Yesterday evening I receive the photo you see above. The woman in the photo, is our new friend Mahsa. She's a photographer and a really nice person. That little gesture, really put things into perspective for me.
Let's face it, starting a new project can be nerve wracking. You willingly sacrifice your money and time. You re-prioritize your life. You revaluate and reflect upon past decisions. And no matter how confident you may be, you're a liar if say you don't spend a little bit of time wondering how you'll be received. Wondering if you'll just be yelling into the wind, talking to yourself.
Shutterclank!...
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"ANYONE CAN BE A PHOTOGRAPHER" blah, blah, blah...
"EVERYONE HAS A CAMERA TODAY!" whimper, whine, snifle...
If you've ever picked up a camera and held yourself out as a photographer, I'm sure you've heard those lines before. I know I have. Unfortunately, I've heard this far too often lately, and most of the time it's coming from other photographers. The people who are supposed to be passionate about this form of art. This is truly disappointing. A bunch of fucking sissies.
"Cameras are so automated, they do everything for you, anyone can take good photos" wha, wha, wha....
Don't...
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i don’t think fixing twice is so much a polemic as much as it is simply disregarded. in the early days of DOP’s (developing out papers for those out there who are not nerds), sending prints through two fixing solutions was common practice. the fixer washes out all of the non-developed silver halides, but if not done properly, over time, you will be able to watch your prints break down and die before you do.
to properly fix and and make an archival print, use the first fixer to wash out most of the undeveloped silver halides, agitating continuously, and the second to wash out what remains...
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photography is all about silver. however, silver is no good by herself; she needs to form a bond with a halogen to be reactive and thus, light sensitive. silver bonds with either chloride, bromide, or iodide to become silver halide, which is what makes the magic happen. curiously, the size of the silver halides determines the color. sure, some of you out there think black and white is just black and white, but it aint. the different sizes of silver halides matter; a lot: smaller, finer grains create a warm tone image, whereas a cool toned image has larger grains of silver halides. in early...
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The artist mind is hungry. The art they create is in pursuit of truth but it is only a metaphor. It is an approximation of truth, a nod toward the visceral experience of life and the spirit.
Bill Daniel was generous to give me some of his time, and a glimpse into his creative drive. He shared his studio, darkroom (including his gorgeous Durst 5x7 enlarger), and prints that he has been curating for his awesome TRI-X-NOISE site.
He showed me a couple of Misfits prints and I nearly almost died. I needed to have one. Similar to how I need a half frame camera… He showed some other amazing ones,...
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In 1839, Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre and William Henry Fox Talbot were madly competing in developing two new processes that would lay the foundation for photography. Fueled by ego as well as politics and pride, it became a Franco-British fight to popularize this new medium. Fairly quickly, the daguerreotype prevailed and the world was in a craze to either produce daguerreotypes or sit for one. For well over a decade, this craze continued until other processes usurped this fragile and laborious technique , such as wet-plate collodion, ambrotypes, tintypes, carbon prints….
It was the discovery,...
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