Copper Mining Project

Darkroom

An amber glow illuminates the corner of my work space.  The light emitted by this "safelight" barely registers as I first enter the darkroom.  I move through the cramped space intuitively until my eyes adjust to the dim surroundings.  A handcrafted dodging wand sits to the left of my easel just below the enlargers timer, to the right are a few loose filters and a grain magnifier.  With chemistry in the trays and a negative carrier placed into the enlarger, it's time to begin.

I've always felt that the darkroom was one of the most enjoyable aspects of the photographic process.  Once the door shuts and you're alone in the darkness, the smell of chemistry in the air and a world of possibility in every negative.  It's what you do in in this room that sets the mood of the image you've captured in the camera, it give the image life, depth, and emotion.  More light and the print is darker... less and it's lighter, contrast can be controlled by changing the color of the light or by a combination of exposure and time in the developer... not that mystifying really, but the results can be remarkable.

I'm not a technical printmaker, I prefer a more organic approach.  I watch as the paper rocks gently in the tray, pulling it at just the right moment and carefully placing it into a water bath and finally the fixer.  The prints are washed, toned, and washed once again.  As they undergo their final wash, I can't help but to fish them out of the water to take another look.  The sepia toner stains my fingernails, a testament to the time spent in the dark and a reminder I will carry with me for the next couple of days. 

  

Walnut frame

I have a good friend who is turning sixty this week.  For a gift, I thought it would be nice to give a photograph.  I searched through box after box of images and found one that I felt would be appropriate, then set off to build a frame.  Bill, much like myself, has a collection of photography and as I looked around my apartment I noticed a complete lack of open wall space.  I thought it safe to assume that he may have the same problem.  I put some thought into the framing of the print and came up with a free standing walnut frame (pictured above).  After the sawdust cleared and all of the splinters were pulled from my finger tips, I couldn't be more pleased with the piece. It seems to be a great way to display some of the smaller prints, rather than having them sit in various storage boxes.

Portraits

On the Road

I've been doing quite a bit of traveling, so I've been a little neglectful when it comes to the blog. Here are a couple of images from the road (quite literally from the road).  I've got a batch of film to process and I'm excited to get into the darkroom... it seems like it's been too long.

There has been a lot going on including word of another exhibition in the up coming months, I'll be sure to post the dates when they are locked in.

In the meantime, I'll try to be better about adding new images to this site.

If you get a chance, you can also view work at the AtEdge site.

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