approximate the effect. The tonalities produced are just very different than you'll see with panchromatic spectral sensitivity.

And to really get 'period', I use lens designs of the era too. That's one reason I like cheap old projector lenses, mounted on bellows. (Sometimes I add homemade Waterhouse stops for a tighter aperture.) Modern corrected optics are just different. And all this stuff is really fun to play with!

[Bob Harris]

Of course, the Battle of the OK Corral wasn't actually in or at the OK Corral, but that's OK, the Battle of Bunker Hill wasn't at Bunker Hill, either.

Our ancient adobe house in Old Bisbee is near the mouth of Tombstone Canyon. We stopped in nearby Tombstone for one last go-round before heading out maybe 10 days ago. The themepark elements remain about the same, but the quality of merchandise has improved over the last couple years. Tombstone is a fair place to shop for Native American jewelry, pottery, weavings etc. Once you get past the Chinese crud, there's lots of decent stuff at decent prices.

The streetshow is always fun and keeps a goodly cast of locals employed. I didn't pay them much attention, though. I had a ringflash & FA50 & Raynox 250 on my K20D, and I was just shooting macros of whatever gnarly details I didn't have to crawl for. I've seen enough staged gunfights, thanks. What I will say about Tombstone, though, is that it's a good place to chat up a (real) wrangler in the middle of the street, share a few swigs of tequila, light up cigars, and yell at German tourists as their pony cart just misses your feet. Yay-hoo!

You know the place well my friend. Next time we are in the area, I would like to be able to contact you and visit the old adobe in Old Bisbee, would love to get a couple of photos of an authentic adobe home. Its great to visit Tombstone, particularly like the old courthouse and other dwellings from the past. Thanks for posting and one of these days, I will PM you and get the location of your home in the canyon. Thanks Bob.

[Bob Harris]

Looks like fun. Wyatt Earp (the first) was the first mayor of Tombstone and started the local Epitaph newspaper, but is buried just south of San Francisco.

Kyle, it seems that Wyatt didn't spend a lot of time in many places. A real man on the go or get out of here quick. thanks Bob

[rayallen]

Love the series. Sepia toning is very appropriate. Can't pick a favourite as each image has its own feeling.
Thanks for sharing.

[dcmsox2004]

great to see the wild west relived.... thanks for this posting bob... have only seen this in old tv shows and western movies...
my favorite 'take' on this was an old star trek episode.... dave m

[Bob Harris]

I'll throw this in again: For period-looking photos, SHOOT ACTINIC! [Dang, I have GOT to write the article about this!] Early photo emulsions could only 'see' UV-Violet-Blue light, called actinic. Only when dyes were added did their sensitivity extend into the Green-Yellow-Orange-Red-IR ranges. Remember when if you xeroxed a page marked with yellow highlighter, and the highlighting came out black? That generation of xerography was Orthochromatic, not all-color Panchromatic. Ortho copy films and papers are still available.

To replicate the look of pre-1880 photography, sepia isn't enough. I shoot B&W using an optical Violet-Blue CC or Light Blue filter (handheld shooting) or a Dark Blue filter ('podded). Using a digital Blue filter, in-camera or during RAW development, or using only the Blue channel in PP, will somewhat approximate the effect. The tonalities produced are just very different than you'll see with panchromatic spectral sensitivity.

And to really get 'period', I use lens designs of the era too. That's one reason I like cheap old projector lenses, mounted on bellows. (Sometimes I add homemade Waterhouse stops for a tighter aperture.) Modern corrected optics are just different. And all this stuff is really fun to play with!

thanks Rico for the added information. I will have to pick up a set of blue filters and give it a shot in b/w to see how it comes out. We visit a lot of old west towns and it would be interesting to see how those old buildings look. Sounds like you must do a lot of this type of photography to have this much knowledge. Thanks for passing it on to us. Bob

[charliezap]

Very nice series Bob.I like the tonal quality.--charliezap

[Sailor]

Terrific series and the treatment of the photos turns them into a time machine. Also, looks like it was a lot of fun to shoot 'em - the pictures I mean.

Jer

[Bob Harris]

Love the series. Sepia toning is very appropriate. Can't pick a favourite as each image has its own feeling.
Thanks for sharing.

Thank you Ray, appreciate you commenting and glad you liked the series. Bob