Photography On Location (Sort Of): American West Triptych

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: It is unlawful to possess hawk feathers in the United States. I did not know that when I made this video, but ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking it. If you find feathers, please leave them where they are. I have taken steps to remedy my mistake (including contacting the California Department of Fish and Wildlife) and will be sure to follow the law going forward. I also made a donation to the Ojai Raptor Center at If you have a passion for helping birds of prey, I encourage you to support the Ojai Raptor Center (or any other raptor rehabilitation center).

You may remember a previous video where I shot New55 peel-apart film for the very first time. It didn’t go smoothly. Since then, I’ve practiced more and learned from my mistakes. I felt that I had ironed out all the creases, and I planned to apply my newfound abilities with New55 on a project I’d been pre-visualizing for months.

But plans have a way of falling apart.

The project in question is a triptych that came together in my head some time ago. 1 feather on the left, 2 on the right. As for the centerpiece of it all, I originally toyed with a classic Indian arrowhead. Because, you see, I wanted to create a particular vibe here. An American West in the mid-1800’s kind of vibe. A Great Plains kind of vibe. A badass Apache Indian chief in full headdress with a steely-eyed glare kind of vibe.

You know the vibe I mean.

Cowboys and Indians, but not the kind you see in movies. Not the 1950’s Howdy-Doody American West. Authentic American West. I wanted to make pictures that would pay homage and respect to that time period - when Native Americans and the relentless westward-push of European settlers came head-to-head in brutal ways.

I needed a centerpiece that would encapsulate that vibe. The arrowhead was a good start, but wasn’t quite right. Too small, for one, and it wouldn’t quite represent the clash of Indians and Westerners like I wanted. I needed something that better symbolized the brutality of that clash.

And then it hit me: what’s a better symbol of what I’m talking about than the buffalo? A dead buffalo - that’s what’s better. For the American Indians of the Great Plains, the buffalo was life. For westerners, it was target practice. Between 1872 and 1873, over 3 millions buffalo were killed. The American bison herds never bounced back.

A bison skull would be perfect for this triptych.

So after burning through far more New55 PN400 than I really hoped to, I finally created the triptych that had been stewing in my brain for months. I’m quite pleased with the results.

Thank you for watching, and enjoy!

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