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Chilmark, located on the Island of Martha's Vineyard, provides the backdrop for the summer homes and getaway places for the mostly upper east coast elite. But summer is not the best time to see ghosts. The optimum time is towards the end of October when the leaves are turning, falling, and when autumn rains chill the air have driven the holiday residents back to their city dwellings. This was the time to capture a photograph of a Ghost of Chilmark Woods.
The first step, as with most of my pre-visualized photographs to be staged, was finding the right location. After spending some time researching a location I came across a pathway off a main dirt road to fit this mythical illusion.
In the plan for taking this photograph was using my 4X5 View Camera, and the place I had selected allowed me to position the camera just off the main road out of plain sight in the woods, but overlooking down the dirt pathway that began across the other side.
The placement of the camera had to be set firm and fixed. The shot planned required daytime and nighttime exposures on the same 'canvas', which for me is a piece of film. During and in the interim, between daytime and nighttime exposures, the camera could not move. It could not move by slowly sinking into the damp soil or be disturbed by the capricious passing of wildlife. Had this occurred unbeknownst to me the resulting photograph would not have been successful.
Other necessary items needed for the photograph I had in mind were dry ice and a platform for the ghost to walk on. The dry ice was needed to generate a mysterious low cloudy mist over the road. The platform was a 12 foot stretch of boat dock I had at my home that would place on saw horses at the location.
My visualization of the ghost had it walking on air or floating across the pathway. This part of the photograph was to be taken at night in the complete darkness. I felt that If her feet were shown touching the road it would spoil the illusion. To make this effect possible I had to visually levitate the ghost, and part of the solution was the platform raised on saw horses, providing a smooth foundation for my ghost model to walk on. Another thing needed to make the effect work was a large piece of black fabric I had on hand to cover the platform and supporting saw horses.
Anyone care to venture to guess why the black cloth was needed?
Dry ice was nowhere to be found on the Island. That presented a problem with scheduling the shoot as this ice dissipates by evaporation over several days' time. I had to go to Boston for the dry ice and get enough of it in a Styrofoam cooler, well-sealed, to give me a window of a few days to take the shot. I made some calls and found an off-island outlet able to supply the need.
The weather had been dreary and wet much of the time that fall. I looked often at weather forecasts. This photograph could not be taken in a hard rain, but there was no sure way to avoid a weather risk, so I had to make a decision to set my plan into action. After alerting my model, Ann, and an assistant to moving forward, and readying the other supplies and equipment, I scheduled the ferry reservation to the mainland to get the dry ice.
It was the third day after returning from Boston with the dry ice that rain eased, although the sky remained overcast and the air damp and dreary; perfectly ghostly weather to get started. In the afternoon I set up the View Camera and secured it overlooking that small side dirt path, covered with fallen leaves, through autumn Chilmark Woods.
I took some incident light readings and set the desired aperture and shutter on the view camera lens. Then crossing over to the pathway, I dug a small hole in the middle into which I place the dry ice. I poured water into the whole and over the dry ice and it began to churn out its low bellowing cloud cover.
Quickly, yet carefully, made my way back to the camera and with film holders** at the ready I inserted one, removed the slide, and took an exposure, replaced the slide, and repeated this process for several more holders. During this process I replenished the dry ice, but how often I do not remember. A breeze would also shift the smoke effect and I timed my exposures to when it appeared thickest.
That completed this first exposure sequence. I took some cut branches, placing them carefully in front of the camera to obscure it from view of a passerby. At that time of year, considered out-of-season, there is little traffic to speak of, nevertheless I took this precaution, and then went back to the home studio.
After getting something to eat, I contacted my assistant, Kenny. He worked at the Vineyard Haven Post Office, but could assist me in the evening on shoots as needed. The 12 foot long dock platform was about 30 inches wide with 10 inch sides all made from 1 inch water treated planks, in other words heavy. I needed his help in moving and placing it. When leaving to go back to the location I asked Ann to come around 8pm.
On location Kenny and I struggled putting the platform up on saw horses across the pathway. We placed it more on the right hand side, then made sure it was stable and secure to walk on, and then draped it completely with a black cloth.
The cloth was vital in creating this photograph. To the question asked earlier in this story as to its purpose, in addition to covering an unsightly platform, the answer is anything black will help prevent further exposure that, in this case, would be an unwanted edition to the exposure taken during the daytime.
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